Combatting Ableism while Engaging with Individuals with Disabilities
In Socy 525, we learned about Mead’s ideas of social development. Mead argued that each individual learns to participate in social interactions in three steps. The first step is the preparatory stage, which involves imitation. We imitate those around us, such as our parents, siblings, or other close relationships. The second stage is the play stage, which involves pretend play and role playing. This can be seen through children playing house and pretending to be parents or teachers. The last stage is the game stage. In the game stage, we learn that individuals can play multiple roles, and we become concerned with how others perceive us. This involves developing a sense of 'self', and we are more comfortable in our senses of 'self' in social settings we have practiced. We do not only engage in imitation and play stages as children, instead, we can engage in these settings during new social situations as well. Because we have practiced these roles, we are comfortable engaging in them during the game stage. We may adjust our behavior depending upon the reaction of those around us, but we have practiced these roles and are confident in them. As my within the classroom artifact, I have attached a provocation I wrote while reading about various sociologists and their work on 'self', including Mead. This provocation is my initial interaction with the text, but it shows just how many aspects of our lives we can analyze for the impact of our social development.
Ableism is the discrimination in favor of able-bodied people. Often, this ableism is perpetuated due to a lack of interaction of typically-developing individuals with individuals with disabilities during the imitation and play stages of social development, which puts strain on these interactions during the game stage. To most clearly explain what I mean by this, I will contrast my employment with CarolinaLIFE, a college based, inclusive, certificate program for students with diverse learning needs at the University of South Carolina, with my experience as a counselor at a residential summer camp for individuals with intellectual disabilities with diverse support needs.
Unless sought out or due to a close relationship, children have very limited interaction with individuals with special needs. If we do not see interactions with these individuals in our primary socialization groups, we may not imitate this behavior. Further, we may not emulate these interactions in the game stage. When we enter the play stage and first encounter these interactions, maybe as teenagers, or young adults, or even later, it makes sense that these interactions may promote ableism, because proper and effective interaction was never practiced or learned.
At the residential summer camp, counselors are recruited through international programs that encourage young adults from Europe and Australia to work at summer camps in America. These programs allow people from outside of the USA to obtain visas to come to the USA, and after the camp ends, they can travel around the USA if they choose. Although programs like these are effective because they employ camps that may not otherwise be able to fill counselor positions, the external motive may impact the dedication some of these individuals have towards their campers. Further, many of these individuals have little to no experience with individuals with developmental disabilities before arriving at camp.
At camp, we had weekly staff meetings as well as an orientation. However, this setting involved two program superiors training over 70 staff members, many of which had no previous experience with individuals with disabilities. For this reason, many of these individuals spent little to no time in the imitation and play stages of these interactions, instead being thrown into the game stage. At the beginning of the summer, there was a distinct range of comfort and experience level working with this demographic among the counselors. There was a young man who had worked at camp for two summers and had a brother with autism spectrum disorder. His interactions with the campers always seemed natural and otherwise positive, and this is partly because he engaged in the imitation and play stages as a child with his brother. According to Mead, his participation in these interactions during the imitation and game stages of development would contribute to a more wholesome and natural execution of these interactions during the game stage. For those with less experience, there was often more common, unconscious perpetuation of ableism by many counselors. For example, two counselors would discuss a camper right in front of him or her. Despite not being able to respond, this camper could comprehend everything that was being said. Instances such as these can be damaging to the individual with disabilities, even if those who engage in these actions are not mal-intending. Although this is a seemingly harmless interaction, situations such as these make clear to the individual with disabilities that they are not viewed as equal, and they are often hurt or upset by the things said. Even worse, many are not able to express their emotions, which means that the individuals who engaged in these harmful actions are not even aware that they are harmful. counselors seemed to understand the capacity in which individuals with disabilities feel anger and love, use humor, and have prominent likes and dislikes. As the summer progressed, counselors who were previously inexperienced became more comfortable in game stage due to the length of time they engaged in these relationships. As these relationships grew stronger, counselors seemed to understand the capacity in which individuals with disabilities feel anger and love, use humor, and have prominent likes and dislikes. As a result, the perpetuation of ableism decreased.
CarolinaLIFE employs mostly graduate students pursuing a degree in special education or other individuals with experience in this field and a passion to work with individuals with disabilities. We are staffed in roles such as academic coach, employment specialist, independent living coach or personal development coach. Employees of CarolinaLIFE often have previous experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities, signifying that many of us previously participated in Mead’s imitation stage and play stage before reaching the game stage on the job. Training and continuous support from our superiors works to promote the stages as well. Each employee meets weekly with one of the three individuals in charge of the program, all of whom have graduate degrees in Special Education. Employees are held to a high standard of work and are closely monitored by our superiors. As my beyond the classroom artifact, I have attached the weekly data sheets I submit after working with one student in academic lab. My superiors read this and provide feedback about how I can make these lab sessions more effective, address any issues I may have, and otherwise provide support so that I can make the most out of my student's time during our sessions. We are trained in how to work with these individuals before beginning our positions. As far as I have seen, interactions between student and staff are fulfilling for both ends, and promote confidence, independence, and growth.
At CarolinaLIFE, all staff members have experience and training in the field and hold one another accountable for acting in a manner that promotes growth and equality. Of course, mistakes are made, but these are addressed, discussed, and there is a multifaceted interaction that contributes to an environment that consciously works to combat ableism. It may still be prevalent in some situations, but the support of scholars, teachers, and passionate individuals all working towards a common goal makes these interactions productive.
