Добавил:
ivanov666
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз:
Предмет:
Файл:США. Этические проблемы. Учебное пособие на английском языке.pdf
Individuals with cognitive disabilities, to some degree, are unable
intellectually to grasp concepts and function as well and as quickly as
their peers. It is estimated that between 2.5 and 3 percent of people
have cognitive disabilities; however, if people’s level of adaptive
functioning is also considered, the number is probably closer to 1
percent.
A learning disability is a disorder in one or more basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or using language,
which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think,
speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematic calculations. A learning
disability is different from either cognitive disability or emotional
disturbance. Rather, learning disabilities entail a breakdown in
processing information. Difficulties involve either absorbing
information in the first place or subsequently using this information to
communicate. Both cognitive disabilities and learning disabilities are
considered developmental disabilities.
Learning disabilities involve problems in processing. A number of
possible processing problems that interfere with an individual’s ability
to use language result in a learning disability. One involves the
inability to grasp the meanings of words or how words relate to each
other in terms of grammatical position.
A second processing problem related to language acquisition and
usage concerns auditory processing difficulties. Some children have
trouble paying attention to what is being said; the problem concerns
being able to focus on the sounds most important in conveying
meaning. Other children have trouble discriminating between one
sound and another. For example, instead of hearing the word “bed”, a
child may hear the word “dead”. The result is confusion for the child
and difficulty in understanding and following instructions. Still other
children have trouble recalling what has been said in the correct
sequence. This also makes it difficult to follow instructions correctly.
They cannot understand the proper order in which they are supposed
to do things. These children have special difficulties in remembering
content in a series format (for example, months of the year).
271
A third processing problem concerning language is demonstrated
by children who have trouble saying what they mean or would like to
say. Sometimes this involves problems with grammar. Other children
may have difficulty remembering the words they would like to say.
Still others have trouble telling a story so that it makes sense or
describing an event or situation so that the listener can understand it.
Learning disabilities can also be involved in visual perception
problems in which children have difficulty seeing things as they really
are. Some children have problems understanding spatial relationships.
They might see items or symbols reserved. They might also judge
distances between one item and another inaccurately.
Other children find it difficult to complete tasks involving motor
coordination. Fine motor coordination refers to the ability to control
the more precise muscular movements such as those performed by the
hands. Gross motor coordination involves controlling larger
movements of the body such as walking or running. Children with fine
motor processing problems may have exceptionally poor handwriting
or drawing skills. Those with gross motor involvement may be clumsy
or inaccurate in sports activities.
Still another processing problem demonstrated in some children
with learning disabilities concern memory and recall. Such children
find it difficult to remember accurately what they have seen or heard.
They commonly misspell words and forget where they placed objects.
Learning disabilities may psychologically affect children in several
ways. They include fear of failure, withdrawal, helplessness, and low
self-esteem reactions.
Children with learning disabilities often become experts in failure.
Through no fault of their own, they are unable to learn or do things the
way other children can. Some children may fail in school or in sports
so frequently that they no longer will attempt new things. They begin
to assume that no matter what they do, they will just fail anyway. This
fear of failure reaction often results in almost the complete avoidance
of new experiences. Because the child refuses to take any new risks,
potential progress is halted.
272
Other children take the fear of failure reaction a step further. Not
only do they avoid new experiences, but they withdraw into
themselves. This is called withdrawal reaction. People and activities
seem to have caused them only failure and humiliation in the past. The
safest alternative then is to withdraw into themselves. To a limited
extent, this may be a healthy means of coping. However, in extreme
cases children may isolate themselves and become totally preoccupied
with their own thoughts.
The helpless reaction is another means of responding to a learning
disability. Children may use the fact that they cannot do some things
in order to get out of doing other things they are capable of doing. The
vague and complicated nature of learning disabilities does not help
this situation. For example, a mother may ask her daughter to do her
homework. The daughter responds, “Gee, Mom, I don’t know how.”
The daughter’s learning disability involves reading. Her homework is
an arithmetic assignment which she has no more difficulty completing
than her peers. However, because of her learning disability, the
daughter is perceived as being helpless in her mother’s eyes. As a
result, the mother does not make the daughter do her homework.
Another possible reaction of a child with learning disabilities is
that of low self-esteem. These children are likely to see other children
do other things they cannot. Perhaps others make critical comments to
them. Teachers and parents may show at least some impatience and
frustration at the children’s inability to understand or perform in the
areas affected by their learning disabilities. These children are likely
to internalize their failures. The result may be that they feel inferior to
others, and they may develop low self-esteem.
Educational treatment for children with learning disabilities
focuses on designing an individualized special education program for
the child to emphasize strength and minimize weaknesses.
Educating both the child with a learning disability and those
around that person can help all involved understand what the disability
entails and modify their expectations accordingly. Individual and
family counseling may improve communication and increase family
members’ understanding of how others view the disability. It can also
273
help them develop problem-solving strategies to improve a child’s
behavior and cope with interpersonal irritations.
Some Developmental Disabilities
autism
cerebral palsy
orthopedic problems
hearing problems
epilepsy
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What is mental retardation or cognitive disability?
2. What is a learning disability? In what way is it different from
cognitive disability?
3. What are the effects of learning disability on children?
4. What is done in the U.S. to help people with disabilities?
5. Compare the attitude towards people with disabilities in Russia
and the U.S.
TEXT 4
I’M A SINGLE MOM
AND FOUR OF MY BOYS ARE AUTISTIC
Jacqui Jackson stared at her three-year-old son in horror. Ben had
knocked his head against the wall and was crouching on the floor.
Blood was pouring from his nose.
But whereas most toddlers would be screaming out for their
mother, Ben just laughed hysterically. And when Jacqui ran to help
him, he didn’t even notice her.
With a jolt Jacqui realized that Ben’s crazed laughter, distance and
reaction to pain were symptoms of autism. Jacqui knew the signs —
because three of her seven children already had autism-related
disorders.
274
“When I realized Ben was autistic, I cried for four days,” recalls
Jacqui, 39. “But I was so busy with the other children that I didn’t
have time to think it was unfair.”
Jacqui’s dedication to all of her children is admirable. She’s a
single mom, and copes with her family alone. She separated from the
children’s father in 1998.They drifted apart and now have no contact.
Jacqui’s problems began when her eldest son, Matthew, now 19,
was a toddler. He wrote backwards and couldn’t read. Aged nine, he
was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia, which means he has
difficulty in coordinating movements and needs structure to feel
secure.
Autism is rare, affecting around 20 people in every 10,000. It is
three times more common in boys than girls, which helps to explain
why Jacqui’s three daughters, Rachel, 17, Sarah, 16, and Anna, 13;
don’t have learning difficulties. But her other sons, Luke, 14, Joe, ten,
and Ben, now six, all have forms of autism.
Luke has Asperger’s syndrome. He struggles to read facial
expressions and to look people in the eye. He loves talking about
computers, but can’t tell when he is boring someone. He can also be
obsessive.
Although autism isn’t proven to be hereditary Jacqui decided not to
have more children. But the following year she accidentally fell
pregnant with Anna. Despite using contraception, she fell pregnant
with Joe two years later.
Joe has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), “He rarely
sleeps and runs everywhere,” says Jacqui. “He can’t understand risks
and wouldn’t hesitate to run into the road. He hoards people’s
belongings, can’t concentrate for long, and he doesn’t know when he’s
being rude.”
Jacqui continued to use contraception, but had another accident
when Ben was conceived in 1996. “I was frightened there would be
something wrong,” she says. “But every child deserves a chance of
life.”
Ben was diagnosed with autism three years ago. “At first doctors
thought he had cerebral palsy,” she says. “He couldn’t lift his legs or
walk.”
275
“His symptoms were different to the others so I didn’t realize,” she
explains. “But when I found him covered in blood and laughing,
everything clicked."”
Ben’s diagnosis left Jacqui distraught. “My other children were just
different, but Ben didn’t acknowledge me,” says Jacqui. “I feared he’d
always be locked in his own world.”
That week Jacqui researched autism. “I found a theory that dairy
products and gluten had adverse effects on autistic children,” she says.
But as soon as she removed bread from his diet, he began to crave it.
Ironically, he spoke his first words that week: “I want bread please.”
Jacqui also put Luke and Joe on the diet. They became calmer and
better at communicating. Ben’s speech has improved and he’s learned
to walk. He now interacts with his family and attends a special school.
Life in the Jackson household is chaotic ad exhausting, but the
family help each other. The girls look after their brothers, and Jacqui
commitment is incredible! Most mothers would сrасk under the strain.
Her day starts at 3.30 am, when Ben wakes her up. She takes him to
play on the computer, then checks on Joe, who often creeps around at
night.
As the children wake Jacqui prepares breakfast, packed lunches
and uniforms. She drives Joe to school and the others get the bus.
Jacqui spends the day doing chores and cooking gluten-free meals.
The children return home after three, and she feeds the boys before
preparing normal food for the girls.
Bedtime is the nightmare time for Jacqui. Ben has a strict bedtime
routine and if it isn’t followed he will work himself into a frenzy.
“A normal child can be distracted from a tantrum, but an autistic
child can’t,” explains Jacqui. “Before he’ll sleep, Ben has to watch a
video, drink tea out of a Tweenies cup, listen to a story and then eat a
couple of peaches. He also needs two circular yellow dummies. Once
I had to drive out and buy them at two in the morning.”
It takes Jacqui three hours to get Luke to bed. “He also has a
routine,” she says. “He’ll return to the kitchen repeatedly to hug me,
then to get a drink and his bag.”
“Catching Joe is the hardest. Just when I think he’s gone to sleep,
I’ll find him dismantling the bathroom taps.”
276
Jacqui locks the house up and keeps the keys under her pillow. The
kitchen and medicine cupboards are also locked and alarmed, in case
the children eat the wrong food or swallow medication.
As well as monitoring the children Jacqui has to watch what she
says. “The boys take phrases literally,” she explains.
”If I used the expression ‘he laughed his head off,’ Ben would get
very upset.”
Family outings are traumatic. “Our last trip was to the cinema,” she
says. “Ben and Joe screamed in the foyer. Luke started lecturing the
sweet vendor on his diet, then Joe spilled popcorn on the floor and put
the tub on his head. When the film started, Ben found it too loud and
kept shouting, so we left.”
Unsurprisingly, Jacqui doesn’t have a social life. “I would like
some peace,” she admits. “There have been plenty of times when I’ve
cried, but I have to cope.”
“The good bits balance everything out.”
“Despite everything, looking after my children is fun and fulfilling.
If Joe listens to me, then I’ve achieved something huge. Ben normally
screams if his hands get muddy, but recently he happily got his fingers
dirty in the garden. I was still smiling after he’d gone to bed.”
“I would like an easier life, but wouldn’t change my family, I’d
hate to wave a magic wand and take autism away, because it’s what
makes my children special.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Speak about Jacqui Jackson. What is her family situation?
2. How are her children different? Speak about the peculiarities of
each of them.
3. What is Jacqui’s attitude to the situation she faces? What do you
think about it?
4. Speak about Jacqui’s daily routine. Would you be able to bear
such a lifestyle?
5. Would you cope with the situation the way Jacqui does or
would you come up with a different solution?
277
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Imagine you are a member of a non-profitable organization with
significant funding for research on autism. Come up with the possible
ways to change Jacqui’s routine for the better.
2. Write several diary entries as if you were Jacqui. Describe your
lifestyle, speculate on the problems and emotions you experience.
Share your dreams and plans for the future.
3. Do research on the Internet and find information about facilities
and organizations for people with different kind of disabilities. Then
present a report based on this research in groups of 2 or 3.
4. Come up with the idea/design of your own facility for children
with disabilities, which could possibly operate in Russia. Make up a
booklet with the information about your facility.
TEXT 5
Communicating With Persons Who Have Disabilities
1. See the person who has a disability as a person, not as a
disability.
Don’t “talk down.” Avoid responding to persons with
2.
disabilities out of “gratefulness” for not having a disability yourself.
Speak directly to the person who has a disability, not to a
3.
companion or an interpreter.
Treat adults as adults. Don’t use first names unless that
4.
familiarity is extended to everyone present.
Be considerate. It might take extra time for the person with a
5.
disability to say or do things.
Relax. Don’t worry about using common expressions like “See
6.
you later” or “I’ve got to be running along” when talking to persons
with physical or visual disabilities.
278
Persons who have vision loss
1. Introduce yourself and any others who may be with you. Use a
normal tone of voice.
2. Use the person’s name when starting conversation so he or she
knows you are speaking to them. Let the person know when you are
ending a conversation or moving away.
3. Ask the person if he or she wants help. When giving assistance,
allow the person to take your arm, which helps you to guide. Warn the
person of any steps or changes in level. Use specifics such as left and
right.
4. Offer seating by placing the person’s hand on the back or arm of
the seat.
5. Don’t pet a guide dog. Remember to walk on the side of the
person away from the dog.
Persons who have speech difficulties
1. Give
your complete attention to the person who has difficulty
speaking.
Be patient. Don’t correct and don’t speak for the person. Allow
2.
extra time. Give help when needed.
Keep your manner encouraging.
3.
Ask questions that require short answers or a nod or shake of the
4.
head, when necessary.
If you have difficulty understanding, don’t pretend. Repeat as
5.
much as you do understand. The person’s reaction will clue you in.
Persons who have hearing loss
1. Get the person’s attention. Wave
your hand, tap the person’s
shoulder or bang on the table, if necessary.
Speak clearly and slowly. Don’t shout or exaggerate lip
2.
movements. Keep sentences short.
279
3. Be flexible in your language. If the person has difficulty
understanding you, rephrase your statement using simpler words.
Don’t keep repeating. If difficulty persists, write it down.
4. Provide a clear view of your face and keep the light source on it.
Keep hands, food, etc. away from your mouth when talking.
5. Be a lively speaker. Use facial expressions that match your tone
of voice, and use gestures and body movements to aid communication.
Persons who use wheelchairs or crutches
1. Don’t lean or hang on a person’s wheelchair. It is part of that
person’s body space.
2. Sit, squat or kneel if conversation continues for more than a few
minutes. Don’t be a “pain in the neck.”
3. Ask a wheelchair occupant if he or she wants to be pushed
before you do so.
4. Allow a person who uses a wheelchair or crutches to keep them
within reach. Many wheelchair users can transfer to chairs, car seats,
etc. Some wheelchair users can walk with crutches part of the time.
5. Consider distance, weather conditions and surfaces such as
stairs, curbs or inclines when giving directions.
Persons who have mental retardation
1. Speak slowly and distinctly. Show might be more effective than
tell.
2. Tell the person what to do and what not to do.
3. Help the person feel comfortable. Maintain nonthreatening voice
and facial expressions.
4. Treat the adult person who has mental retardation as an adult.
5. Base exceptions to rules on reason, not pity.
MOVIES:
The Awakening
Rain Man
Forrest Gump
280