I began interacting with people who have disabilities from a young age. My older brother of seven years has Autism, my cousin has multiple developmental diagnoses, and second cousin has Autism as well. I never saw these people as their disability but as my relatives who functioned and lived life differently than I did. This point of view changed when a few members of my church pointed out the “bad thing” about them. This event led me to question God for the next 11 years of my life. By senior year of high school I began to see that having a brother with Autism as a gift from God. I began to learn all the things by brother was capable of doing and the love he showed for others. The disabled population was always an interest of mine even during …show more content…
During one of the assignments, I went to an agency that works with getting people with disabilities jobs that are long term. One thing that stood out the most was when she said, “All it takes for our clients to get them the job is to have the employer change a few aspect of the work environment. Some employers don’t want to go through that change. That is where we step in and show them how our clients can be great candidates for the job but the employer’s need to meet us in the middle.” After hearing this I knew that this was another drive for pursuing to work with people who have disabilities. The past two summers during break I work at a group home with adults who have various developmental disabilities. All six of them hold part-time jobs within the local community. A similar struggle I saw with them was having employers understand they needed to make adjustments to their workplace. After the employers made the adjustments needed, the residents excelled in their job. In these two situations, a lot of advocating was done but most employers were glad that they made the adjustments they …show more content…
Due to us being made in his image everyone is different as there are different parts to God. Disabilities are not a punishment from God. Disabilities are seeing God’s work and potential in a different light. We are called to love God and to love our neighbor. If we are to love God we must also love our neighbor whether they look like us, act like us, think like us or not. When Jesus resurrected and was proving his authority, he showed people his scars. Jesus showed the people that he still had the holes from the nails. A reason that could be behind this is because our disabilities are parts of us that make us unique. Disabilities whether born with or acquired are a part of us but it makes us who we are. John 9:3 ESV says, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in his life.” In everything that we do the glory goes back to God. Everyone has been gifted with special talents that bring glory to God. Having a disability is not hindering from spreading God’s love, it only increases
For future practice in social work, I learned that it is important to empower your clients to set goals and help push them to reach those goals. Robert wanted to plays sports and kept trying until he found a sport that was the best fit for him. Snow (2013a) talked about “the ‘problem’ of disability is not within the person, but within the social attitudes, and our attitudes shape the world we live in” (p.119). I agree with Snow, if our attitudes in society don’t change about “disabilities” the person will never feel completely welcomed or “fit” for
As I continue my studies at Liberty University, I am pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Currently, I use the education that I have obtained practicing as a Behavioral Therapist. In my vocation, I work with young children who have a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum, and I help them learn to communicate their wants and needs through behavioral skills/modification therapy. Many people struggle with the idea of Autism Spectrum Disorder. It makes them uncomfortable to be around a person who has tantrum behavior for what appears to be no reason at all. It can push people out of their comfort zone when another person has an obvious disability or disorder. This is why my heart is called to care for the least of these. Scripture tells us that, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16, English Standard Version.) This passage clearly expresses God’s heart in the creation of each person – no matter their skills, their weaknesses or strengths, they were made perfectly and God’s handiwork is so good. Even when it is hard to
The “Disability Accommodations” article laid out the some of the guidelines that employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who are disabled. However, the article also says that once the accommodations are made for the employee to perform the job duties, they can then be held to the same performance and conduct standards as other employees (Levine). The article also shows some of the frustrations that employers may have if they spend money on accommodations and the employee doesn’t work out.
In society other people 's actions tend to rub off on us in a bad way, for example someone could have a parent 's that make fun of another person 's disability. Laughing at them because they were born different or got terribly ill that causes them great difficulty to perform an everyday task. Years later their children will become the same person their parent was or even worse have a disabled child and not treat them with the respect they deserve. When battling a physical disability but not having the mental capacity it can feel as if you are trapped within your own body. Can you imagine living in a world where you can 't communicate with another person?, this is the life that Christy Brown, Helen Keller and Stephen Hawking lived in.
14 years ago my mom gave birth to my brother who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy because he was not breathing when they delivered him. At the time I was two years old and I was not aware of what challenges my brother would face. I had no clue on why our house was filled with people everyday coming to see my brother after my mom got home from work. Learning later in life that a Physical Therapist, Developmental Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and a Speech Therapist visited him on a daily basis. Some of them who grew attached to our family and we still see on a regular basis. They only came to the house until he started kindergarten. My mom later told me that he was in a early development program which only lasted for the first five years
The majority of people in today’s world view disabled people as a misfortune or a disappointment. Contrary to popular belief, I see disabled people as God’s blessings, which he has placed on earth to remind us about the important things in life, because misfortunes can teach us very valuable lessons. Although disabled people have limitations on how they can accomplish things in life, somehow they still find a way to make you feel so loved, show you how true determination looks, and remind us how to be joyful.
