The "Problem" That''s Not Going Anywhere

On Monday, we covered Mental Institutions in Disability Studies class. We talked about in the early 1900s and even earlier, there were places where people with disabilities and illnesses people couldn't understand or deal with were slumped together. These places were known as "Asylums for Idiots". The most populated location was in Orillia, and there was even one here in London Ontario. Every parents of disabled or ill children, world be convinced that if they were placed in these asylums, they would be rehabilitated and no longer a problem to society The caretakers would  delegate them into intelligence groups like Idiots, and Insane.  The residents were subjected to religious practices under the pretense that they would result in positive changes.  The government reports would indicate that the conditioners in which the residents were living were top-notch, but they were overpopulated, and the activities that supposedly were part of the "healing" process were producing nothing but blank stares. I realize that in the past people were less educated, and their  intentions were good, but the system was very flawed. My teacher ended the lecture by saying how far we've come, and that those attrocities have ceased to exist... I beg to differ!

They come in a different form! People aee much more educated in illnesses and disabilities than in earlier centuries, but not everybody involved in the fields puts it to good use. I have, for thr most part, a good set of workers. However, there are some that you can instantly tell are in the job for the wrong reasons. The most common being that the job is easy... WRONG! The job is so far from easy, that if you better quit while you'e ahead!  It's unfortunate, because these people usually have good intentions, but then they get  scared by the most essential needs like using the bathroom and taking showers. This often results in uncleanliness and infection, which can lead to worse.Some people take the job forgetting that it is self directed care. No matter how many times you tell them that a task is done one way, they'll do it how they see fit. I know not every helper or caretaker is like that, and top of the hat to those ones; but this is nearly 2013, we live emong society because we are a part of it. We are not an easy job, we are not a problem, and we are NOT going anywhere!


Karli