Tag: Autism

Holly Robinson Peete’s Reality Show Casts a Refreshing Perspective on People with Disabilities

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

As a tween, I remember watching Holly Robinson Peete on the television show “21 Jump Street”. Later, she appeared on “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper”. Who would’ve thought she would use her celebrity many years later to advocate for Autism and people with disabilities? When I heard about her going into Reality television, I wasn’t sure what her message would be, or how it would impact different aspects of awareness of people with disabilities.

In her reality show, “Meet the Peete’s”, which airs on the Hallmark Channel, we get an in depth look at her family life. What is most refreshing about the show is that her family puts real-life issues they face daily in the public eye. Although her son was diagnosed with Autism at an early age, he’s just an everyday young adult on the show. Honestly, that wasn’t very surprising to me at all, and made me feel good for many reasons. That includes having a job and navigating a social life. At the beginning of trying to watch the show, it isn’t clear what spin they were going to put on his diagnosis.  It’s refreshing to see that they have incorporated appropriate mechanisms to help him achieve his goals, while leading a very full life. This perspective helps dispel some myths about being a person with a disability. One stereotype the show addresses is that people may think people with disabilities don’t or can’t contribute to different aspects of society. The show illustrates how planning and being familiar with different services relieves any concerns of how to make different goals attainable.

This isn’t to say there aren’t hardships that are faced even when the cameras are off but, let’s face it, what family doesn’t face one sort of obstacle or another at one time or another? The feeling of life, unity, love and family runs through the veins of the show from start to finish. It’s a great demonstration that living with a family member who has limitations isn’t the end of the world, and that it shouldn’t have a negative connotation at all. It also comes at a great time when there’s a general sense of heightened awareness about people with disabilities

Because I’ve used this platform before to talk about the importance of disability in the media, I think this is a great time to highlight how this show is different from what has come before. This show accomplishes the goal from a different perspective and has a different flavor. It shines a positive light on living with a disability. It doesn’t show her son as being treated differently from other family members in any way. They’re also starting conversations such as living independently and even navigating different kinds of relationships in front of the viewers eyes. At the same time, it’s important to note there may be an air of uneasiness that surfaces when discussing these issues within families in general. However, it’s extremely important to recognize that these subjects need to be approached with open communication so that, whatever obstacle might come about in achieving each goal, there are ways to find viable solutions together. Perhaps part of the difficulty in starting the conversation is not knowing how certain subjects should be approached.  Another concern may be what to do if answers aren’t readily available. Simply knowing where to look for answers may also cause some anxiety to families but, Meet the Peete’s lets other families know they’re not alone in navigating this journey.

Increased awareness and sensitivity is shown not only by the family, but also by the Hallmark Channel which broadcasts the show. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the show, I highly recommend searching it out in your area. It truly has something for everyone who watches the show, regardless of whether your life is touched by someone who lives with a disability.

Thanks for reading..

cr

http://people.com/health/holly-robinson-peete-son-autism-diagnosis-life-now/

 

 

 

 

Teacher Assaults Autistic Boy

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

As parents, we expect when we send our kids to school, they’re in good hands. After seeing a story on the news earlier this week, I was completely shocked about the subject of the report. A teacher had been caught on video assaulting a student with Autism.

When I started looking into the subject a bit more, I found out that unfortunately, this wasn’t an isolated incident. I’ve posted before on how students with disabilities experience more bullying by their peers than their non-disabled counterparts. What didn’t occur to me, until now, was the possibility that maybe the person bullying the student could actually be the teacher, and not other students.

Obviously, there’s no excuse for this behavior. It’s a shame that those we entrust with our kids feel they can use their position of trust and power in such a negative way. I feel the Superintendent of the school did the right thing by firing the teacher. Although the School Board reinstated her, I’m hoping the new investigation being conducted will result in the appropriate action to protect all children at the school, especially those with a disability.

I’ve had the pleasure to volunteer my time years ago at a local Middle School and realize the majority of teachers who take on the job genuinely care about their students. Although I’m not sure how, an extra safeguard should be implemented in the education field to ensure the people entrusted with the safety and well-being of our kids on a daily basis are doing exactly that. As a result, the kids can focus on learning instead of the physical abuse their teacher might inflict on them if they misbehave.

For more information check out the following link:

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/9-investigates-teacher-accused-assaulting-special-/ngPHN/

Thanks for reading..

cr

Autistic Boy and the Letter

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Earlier this week, I heard something about an Autistic boy and a letter.  Today, I had the chance to sit down and read the letter.  Let me first say, that I was horrified by the message the letter sends to the parents of this child.  I’m fully aware that there’s unfortunately prejudice and discrimination still alive and well against people who are disabled, but, I really can’t believe the nerve someone would have to actually express their feelings in writing and for the whole world to see.

