People with unlimited possibilities. People with disabilities. Help for people with disabilities
Persons who doubt their own abilities should definitely familiarize themselves with the achievements of famous disabled people. True, most people with disabilities who have achieved success can hardly be called handicapped. As their inspiring stories prove, nothing can stop a person from achieving high goals, leading an active life and becoming an example to follow. So, let's take a look at the great people with disabilities.
Stephen Hawking
Hawking was born a completely healthy person. However, in his youth he was given a terrible diagnosis. Doctors diagnosed Stephen with a rare pathology - amyotrophic sclerosis, which is also known as Charcot's disease.
The symptoms of the disease quickly gained momentum. Closer to reaching adulthood, our hero became almost completely paralyzed. The young man was forced to move in a wheelchair. Partial mobility was preserved only in some facial muscles and individual fingers. To make his own existence easier, Stephen agreed to perform a throat operation. However, the decision brought only harm, and the guy lost the ability to reproduce sounds. From that moment on, he could communicate only thanks to an electronic speech synthesizer.
However, all this did not prevent Hawking from entering the list of people with disabilities who have achieved success. Our hero managed to earn the status of one of the greatest scientists. This person is considered a real sage and a person who is able to translate the most daring, fantastic ideas into reality.
Nowadays, Stephen Hawking is actively engaged in scientific activities in his own residence away from people. He devoted his life to writing books, educating the population, popularizing science. Despite his handicap, this prominent man is married and has children.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Let's continue our conversation about people with disabilities who have achieved success. Without a doubt, Beethoven, the legendary German composer of classical music, deserves a place on our list. In 1796, at the height of his world fame, the composer began to suffer from progressive hearing loss caused by inflammation of the internal ear canals. Several years passed, and Ludwig van Beethoven completely lost the ability to perceive sounds. However, it was from this time that the most famous works of the author began to appear.
Subsequently, the composer wrote the famous "Heroic Symphony", struck the imagination of classical music lovers with the most difficult parties from the opera "Fidelio" and "Ninth Symphony with Choir". In addition, he created numerous developments for quartets, cellists, and vocal performers.
Esther Vergeer
The girl has the status of the strongest tennis player on the planet, who got her titles while sitting in a wheelchair. In her youth, Esther required spinal cord surgery. Unfortunately, surgery only made matters worse. The girl's legs were taken away, making it impossible to move independently.
One day, while in a wheelchair, Vergeer decided to try tennis. The incident marked the beginning of her unusually successful career in professional sports. The girl was awarded the title of world champion 7 times, repeatedly won resounding victories at the Olympic Games, won prizes in a series of Grand Slam tournaments. Moreover, Esther holds an unusual record. Since 2003, she has managed not to lose a single set during the competition. At the moment there are more than two hundred of them.
Eric Weichenmeier
This outstanding man is the only climber in history who managed to conquer Everest, being completely blind. Eric became blind at the age of 13. However, due to his innate focus on achieving high success, Weichenmeier first received a quality education, worked as a teacher, professionally engaged in wrestling, and then devoted his life to conquering mountain peaks.
About the high achievements of this athlete with disabilities, a feature film was shot, which was called "Touch the Top of the World." In addition to Everest, the hero climbed the seven highest peaks of the planet. In particular, such terrifying mountains as Elbrus and Kilimanjaro submitted to Vaihenmeier.
Alexey Petrovich Maresyev
At the height of World War II, this fearless man defended the country from invaders, being a military pilot. In one of the battles, the plane of Alexei Maresyev was destroyed. Miraculously, the hero managed to stay alive. However, severe injuries forced him to agree to the amputation of both lower limbs.
However, getting a disability did not bother the outstanding pilot at all. Only after leaving the military hospital, he began to seek the right to return to aviation. The army was in dire need of talented pilots. Therefore, soon Alexei Maresyev was offered prostheses. Thus, he made many more sorties. For his courage and military exploits, the pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Ray Charles
Next on our list is a legendary man, an outstanding musician and one of the most celebrated jazz performers. Ray Charles began to suffer from blindness at the age of 7. Presumably, this was due to the negligence of doctors, in particular, improper treatment of glaucoma.
Subsequently, Ray began to develop his creative inclinations. The unwillingness to give up allowed our hero to become the most famous blind musician of our time. At one time, this outstanding person was nominated for as many as 12 Grammy awards. His name is forever inscribed in the jazz, rock and roll, blues and country hall of fame. In 2004, Charles entered the top ten most talented artists of all time according to the authoritative edition of Rolling Stone.
