Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Wasting Time?
I had the occasional staff person who would finally admit that they thought we were wasting our time trying to teach anything to some of our "lower functioning" clients. "They don't understand what we're saying," the knowledgeable staff person would assure me, "and they're never going to get it." For one reason or another, those staff people didn't last very long with us.
Granted: We are not going to "cure" anyone of their developmental disability.
But, I would ask them, at what point in your life did someone else decide that you had learned all that you were capable of learning and decide that there was no point in engaging you in anything anymore?
We are not trying to cure anyone of anything. We are trying to help individuals learn as many skills as they can in order to live as self sufficient life as possible. That may not be much; but if an individual could eventually learn to use ASL or some adaptive sign to let people know that they need to go to the bathroom instead of throwing things across the room, isn't that a good thing for that individual? Does it matter how long it takes the individual to learn that skill? Who are we to decide that, "Well, I've spent enough time on you trying to teach you that. I'm done." What about the individual who could benefit from what you can teach them?
Wasting time? Hey, I've got lots of time to help someone who can use my help. Patience is our (those of us who support people with developmental disabilities) greatest asset. I still remember the day when one of our clients got up in front of staff and peers and announced that she had taken the public transit bus from one town to another all by herself for the first time in her life. We all broke into applause for her achievement.
Does the person who finally "gets it" and pushes the automatic door opener for the first time on their own deserve any less? Or the person who finally "gets it" and signs that they need to go to the bathroom?
Patience is never wasted time.
Granted: We are not going to "cure" anyone of their developmental disability.
But, I would ask them, at what point in your life did someone else decide that you had learned all that you were capable of learning and decide that there was no point in engaging you in anything anymore?
We are not trying to cure anyone of anything. We are trying to help individuals learn as many skills as they can in order to live as self sufficient life as possible. That may not be much; but if an individual could eventually learn to use ASL or some adaptive sign to let people know that they need to go to the bathroom instead of throwing things across the room, isn't that a good thing for that individual? Does it matter how long it takes the individual to learn that skill? Who are we to decide that, "Well, I've spent enough time on you trying to teach you that. I'm done." What about the individual who could benefit from what you can teach them?
Wasting time? Hey, I've got lots of time to help someone who can use my help. Patience is our (those of us who support people with developmental disabilities) greatest asset. I still remember the day when one of our clients got up in front of staff and peers and announced that she had taken the public transit bus from one town to another all by herself for the first time in her life. We all broke into applause for her achievement.
Does the person who finally "gets it" and pushes the automatic door opener for the first time on their own deserve any less? Or the person who finally "gets it" and signs that they need to go to the bathroom?
Patience is never wasted time.
