Sam Dawson Case Study

The thought that having a mental disorder or disability keeps you from being able to live a happy life is widely believed. Sam Dawson proves that a person with a mental disability is capable of loving and being happy but not necessarily capable of taking care of a child. Mr. Dawson needs help for himself and is unable to care for a child in his mental state. His mental disability may not affect his ability to feel but it does affect his ability to provide for his daughter so she is safe and well cared for. Mr. Dawson is incapable of taking care of his daughter because he is mentally disabled, financially incapable, and socially incapable to care for her correctly. If Sam Dawson truly wants the best for his daughter Lucy, he will give her to

First of all, Mr. Dawson is mentally disabled and incapable of understanding and providing his daughter with her needs. On the FindLaw website a checklist can be found that states the “Ground Rules for Terminating Parental Rights”. The fifth on the list says “Long-term mental illness of parent.” This example itself is enough to take Sam’s custody of Lucy. Mr. Dawson does not have the mental capacity to understand or care for his daughter. One example is when he failed to show up on time to visit his daughter and multiple times failed to appear. This caused Lucy to be upset and mad. She believed that her father didn’t care for her. After putting his daughter through the pain of being separated from her father, her own father failed to comfort her and assure her that she is loved. Mr. Dawson can hardly take care of himself or deal with his own feelings. He

Dawson cannot care for his daughter properly because he is socially incapable. Sam Dawson, in a way, lives in a world of his own. He primarily talks to his fellow disabled friends and his daughter. Mr. Dawson does not usually understand what is being said by other people. This can cause problems while Mr. Dawson is raising Lucy. How do you expect Mr. Dawson to talk to Lucy’s teachers? He is incapable of understanding past the intelligence of a seven year old. When Lucy gets older and her schooling becomes more difficult it will become harder for Mr. Dawson to understand academically, what Lucy needs help with. One example is when Mr. Dawson was looking for a lawyer. He asked Miss Rita Williams to be his lawyer to which she said she would ask a friend of her. When Sam comes back, out of pity and peer pressure Miss Williams says that she had already agreed to be Mr. Dawson’s lawyer. Mr. Dawson was manipulated into thinking that he had misunderstood her, just so Rita Williams could look good in front of her friends. Another example is when Mr. Dawson was working at Starbucks. He spilled coffee all over a lady and did not realize his mistake. She quickly got mad at him while he told her her coffee was a good choice. Sam Dawson does not process other people's emotions; therefore, he is unable to understand his daughter’s emotions well. Yet another example is