Nick Vujicic
What other successful people with disabilities deserve attention? One of those is Nick Vujicic - an ordinary person who suffers from birth from a rare hereditary pathology under the definition of tetraamelia. When he was born, the boy had no upper and lower limbs. There was only a small process of the foot.
In his youth, Nick was offered an operation. The purpose of the surgical intervention was to separate the fused fingers on the only process of the lower limb. The guy was extremely happy that he got the opportunity, at least with grief, to manipulate objects and move around without outside help. Inspired by the change, he learned to swim, surf and skateboard, and work on the computer.
In adulthood, Nick Vuychich got rid of past experiences associated with a physical handicap. He began to travel the world with lectures, motivating people to new achievements. Often a man speaks to young people who are experiencing difficulties with socialization and the search for the meaning of life.
Valery Fefelov
Valery Andreevich Fefelov is famous as one of the leaders of the social movement of dissidents, as well as a fighter for the recognition of the rights of people with disabilities. In 1966, while holding the position of an electrician at one of the Soviet enterprises, this man suffered an industrial injury, which led to a fracture of the spine. Doctors told Valery that he would remain in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. As often happens, our hero received absolutely no help from the state.
In 1978, Valery Fefelov organized the Initiative Group for the Protection of the Rights of People with Disabilities throughout the Soviet Union. Soon, the public activities of the organization were recognized by the authorities as such that threatens the security of the state. A criminal case was opened against Fefelov, accusing him of resisting the policy of the country's leadership.
Fearing reprisals from the KGB, our hero was forced to move to Germany, where he was granted refugee status. Here Valery Andreevich continued to defend the interests of people with disabilities. Subsequently, he became the author of a book called “There are no disabled people in the USSR!”, Which made a lot of noise in society. The work of the famous human rights activist was published in English and Dutch.
Louis Braille
In childhood, this man received an eye injury that developed into severe inflammation and led to complete blindness. Louis decided not to lose heart. He devoted all his time to finding a solution that would allow visually impaired and blind people to recognize text. This is how Braille was invented. Nowadays, it finds widespread use in institutions that are engaged in the rehabilitation of the disabled.
Sarah Bernard
The legendary Frenchwoman, who at the beginning of the 20th century was called "the most famous actress in history", was on tour in Rio de Janeiro in 1905. This trip was fatal for Sarah: in the capital of Brazil, a woman injured her leg. The damage was so severe that ten years later doctors were forced to amputate the limb. Many believed that this was the end of Bernard's career, but even such a seemingly insurmountable difficulty did not stop the woman. Sarah did not leave the stage until her death, and during the First World War, she performed in front of the soldiers at the front.
Stephen Hawking
In his youth, the famous theoretical physicist was no different from other young people: he studied at the university, went in for rowing, then married his girlfriend. However, in the early 1960s, when Stephen was in his early twenties, doctors diagnosed him with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which led to almost complete paralysis. The doctors' prognosis was extremely pessimistic: they said that the patient would not live even two years. However, half a century has passed since then. With the help of special devices, Stephen Hawking maximizes his mental abilities and surprises the scientific world with incredible discoveries.
Ray Charles
The famous American musician saw the world around him only until the age of seven. Being very young, he witnessed the death of his brother: George was drowning in a tub that stood on the street, and Ray was unable to save him. After a terrible shock, the boy's vision began to rapidly decline, and soon Charles completely ceased to distinguish any features of the surrounding objects. However, this ailment did not prevent Ray from realizing his musical talent. The artist not only sang superbly, but also mastered playing the piano, organ, trombone, clarinet and saxophone.
Franklin Roosevelt
Roosevelt became the only US president to serve four terms in office. Political longevity was not hindered even by health problems that arose even before the start of the first election race: due to polio, the man was forever chained to a wheelchair. However, many citizens of the country did not even suspect that the physical capabilities of their president were somehow limited. We must pay tribute to the American press - not a single photograph was published in which Roosevelt was captured in a wheelchair or on crutches.
The main problem of modern society is the perception of people with disabilities as inferior. And while this problem exists, it is very difficult for people with disabilities to be in public places.
Almost everyone knows about people with disabilities. What is it, or rather, who are they? Now in our country they are not shy about talking about this, showing sympathy for individuals slightly different from the main mass. However, each of us needs to realize that adults and children with disabilities may well learn and live in society, just like everyone else. The main thing is to help them as much as possible. This article will talk about all the difficulties and opportunities associated with the concept of HIA.
