SPR L6 Physical and Sensory Disability Flashcards
Learning Outcomes
- List the different potential forms of deprivation that can be associated with physical and sensory disability.
- Describe the difficulties that can be experienced by individuals suffering from a physical or sensory disability.
- Discuss the emotional impact of physical and sensory disability.
Define ‘disability’
‘Disability’ refers to anyone who has an impairment, and as a consequence, may experience discrimination.
Definition emphasises that it is the experience of discrimination as a result of an impairment.
Parents’ reaction to a child diagnosed with a disability
- The majority of disabled children are born to…?
- What is the predominant reaction?
- What do parents need to be given?
- non-disabled families (Cf. Experience of a child with a disability being born into a family where others have a disability)
- The predominant reaction is one of grief. As in any grief reaction, emotions and behaviour can vary quite dramatically (e.g. anger, sadness, rejection of diagnosis, rejection of child) across time
- Parents need to be given:
◦information in a sensitive and empathetic way
◦reassurance without raising false hopes
◦time to come to terms with a diagnosis
Outline the generalised reaction of hearing parents that have deaf children
“Most hearing parents who have found out their child is deaf would like to find a cure for deafness and make the child hearing.….Parents of deaf children are naturally concerned about their future life. Their worries include things such as loneliness, which in most people’s mind, is associated with deafness, whether their childhood will be a ‘normal’ happy one, and if in adult life they will be able to find satisfying work or perhaps only be stuck in menial unskilled work.”
“To a Deaf person they are normal. Deafness is all they know, it is the norm. The main reason Deaf people feel normal is not because they are familiar and comfortable with their Deafness but because Deaf pride comes from the Deafness itself and the unusually close community that it breeds through shared experiences. This provides the individual with an identity, and results in many Deaf people being proud to be Deaf. Saying they are not ‘normal’ and need to be cured invalidates this. This is something that the hearing parents are often unaware of.
Children who are merely Deaf are perfectly healthy, and it is unethical to operate on healthy children.
The above statement would be the view of the majority of Deaf people who view themselves as a cultural language group rather than handicapped. This is evident in Deaf people’s views and hopes for their own children
Parents’ reaction to a child diagnosed with a disability
When can the reaction be quite different?
However, reaction can be quite different in other people e.g. if parents have a disability
Consider the following: Lesbian couple have deaf baby by choice
Parents’ reaction to a child diagnosed with a disability
- What is sympathy?
- What is empathy?
- A feeling or an expression of pity or sorrow for the distress of another; compassion or commiseration
- Identification with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings, and motives
Case Study
Molly is a six month old child. She was recently identified as having a hearing impairment. The care team has conducted a number of examinations and tests, and detailed results are pending. Her mother Diane has a number of questions for you relating to deafness and Molly’s future development.
What are the factors to consider?
◦Stage at which impairment was acquired
◦Stage at which impairment was identified
◦Degree of impairment
◦Selectiveness of impairment
◦Circumstances & environment
◦Interventions: Medical, Educational, Social etc.
Economic/Social Prospects, Independent Living.
The ‘Hidden Disability’
The majority of disabled people have what are sometimes known as ‘hidden disabilities’. People whose impairment is immediately apparent are in the minority
What is a hidden disability?
People whose impairment is immediately apparent are in the minority
‘Hidden disability’: a catch-all phrase that simply means that a person’s impairment or condition is not obviously apparent or visible
Potential forms of Deprivation
Disability Creep
- How might an impairment affect Molly?
- What are the things to consider?
- Obvious and hidden
2.
- Emotional Development
- Motor/Co-Ordination Development
- Perceptual Development
- Development of Language
- Cognitive and Educational Development
- Social Skills
Disability : Some Sources of Deprivation
- What may Parents/Society display?
- What may this result in?
- low expectations of the disabled
lack of consideration/tolerance
restricted experiences
- Learned helplessness
High dependence/low control (Link with: Stress/Depression)
Frustration and Short Temper
Effects of Hearing Loss on Development
What are the four major ways in which hearing loss affects children?
- It causes delay in the development of receptive and expressive communication skills (speech and language).
- The language deficit may cause learning problems that result in reduced academic achievement.
- It can inhibit development of social skills
- It may impact on emotional development
Effects of Hearing Loss on Development
What may the Additional ‘Hidden Disabilities’ be?
- Poor coordination?
- Reduced environmental awareness
- (does not have access to sound for orientation/attention gaze).
- Reliant on/sensitive to:
- others for communication
- visual expression (gestures)
Effects of Environment
- What is the level of achievement related to?
- Give examples
- related to parental involvement and the quantity, quality, and timing of the support services children receive.
- consider potential differences between
- Deaf child born to Deaf parents V hearing parents
- What are the arguments for/against teaching Spoken English and/or Sign Language?
Social Development
- Children with a severe to profound hearing loss often report feeling what?
- In whom are these social problems more frequent in?
- feeling isolated, without friends, and unhappy in school, particularly when their socialization with other children with hearing loss is limited.
- more frequent in children with a mild or moderate hearing loss than in those with a severe to profound loss.
Social Development : Friendship
For general perusal
“At the playtime, I would normally play with the deaf children from my unit, rarely would I play with the hearing children, as soon as I said pardon, they say, “don’t worry about it.” This annoyed me as they gave up too easily. Overall I enjoyed school, despite the lack of understanding. I was pleased that there were other deaf pupils and I don’t know what it would be like if there had been no deaf unit or pupils. I would not of liked have been the only deaf pupil. I do now know a few deaf people that attended a school without a unit for the deaf, and had no support. They felt really lonely. So I do feel lucky.”