The way I see my perspective on my experience with my brother having a disability is that it is definitely different because you have to make changes in life to adjust to his changes. I had always felt bad for my brother because he had autism but once he had seizures almost everyday, I saw how life could change in the blink of an eye and that it can be short. I always try to help out as much as I can with my brother so it is easier for my dad and my
My assumption hasn’t been change when it comes to someone with special needs as for me being a spiritual person and know God. I know that we all have the wants and needs. Some of our lives are different but that does not have anything to do with the inside of someone. We all have goals regardless of what we look like or what we go through or what kind of abnormality we have. We all want to be something in life. We all have a purpose it’s just finding the
Some people may look at a person with special needs and see disabilities. Some may feel nothing but sympathy, while others, through the lack of knowledge, overlook these amazing individuals completely. I am one of the lucky ones that not only has experienced having a person of special needs in their life, but to also have the insight to realize the impact of the life lessons that my friend Jeff Geis has taught me. Jeff, born with Down’s syndrome, has overcome obstacles in his life that most of us cannot even imagine. Doctors told his parents to put him in an institution when he was a baby, stating that they would never be able to teach him to walk, feed himself or even live past adolescence – he would be too much of a burden. Today at the age of 21, Jeff is a High School graduate, he is taking courses at State University, working a part-time job at Valley YMCA and a part-time job at his father’s firm. Not only has Jeffy accomplished the things that the “professionals” said that he would never be able to do – he has achieved these things, and more. Persons with intellectual disabilities have qualities that I can only aspire to: among them are their strong mind, strength and determination, optimistic and positive attitude and above all, their kindness and acceptance.
My attitude towards individuals with disabilities has changed a great amount. I myself was guilty of not using person first when talking about or even to an individual with disabilities. However, I now know that you should always think of them as a person. They are a person so why not look past the disability and appreciate them for the person they are.
I was born in 1998. In 2001 Isabella was born, then in 2004 Joshua came along. Both of them changed me in small ways, but they paled in comparison to how the sibling I got in 2008 changed me. My mother brought home Zachary when I was nine and he immediately had me wrapped around his little finger. Two years passed and everything took an unexpected turn when Zachary was diagnosed with autism.
It is important to realize that having a disability and working do not correspond together. In our new and improved society anybody who is disabled could still have a job, whether it is physically, mentally, or a combination of the two. ”Over and over again, I'd listen to someone's story of how back pain meant they could no longer work, or how a shoulder injury had put them out of a job. Then I would ask: What about a job where you don't have to lift things, or a job where you don't have to use your shoulder, or a job where you can sit down?”(Joffe-Walt). People have been taking advantage of the disability payroll system for years, and in our vision for society there should be stricter guidelines, which we plan to enforce. There are rules for a reason. If they aren't being followed then we should create higher standards than having a sore shoulder. People are taking away money that could be given to someone who truly needs it. “We should have both a physically and emotionally accessible environment “(Smith S.E.). When somebody is in a wheelchair, it would be hard to have a job that requires lifting. There are
I was born with a disability. Although I have done intensive physical therapy since I was small and have made significant improvements over the years, I find it difficult to do some things which most people take for granted. Until I was eleven, I needed a aide at school. I could not go shopping by myself, or stay at home alone for more than a few minutes.
I have always grown up in a more ‘normal’ setting and seeing people with disabilities was something that was rare to me. When I was younger, my thoughts on people with disabilities were that they could only be physically seen, nothing else (mentally, intellectually, etc.). As I reached middle school, I realized how broad the world is and how many ways people were affected by disabilities. Some of them led a more normal life and some have a harder time adjusting. Just seeing and reading how so many are affected and how harder it is for them really opened up my mind and allowed me to have a wider perception of how broad things are in the world.
There are numerous careers related to special needs, all of which require different schooling, training, mentorships, and other types of preparation. Any type of job working with children with mental and physical disabilities can be challenging but also very rewarding when one sees the child improve (Tyrer, 2007). Different types of careers affect special needs children in different ways. For example a teacher will help them thrive in school, while other careers may help the kids improve at home or in a public setting. Special needs workers should be creative, flexible, and personable to be able to meet the needs of the child and also provide useful information for the child’s parents. It is important for one to at least complete minimal required training so one will be fully prepared to work with a child with any type of delay. Often children in schools do not improve at a higher rate because their teacher may not have the necessary training to assist them (Marković, 2014). No matter what special needs career someone chooses, everyone should have one common goal: to help special needs children thrive. Marković from the article “Work with Kids with Special Needs” puts it perfectly when she states, “the main aim is that children with disabilities get the chance to grow, learn, and socialize with children with normal development, and that these children can adapt and learn together with children with special needs. In this way, they develop understanding, tolerance, and humanity” (Marković,