So often residents are protected from the uncomfortableness the community might have towards them. When we are with them, we can help them deal with it. Especially higher functioning residents, who might not always have group home staff around or may end up with group home staff that is uncomfortable should be given skills to deal with the members in the community who are uncomfortable. Group home staff can teach the group home resident how to teach the community how to be more accepting. Each resident can become an ambassador for disability awareness and/or their specific disability.
When in the community, and a group home resident goes about doing things in a “different” way and then notices that someone may be looking, he or she can speak up and say something like “I have CP and it takes me a little longer, but I can do it myself”. It puts a face to the label-CP. It focuses on ABILITY in the label-disability.
Group home providers and day programs can even create a little course to train the residents who are interested in becoming a disability ambassador. A printed out card, button, and even t-shirts (”Proud Person with CP”, “I am a disability awareness ambassador”, or “Ask me about CP”) can give credibility to their title.
We have moved away from the time of hiding people with disabilities in institutions, now it’s time to move forward and stop hiding them out in the open when in the community. There is the fear they will be treated differently if their disability is revealed. Maybe we have created that fact by trying to hide their disability and preventing the community from having the opportunity to learn about the
REMEMBER-never break confidentiality and reveal a group home’s resident’s disability in the community unless you have their permission.
Most residents won’t do this on their ownA group home support staff can begin to teach a resident to teach others about acceptance.
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