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Jan’s Group Home Support is blogging against disablism. Today is second annual Blogging Against Disablism Day (The participating bloggers are in the sidebar).
There is prejudice against disabled people everywhere even now that we are seen as an educated and evolved society. Even where there is not prejudice, there is often fear of the disabled. The mental disabilities often are the most feared. The reasons for mental disabilities:
- Mental illness
- Brain injury (in vitro, at birth, from an injury)
- Developmental delays
- Emotional trauma
Visually, a mental disability is usually not evident when looking at a person, like when someone has a physical disability. There is abstractness to mental disabilities. It’s not always clear how to interact with someone who has a mental disability and the fear of the unknown is still strong in our current society. There is little media coverage of the citizens of our society who have a mental disability and who are:
- Kind
- Loving
- Generous
- Motivated
- Hard working
- Persevere
- Over comers
What makes the news are the ones who are committing crimes, getting lost, being destructive, etc. Media coverage often creates a distorted image of the citizens of our country. It’s not just prejudice against disabled, but of race, age, and even still gender.
As group home support staff, we should be goodwill ambassadors for the residents we care for. We can fight prejudice on each and every outing in the community with our residents. We can fight prejudice and stereotyping of the disabled, especially those with mental disabilities. I feel sad when I see group home support staff contribute to the problem instead of being part of the solution.
There are some simple things any group home support staff can do while in the community.
Be observant-when you see someone uncomfortable around the resident, don’t ignore it or remove the resident from the situation (unless there are dangerous and/or severe behaviors). Speak up. Tell the person what you like about the person you care for, talk about their positive traits, and brag on their accomplishments. Not only will the community see the resident in a different light, the resident will develop self-confidence in the community.
Know the resident-if you know your resident will hug strangers, take food from children, or pinch noses take preventive action. Stay between the resident and temptation. Be adequately staffed. It takes only one incident of a resident snatching ice cream from a child and temper tantrum like behavior from a resident who is not allowed to keep it, to form a negative and long lasting impression of disabled people in general.
Monitor your responses-when a resident does something inappropriate, your response is very noticeable in the community. Your calmness will be contagious. If staff stays calm, reacts to a behavior in a controlled manner, and with a smile, often those in the community will not become alarmed.
Respond to the community-many adults and nearly all children are very open to learning about our residents. Without breaking confidentiality, a simple explanation can be given-“His/her brain doesn’t work like yours does and he/she doesn’t understand not to ________â€. This statement followed with some positive comments on traits, skills, or accomplishments will help create positive experiences with our residents and the community. Sometimes people will ask what is wrong. If the resident chooses to answer, allow him/her to do so, or ask the resident to give permission to share. It’s OK to help educate people and it’s OK to help our residents not to feel embarrassed. When it would break confidentiality to be specific, a general statement like-“To respect his/her privacy, I can’t answer that specifically. I can tell you it’s like someone with diabetes, who can’t make their body produce insulin, some people can’t make their brain work differentlyâ€. Again, follow with positive comments on the resident.
When off the clock and in the community, as group home support staff, it is easy to recognize those who have disabilities. When appropriate, interact with them. This simple act will be a positive example to others in the community.
Unknowingly, group home staff often contributes to prejudice of the disabled because of their own personal discomfort with residents and their behaviors. This is true more often with staff new to the field. Staff should be aware of their behavior in the community to be able to successfully fight against prejudice and stereotyping of the disabled. It can be done one interaction in the community at a time.
I encourage all group home support staff to start the next time they are in the community to be goodwill ambassadors for the disabled, to promote positive interactions, and experiences for the community and the residents.
Information on last year’s Blogging Against Disablism Day.
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