The pure hate that’s expressed in the letter is reprehensible to say the least.  Kudos though, goes out to the neighborhood that has rallied behind this child and his parents.  As I’ve said before, everyone deserves to experience life to the fullest extent possible.  In particular, I really don’t appreciate how the person states that no one would love, marry, or employ their child and that their body parts should be donated to science.

I’m truly saddened for the author of this letter because they have this point of view on others around them.  I was watching Steve Harvey the other day and he was saying that people should do positive things instead of negative ones, especially when using platforms like the Internet to let their voices be heard.  I’m taking the example of this horrible letter and asking that people remember that we’re all people with feelings and emotions and should be treated with the respect and dignity we deserve, not like some object that can’t feel anything.

Thanks for reading..

cr

To read more about this story go to the following link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/karla-begley-autistic-letter-teen_n_3780378.html

The Oscars Celebrate People with Disabilities

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

Tonight is one of Hollywood’s biggest nights – The Academy Awards. This week, I started thinking about how many of these most prestigious awards have been given out to movies about people with different disabilities.

From true stories like “My Left Foot” to depictions like “Rain Main”, these movies have gained the highest praise the movie industry has to offer.  In my opinion, they’ve also made people with disabilities a little more relatable.  That’s  because they’ve shown them in real-life situations that can happen to anyone.  Each movie also showed what the person would do in response to their surroundings.  Though there were a handful of movies that depicted disability in some way, shape or form, I’ve chosen three to talk about in today’s post.

“My Left Foot” is the story of a man named Christy Brown.  The movie shows how he lived his life with the use of only his left foot due to Cerebral Palsy.  When “My Left Foot” was in theaters  I was surprised to see the story of someone’s life with Cerebral Palsy being shown in the movies.  It was one of those times where I felt like C.P. was being shown not as something that’s contagious (as some kids used to say) but, something that was meant to be overlooked.  It helped emphasize that people should focus on the actual person instead of what they weren’t able to do.

“Rain Man” may have been the first time that someone with Autism was depicted on the “silver screen”.  One of the reasons that I chose to list it here is because in the movie, although his brother didn’t know that he existed, when he found out about him and started interacting with him, Raymond showed that despite his disability, he was an intelligent person.  I feel like this movie  helped dispel the myth that a person who is disabled can’t be intelligent.

There’s also the movie “I Am Sam” which starred Sean Penn.   This movie is about a father with a developmental disability that’s trying to keep custody of his daughter after they’re abandoned by her mother.  Although it didn’t win an Academy Award, it showed the struggle that people with disabilities sometimes face in order to keep custody of their children.

Oscar night is always exciting, even if you’re just watching from the comfort of your own home.  It’s also refreshing to know that it’s filled with great diversity.

What is your favorite Academy Award winning movie?

Thanks for reading..

cr

The Many Benefits of a Service Animal

by caste551, posted in Uncategorized

As I started writing this post, I did not realize that different organizations sometimes use different names for the assistance their service animals provide to the recipients.  In my list below, I tried to find the most common name used by the general public. 

When I think of service animals, I usually think about dogs assisting those who are visually impaired.  Today there are many different ways that dogs and other kinds of animals help those who live with different disabilities.  Here are the 5 most interesting ways I think service animals help their owners live a more independent life. :

1. Seizure Alert Dog– These dogs can be trained to get help for their owner when they are about to have a seizure.  They can also be trained to get a person’s medicine or be a comfort to the person while they recover from the seizure.

2. Psychiatric Service Dog– These dogs help Veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as people with other mental health issues.  They can provide a calming effect in different situations and be trained to complete other tasks based on the needs of the owner.

3. Mobility Service Dog– These dogs help their owners by opening doors or getting at items their owner cannot reach, in some cases, bringing that item to them.  They can also be trained to turn lights on and off.

4. Autism Service Dog– These dogs can help the owner take notice of important sounds like a door bell or smoke alarm.  The owner  can then focus on the most important situation and take action.  They can also help distract the owner from overstimulation.

5. Facility Dogs– These dogs work with a health care professional or teacher in an educational setting.  They remind me of therapy dogs that are brought by handlers to visit patients in the hospital.   They work  with someone who does not live with them in their home.  Facility dogs can help with such things as motivating the student or patient to interact in particular situations.  The dogs also provide encouragement to the people who come into contact with them.

For more information please visit the following websites:

www.cci.org

http://www.mentalhealthdogs.org/Psychiatric-Service-Dogs.html

http://4pawsforability.org/seizure-assistance-dog/

http://pawsitivesolutions.org/

http://www.vetsfwd.org/site/index.php

Thanks for reading..

cr