What it is
Disability health: what is it about? In various sources, HIA are described as some deviations from the norm in the physical, sensory or mental plane. These are peculiar human defects that can be both congenital and acquired. And precisely for these reasons, such people cannot perform certain functions either completely or partially, or perform them with outside help.
Similar features of children with disabilities caused different emotional and behavioral reactions in those around them. However, times are changing, and today children with such problems are treated more and more adequately. Special conditions are created for them in education (additional training programs are being developed), in society, in various shopping centers, cinemas, hospitals, etc.
Meanwhile, the reaction of others to this disease is one thing, but how do children themselves feel with such limitations? Experienced psychologists say that for a child, this is, first of all, a difficult psychological barrier. Children with disabilities may consider themselves a burden or unnecessary to this world. Although this is far from true. And the main task of every representative of modern society is to help them understand this.
People with disabilities
It is clear that limited health opportunities are not only in children, but also in adults. And if children do not always understand their ailments due to age, then an adult is able to realistically evaluate them. An adult is able to perceive himself as he is. And it is important to let him know that he is no different from others, despite his health problems.
Try to understand people with disabilities. What is it, and how do people live with it? Do not treat a person with pity, do not show him this, do not put him in an awkward position. Avoid questions related to his illness and do not point to him. Act as if you are a completely healthy person. If you have to communicate with him, and someone accompanies him, contact directly the person with whom the dialogue is being conducted. Look specifically at this person, in his eyes. Behave in a relaxed manner, do not show tension, insecurity or fear. Remember: such people most of all need banal human communication, understanding, acceptance and friendliness.
Types of restrictions
HIA is a decoding that sometimes causes panic in people. They immediately imagine a “vegetable” with which it is absolutely impossible to interact. Even experienced teachers sometimes refuse to work with such children. However, often everything is not so bad and terrible. With such people it is quite possible to conduct the process of training, work and any other activity.
There are some groups of HIA, which include children with disorders of hearing and vision, communication and behavior, speech functions, with mental retardation syndrome, with defects or modifications of the musculoskeletal system, with complex disorders. Indeed, these words sound very unpleasant, but children with similar diseases often perceive everything that happens around them much better than ordinary children. Their mental abilities often exceed the skills of ordinary schoolchildren by several times, they read a lot of different literature, develop talents for writing poems or stories, creating paintings, fakes. Due to the fact that they are deprived of some of the usual types of pastime, they manage to concentrate on something more important and interesting.
Atmosphere in the family
Families with children with disabilities are precisely those that need to be monitored constantly. It is in such families that much attention should be paid not only to the child himself, but to all family members. More precisely, it is important to understand in what conditions a special child grows and is brought up, what kind of relationship with each other in the family, how the relatives themselves relate to a sick child.
Indeed, in some cases, the child’s illness can be aggravated due to the fact that some negative things happen in the family. Children with disabilities require, first of all, special care and concern from their parents. A family in which a beneficial atmosphere reigns can not only help the child, but also significantly affect the elimination of the disease or weaken its effect. In the same place where there is no mutual assistance and understanding of family members, the situation of a sick child can only become worse.
School for children with disabilities
Another important aspect that affects an unusual child is the school. As you know, it is there that children manifest themselves in different ways. Each child is unique in its own way, has a character, hobbies, views and manner of communication and behavior. And there is also a place for children with disabilities. It is for this reason that the GEF HIA exists. The Federal State Educational Standard for Children with Disabilities are certain recommendations for teachers that are designed to help in their work.
These standards include detailed examples of curricula, recommendations for teaching children with disabilities, requirements for the professional qualifications of teachers themselves. On the basis of these recommendations, children receive education on an equal basis with everyone else. Thus, the Federal State Educational Standard for HIA is an auxiliary effective standard, and not a method of making teachers work harder in the educational process. However, some may see it differently.
Special Program
In turn, teachers, based on this standard, develop a curriculum. It includes all sorts of aspects. Not only the teachers themselves, but also the higher management of the educational institution should control the learning process. An adapted program for children with disabilities can be developed in various forms.
Naturally, much depends on what kind of illness the child has, what are the causes of his illness. Therefore, the teacher must draw up a detailed description of the student, where he will indicate all the necessary information. It is necessary to study the conclusions of medical commissions, information about the family, the order of the course of the disease or deviation. An adapted program for children with disabilities consists of many stages, which is why detailed information about the child is needed.
