Assignment 5
Adaptations That Facilitate an Individual with Cerebral Palsy and Other Intellectual Disabilities to Be Able to Function More Independently
Intellectual disability refers to the neurodevelopmental disorder that affects an individual’s intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour. People suffering from this disability often face challenges with reasoning, problem solving and learning. They also experience difficulties surrounding practical and social skill, making it a problem to interact with people. Cerebral palsy and down syndrome are among the conditions that fall into this category.
Individuals with this intellectual disability need training on self-care skills, to help them function independently in their daily life. One of the most crucial adaptations that I observed was speech training, through pronunciation of simple words and the use of actions such as pointing and naming certain items. The children could follow directions from their instructors and take note of different alphabets and numbers, an improvement from their initial classes as evident on various chart scores.
Listening skills were also developed, where the children listened to stories and took part in conversations between themselves and the teacher. In this given exercise, the instructors took aside each child, taking time to explain what various communication tools meant, such as hand shaking. Individual participation meant that each child got enough time to learn various adaptive and coping methods. These forms of communication were mainly facilitated through the use of technology, where the children used various fun programs to learn names of objects and their spellings.
I also observed the integration of physical activities into the individuals daily living, both the children and adults alike. The children walked and played around, a crucial activity that helps develop their motor coordination skills for proper movement. Those who still had difficulty in walking, used support systems, and were escorted by their respective instructors to avoid any injuries. It also kept them engaged, as they often talked while at the same time stretched their limbs. A combination of these two activities builds their coordination skills, which comes in handy later on in life. Moreover, it builds their focus on multiple avenues, a trait that prepares them to handle tasking work.
There were also leisure activities to help the adults and older children learn about transportation. It provided them with a unique experience of the outdoor life, an essential aspect in their integration into community life. The outdoor exposure would also come in handy in building their social and interactive skills. Additionally, viewing the outside world reduces the likelihood of a culture shock, that is often evident in people with intellectual disability. The new sounds, noises and sceneries helps them get acquainted to nature, which will be an everyday spectacle in their life afterwards.
Art was also an important adaptation, to help realize and develop various talents in the individuals. The use of talents, would help them make a living; hence be financially independent in the future.
Some of the older adults also had work attachments with nearby companies that gave them opportunities to experience real life corporate work. Such ventures equip them with the resilience needed to function in a normal work environment. It equally exposes them to problems and experiences at the work places, to test and build their problem-solving capabilities. They are also able to practice their social skills, thereby identifying any development gaps that should be assessed by the instructors. These skills are important in promoting independence, as it would train them on self-development and help them achieve self-esteem. The last activity that I observed was the stimulation of senses such as vision, hearing and touching, through various technological advances. These exercises develop organizational skills, promote hygiene, as well as improving their speed in everyday activities, which are essential aspects necessary for independent living.
My Emotional Reactions to The Experience at UCP And My Reactions to Charisse’s Video
I went though a period of self-reflection that made me to be grateful since I was able to take part in a life changing experience with the individuals experiencing intellectual disability. It also taught me to always be patient with them that may be going through such conditions. The parents talked of their early experiences with their children, most of them admitting that they could not understand their kid’s needs. It made me feel remorseful, since the parents could not establish a connection with their children and communication with them, especially at the infancy stage.
Some of them described other people’s negative attitude towards them, which angered me. Children are meant to be protected, not just by their parents but the community at large. The experience served as an awareness tool that gave me an understanding of the difficulties that some individuals face, thereby inspiring me to pursue a career that advocates for disability rights. It also pushed me to sign up for volunteer programs that care for intellectually disabled clients, both for the young children and the elderly. These programs would enable me gather more information on the whole patient care targeting various patient care needs, from their health to their spiritual well-being as well. In so doing, I would be in a better position to also educate my fellow classmates on the challenges, technological advances and maintenance methods for such patients. I now desire to invest and promote technological advances for easy communication with cerebral palsy patients.
How These Two Experiences Will Impact My Future Practice
The experiences have shown me that more work needs to be done to ease the struggle for individuals with intellectual disability. They showed me that healthcare givers need better support, in the financial, spiritual and technological areas. There also needs to be better legislation surrounding these health issues, a move which would create awareness on challenges faced by these individuals. The experiences were however shocking, since they presented a gender gap in the number of men versus women in this particular health issue. There were more female parents in the children’s lives as opposed to the male guardians. It led to a clear conclusion that the women were the active caregivers for the intellectually disabled than male counterparts.
Additionally, there should also be better health care and affordable facilities that help the parents and the community struggling with such patients. I, thereby, intend to delve into intellectual disability studies for recreational purposes. My future practice needs to provide all stakeholders such as the patients, guardians and heath care givers at large with the necessary equipment to ease the burden of intellectual disability. I intend to achieve this through better education and exercises targeting the needs of the clients starting from the infant stage well to the elderly age bracket.