“I am Sam” (2002) is an inspiring melodrama of Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a young man with developmental disabilities and a single father to Lucy (Dakota Fanning). While the film did not specify the specific condition, it is believed that Sam had a mental capacity of a 7 year old. Sam and Lucy lived a comfortable independent life at a small apartment and were surrounded by supportive friends who also had developmental disabilities. Sam was able to raise and provide a loving and safe environment for Lucy until one day Sam found himself in a courtroom fighting to regain custody of Lucy who was taken away because he was believed to be incapable of raising a 7 year old girl who has a higher mental capacity than him. This movie is truly inspirational, …show more content…
He’s emotional capacity is surprisingly higher than most people with cognitive impairment. He executes his role as a father and executes it well. If I were to incorporate the client-centered approach when working with a person with disability just like Sam, I would choose would be those tasks that hold the most meaning to them. Uniquely for Sam, considering he takes his role as the father to Lucy very seriously, his work, which is his source of income, and his circle of friends, it would only be appropriate to integrate all these roles into his treatment. By blending all these areas of interest, Sam would be motivated to forth his best effort. The same concept is also applied to other individuals with other physical or mental disability. Client-centered approached emphasizes the importance of occupational priorities and other activities that defines the person. Mentally and physically disabled individuals would take advantage with the social interventions, mobility adaptation and accommodation, day programs that is going to teach them life skills. Socialization. I believe that social skills allow the person to learn and expand the way he/she looks at the world. For people with mental disability like Sam or even those who have physical disability, socialization plays a pivotal role on how they deal with their physical and mental limitations. Social skills are closely associated with language and communication. With that said, integrating socialization does not only help them cope and learn proper social interactions but teach them ways to effectively communicate as
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
Development of social skills is very important for children that are diagnosed with autism because of ...
Chapter thirteen has two subject matter that it discusses in some detail, mental illness and developmental disabilities. This review will be exploring the history, philosophy and theories of developmental disabilities. Social workers come in contact with many clients that have developmental disabilities, and the chapter gives a glimpse the history, problems, and theories related to developmental problems. Chapter thirteen explores the issues of dealing with developmental disabilities in the past and what is being done today to help social workers face the issues.
Baker, J. (2003). Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communcation Problems. Shawnee Mission: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.
Indira graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Masters in Special Education in 2003. She works with mentally challenged youth to help them gain the skills necessary for a better life. She told me that children with disorders such as schizophrenia and autism never gain proper skills to lead their lives on their own, but they are very social and they know how to draw, play and communicate with other kids their age, the basic skills of a child. Children with disorders like ADHD and Bipolarity Disorder come to Frest School to learn how to cope with the disorder and lead a normal everyday life.
field trip. In the movie there are nine kids that are focused on and what there disability is. There is
needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in
Being able to interact with other people is a topic covered in great detail in her book. While she has gotten better at doing so, there was a time when she had much more difficulty. “When I was a teenager,” Grandin says, “I was aware that I did not fit in socially” (2006, p. 74). Many people with ASD can relate to this sentiment. Grandin endured painful teasing from others (2006, p. 90) who did not understand her and thought she was weird. However, over time, things improved for Grandin as she learned how to successfully interact with other people. Others with ASD can overcome people’s narrow-minded viewpoints and learn to successfully interact with others, just as Grandin
What is the difference between social competence and social skills? Social competence is the condition of possessing the social, emotional, and intellectual skills and behaviors needed to succeed as a member of society. Social skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. Both components are essential/beneficial, allowing a person to have a set of skills needed for social interaction, however a problem occurring today is the lack of these skills in special needs students. Students with disabilities have difficulties establishing relationships and/or expressing their feelings. These students can gain social competence and social skills through the creation of an efficient learning environment and demonstration of the development of interaction and affective &
When a disability is thrown into the mix, it becomes a daunting task for both the educator and the student. With certain elements of teaching, creating a more approachable environment is easily obtained. "Anthropological evidence has shown that, in many cultures, observational learning and imitation are the major ways by which behaviors unique to that culture are transmitted from one generation to the next." (Salkind, 2006) Using this skill is a part of Vygotsky's teaching tools: mediation. Mediation is a good skill used for older children and adolescents because of the peer to peer environment. Although, some students have a more difficult time adjusting to these situations due to a certain disability. "Children with autism, for example, have imitative deficits and imitate much less frequently than typically developing children." (Salkind,
One of the most difficult things teachers will face when dealing with Autistic children is their lack of communication skills and inappropriate or nonexistent social skills. In addition to academic instruction children with Autism require instruction in communication techniques and social skills. Kamps et.al. says “A key to accommodating students with autism in public school settings is the provision of social and behavioral programming to develop meaningful participation with nondisabled persons” (p.174).
The problem not only affects the family’s life but it also affects the child’s ability to learn and be productive at school. Children requires a lot of attention and love on a daily basis, however, having a child that has a disability requires extra attention and love because they are trying to understand the world through a different set of lens. This could become a problem especially if there are multiple children in the household. In often cases, the amount of attention that the parents give to the child in need obstruct the family dynamic because of the pa...
This lesson is designed to review and reinforce a few important concepts about plants (e.g. Needs, parts, sequence of planting) and to also guide the students through applying a few scientific inquiry (e.g. Making observations, experimentation, discussion, reflection, reporting results etc.). The students have previously planted corn and bean seeds and today’s lesson has provided the students a chance to see the results of the planted corn and bean seeds. Additionally, seeds have been planted under and growing under the following conditions: without water, and without soil. The students see the results of these seeds planted under these conditions for the past week. Two plants in particular have already been grown their growth has been
One's dream and aspirations to supersede in life must be stronger and greater than limitations set forth by others. The experience that were bestowed to me during my short life has elevated me to the woman I am today. Please walk with me as I give you the opportunity to see the world from my eyes: