Challenging Societal Views of the Effects of Physical and Intellectual Disability

     This blog was originally developed for a service learning course at Indiana University in order to explore researching and writing's roles in  civic engagement.  It reflects on my experience as a service learner at Stone Belt in Bloomington, Indiana.  Stone Belt is a not-for-profit organization that provides resources and supports for individuals with disabilities.  My objective as a service learner was to observe the overall atmosphere of Stone Belt, and gain access to the Stone Belt community with the help of my "informant."  My informant, Ms. Vicars, welcomed me into the Stone Belt community by introducing me to staff and clientele, defining terminology unique to the organization, and giving me extensive tours of the facilities.
     My individual service to the community involved interviewing a twenty-five-year-old client over a five week period, and synthesizing a biography of his experiences as a young man with a developmental disability.  My experience meeting with this client not only alerted me of the false assumptions I had of persons with developmental disabilities, but also how my views had been influenced by society's false assumptions.  This blog explores the false assumptions society holds of persons with physical and intellectual developmental disabilities, and defines these assumptions as limiting to the advancement of these persons in the community and in their daily lives.

An Unexpected Realization

The names of the ACE and Stone Belt client have been changed for privacy purposes:

Initially I had no prior knowledge or experience with the Stone Belt Organization, and merely knew it helped people with disabilities (which I read on a pamphlet).  As I sat in the welcoming room awaiting the arrival of my Advocate for Community Engagement, I observed many men, women, and teenage girls and boys entering and leaving the facility either alone or in pairs.  I overheard the music of an Ipod, which belonged to the teenage boy sitting next to me, his backpack propped up against his legs.  ‘He must be another service learner,’ I thought.  As soon as I made this assumption, I was quickly corrected as the woman behind the desk asked if he was ready to leave for work.  He and the middle aged man sitting next to him stood up, the middle aged man picked up his backpack and escorted the teenage Stone Belt client out of the building.  I immediately learned the falsity of the schema of ‘people with disabilities’ I previously fostered.

Prior to this instance, I viewed myself as an open-minded and kind human being who did not cultivate any ignorant or prejudiced beliefs about any group, race, ethnicity, or gender.  However, upon seeing a seemingly ‘normal’ teenage boy sitting next to me, I immediately assumed he could not possibly belong to the group of people I considered to ‘have disabilities,’ and was truly surprised to see he was a Stone Belt client.  I was, and still am, ashamed of my lack of awareness of the misinformed and highly judgmental stereotypes I possessed about people with physical and intellectual disabilities at the beginning of the semester.  Once the ACE arrived and led me down the main hallway, I found myself unable to distinguish between many of the Stone Belt staff and clientele.  As men and women quickly jostled past me on their way to work or to various classrooms, I resented the incorrect assumptions I unknowingly held about people with disabilities.

The ACE led me into the cafeteria, where she introduced me to Mr. [Stone Belt Clientele], a twenty-five year old Stone Belt client who was born with Down’s Syndrome.  As part of my service project, I spent several hours across a period of three weeks with Mr. [SBC] discussing topics from his favorite comedian (Drew Carry) to his experience moving from a trailer park to a newly built house this December with his parents.  Despite my academic studies of Down’s Syndrome and the physiological affects it has on the affected, I had no previous experience with a person affected by the chromosomal disorder.  Entering that initial interview, I viewed neurobiological disorders strictly from a medical perspective, mostly due to having only read about them in academic journals and textbooks.  However, after he warmly shook my hand and cracked a joke about the ACE talking too much, I knew Mr. [SBC] would change more than just my view on ‘people with disabilities.’

Although both of us were slightly shy at first, he quickly took out his leather wallet to show me pictures of his parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and cousins.  He shared everything from his favorite activities (going to the Monroe County Library with his best friend), movies (Harry Potter and Halloweentown), and employment (at IUPD), to sharing a trailer with his parents and sister as a child.  However, throughout the entire process of sharing the intimate details of his childhood, he never once expressed even the slightest bit of unhappiness or disappointment with any event in his life.  He truly only made warm, kind, and humorous remarks- a character trait I aspire to recreate in my own life.

Prior to this experience, I unknowingly viewed ‘people with disabilities’ as just that.  I thought of them as people who have a disability that prevents them from behaving in accordance to, participating in, or integrating into the community.  Mr. [SBC], along with the clientele of Stone Belt I was lucky enough to meet, unknowingly changed my shamefully ignorant perceptions of people with disabilities, and challenged me to not only question my prior beliefs about the Stone Belt clientele, but also about every aspect of life in general.  Mr. [SBC] is just one of the thousands of Stone Belt clientele, each with their own individual stories of personal achievement and contribution to the community.  Not only did he single-handedly obliterate my previous misconceptions about how disability affects one’s life, but he showed me his inspirational way of meeting and overcoming any challenge, whether it be a chromosomal disorder, growing up below the poverty line, or working in a highly judgmental society, with a joke and the warmth of his smile.   I can only hope that Mr. [SBC] and the millions of other people affected by physical and intellectual disorders will continue to challenge and change not only the perceptions many people (knowingly or unknowingly) foster about disability, but also their outlooks on life in general.  The Stone Belt clientele have taught me to never make assumptions about anyone or anything, to not be surprised when someone or something challenges a schema I previously held, and to greet every challenge I face with the determination and motivation to always achieve my personal best, and to do it with a smile.