As I have learned through my various experiences with individuals with disabilities, interactions are more organic and perpetrates less ableism if the individuals engaging in these interactions have previous experience interacting with this demographic. Further, the support system and training in these situations also work to promote healthy relationships. The more interaction that we have with individuals with developmental disabilities, the more natural and productive these interactions will become. With the support of individuals who recognize what these interactions should look like and can provide support and development to make these interactions more productive and organic, individuals can continue to improve and involve less ableism. Unfortuantely, this is not always realistic. The residential summer camp probably cannot afford to hire a large staff to support counselors and help counselors combat the barriers to interact with those with developmental disabilities in a way that fosters equality and connection all of the time. These individuals grow naturally and these interactions become more productive as the individuals grow more comfortable in their roles and grow to know their campers as people rather than as ‘other’.
Unless sought out or due to a close relationship, children have very limited interaction with individuals with special needs. If we do not see interactions with these individuals in our primary socialization groups, we may not imitate this behavior. Further, we may not emulate these interactions in the game stage. When we enter the play stage and first encounter these interactions, maybe as teenagers, or young adults, or even later, it makes sense that these interactions may promote ableism, because proper and effective interaction was never practiced or learned.
At the residential summer camp, counselors are recruited through international programs that encourage young adults from Europe and Australia to work at summer camps in America. These programs allow people from outside of the USA to obtain visas to come to the USA, and after the camp ends, they can travel around the USA if they choose. Although programs like these are effective because they employ camps that may not otherwise be able to fill counselor positions, the external motive may impact the dedication some of these individuals have towards their campers. Further, many of these individuals have little to no experience with individuals with developmental disabilities before arriving at camp.
At camp, we had weekly staff meetings as well as an orientation. However, this setting involved two program superiors training over 70 staff members, many of which had no previous experience with individuals with disabilities. For this reason, many of these individuals spent little to no time in the imitation and play stages of these interactions, instead being thrown into the game stage. At the beginning of the summer, there was a distinct range of comfort and experience level working with this demographic among the counselors. There was a young man who had worked at camp for two summers and had a brother with autism spectrum disorder. His interactions with the campers always seemed natural and otherwise positive, and this is partly because he engaged in the imitation and play stages as a child with his brother. According to Mead, his participation in these interactions during the imitation and game stages of development would contribute to a more wholesome and natural execution of these interactions during the game stage. For those with less experience, there was often more common, unconscious perpetuation of ableism by many counselors. For example, two counselors would discuss a camper right in front of him or her. Despite not being able to respond, this camper could comprehend everything that was being said. Instances such as these can be damaging to the individual with disabilities, even if those who engage in these actions are not mal-intending. Although this is a seemingly harmless interaction, situations such as these make clear to the individual with disabilities that they are not viewed as equal, and they are often hurt or upset by the things said. Even worse, many are not able to express their emotions, which means that the individuals who engaged in these harmful actions are not even aware that they are harmful. counselors seemed to understand the capacity in which individuals with disabilities feel anger and love, use humor, and have prominent likes and dislikes. As the summer progressed, counselors who were previously inexperienced became more comfortable in game stage due to the length of time they engaged in these relationships. As these relationships grew stronger, counselors seemed to understand the capacity in which individuals with disabilities feel anger and love, use humor, and have prominent likes and dislikes. As a result, the perpetuation of ableism decreased.
CarolinaLIFE employs mostly graduate students pursuing a degree in special education or other individuals with experience in this field and a passion to work with individuals with disabilities. We are staffed in roles such as academic coach, employment specialist, independent living coach or personal development coach. Employees of CarolinaLIFE often have previous experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities, signifying that many of us previously participated in Mead’s imitation stage and play stage before reaching the game stage on the job. Training and continuous support from our superiors works to promote the stages as well. Each employee meets weekly with one of the three individuals in charge of the program, all of whom have graduate degrees in Special Education. Employees are held to a high standard of work and are closely monitored by our superiors. As my beyond the classroom artifact, I have attached the weekly data sheets I submit after working with one student in academic lab. My superiors read this and provide feedback about how I can make these lab sessions more effective, address any issues I may have, and otherwise provide support so that I can make the most out of my student's time during our sessions. We are trained in how to work with these individuals before beginning our positions. As far as I have seen, interactions between student and staff are fulfilling for both ends, and promote confidence, independence, and growth.
At CarolinaLIFE, all staff members have experience and training in the field and hold one another accountable for acting in a manner that promotes growth and equality. Of course, mistakes are made, but these are addressed, discussed, and there is a multifaceted interaction that contributes to an environment that consciously works to combat ableism. It may still be prevalent in some situations, but the support of scholars, teachers, and passionate individuals all working towards a common goal makes these interactions productive.
As I have learned through my various experiences with individuals with disabilities, interactions are more organic and perpetrates less ableism if the individuals engaging in these interactions have previous experience interacting with this demographic. Further, the support system and training in these situations also work to promote healthy relationships. The more interaction that we have with individuals with developmental disabilities, the more natural and productive these interactions will become. With the support of individuals who recognize what these interactions should look like and can provide support and development to make these interactions more productive and organic, individuals can continue to improve and involve less ableism. Unfortuantely, this is not always realistic. The residential summer camp probably cannot afford to hire a large staff to support counselors and help counselors combat the barriers to interact with those with developmental disabilities in a way that fosters equality and connection all of the time. These individuals grow naturally and these interactions become more productive as the individuals grow more comfortable in their roles and grow to know their campers as people rather than as ‘other’.
Within the Classroom Artifact: Provocation with initial reaction to sociologists discussing the concept of 'self' in Socy 525
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Beyond the Classroom Artifact: Academic Lab Data Sheet submitted for CarolinaLIFE
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