Further, a detailed curriculum is drawn up with the arrangement of all tasks and goals. The special conditions under which the student receives education are taken into account. The program is also aimed not only at education, but also at the correctional component, and at the educational one.
Learning objectives
Teaching children with disabilities requires not only professional knowledge, but also some personal qualities of teachers. Of course, such children need an individual approach: it is important to understand them and be tolerant in the learning process. Expanding the space of the educational environment is possible only if the child is not pressured, not allowed to close, feel awkward or unnecessary. It is important to reward the student for his academic success in a timely manner.
The education of children with disabilities should be structured in such a way that their reading and writing skills develop. It is necessary to exercise continuous control over the alternation of practical and mental activity. This is necessary so that children do not get tired, because, as you know, limited opportunities can take a lot of strength from a child, both physical and psychological. At the same time, it is very important to organize the learning process in such a way that a child with disabilities interacts with other students, is part of a team, and not a separate link.
Accompanying process
Accompanying children with disabilities chooses the process of interaction with other students as one of the main tasks. Throughout the entire education of the child, the accompanying person must provide comprehensive assistance not only in the development, upbringing and education, but also in the social development of the individual. An accompanying person can be not only a teacher, but also a psychologist, defectologist, social pedagogue or other specialist. The determining factor is precisely the presence of a special education for the accompanying person.
Accompanying children with disabilities also includes assistance in learning when interacting with other teachers and parents. The activity of such a specialist is aimed at developing the memory, attention, speech and practical skills of the child. It is worth setting such a pace in the learning process that will be most familiar to the student, allowing him not only to perceive information, but also to develop it and his skills, qualities, and abilities.
Tasks of the teacher
Naturally, the learning process is not always easy for ordinary children, and for patients it is even more difficult. Disabilities (HIA): deciphering this abbreviation gives quite extensive information to people if they are not specialists or have simply never heard it. Teachers, psychologists and other workers often encounter such children.
Unfortunately, the number of children with disabilities is constantly increasing. This is influenced by a number of specific factors, ranging from the heredity of the parents to the mistakes made by doctors. In addition, the growth in the number of children with disabilities is influenced by the rapid development of industry, leading to environmental problems that subsequently affect the whole society.
The only good news is that the modern education sector is trying to develop more and more professional teaching methods that children with disabilities can use. The school tries not only to give knowledge and skills to students, but also to influence the development of their natural potential, the ability to adapt to further independent life in society.
Is there a future after school
There is an opinion that young children usually perceive unhealthy children more easily than it happens in adults. This statement is true in its own way because at a young age, the manifestation of tolerance occurs by itself, since children do not have any barriers in communication at all. Therefore, it is important to integrate a child with disabilities into the learning process at an early age.
Even in kindergartens, educators know about disabilities, what it is, and how to work with such children. If earlier it was practiced to form separate groups in which children with disabilities were trained, now they are trying to organize the educational process together with ordinary children. This also applies to kindergartens and schools. It is clear to everyone that after graduation from school, a student should go further, to a university, a secondary specialized educational institution, in order to acquire professional skills that should help him in the future.
Indeed, universities also create conditions for teaching children with disabilities. Universities willingly accept such people in the ranks of students. Many of them are able to learn fruitfully and produce very good results. This, of course, also depends on how the learning process at school was previously organized. Children with disabilities are ordinary children. It's just that their health is a little worse, and not at all their fault. The modern world increasingly provides ample opportunities for the personal realization of such children, develops a fundamentally new model of society's attitude towards them, creating new conditions for development and formation.
Understanding ordinary people
Thus, the educational process should be built and implemented based on many aspects. Children with disabilities differ not only from healthy children, but also from each other. They have different diseases, in different forms and with different prospects for recovery. Some can be helped with the help of operations, rehabilitation, health programs, others cannot be helped or there are means to slightly improve their health. Undoubtedly, each of them in his own way experiences, expresses emotions, experiences any feelings. But they are all very sensitive to the world around them and people.
Those who know about HIA, what it is, strive to selflessly help sick people, provide support and understand them. And even if they are not always specially trained specialists, not professional psychologists, but ordinary people, they are also able to inspire a sick child to believe in the best. Sometimes it lifts the spirits and affects the feelings of the child much more than professional accompaniment or training.
What do we know about how people live without arms or legs? What difficulties are overcome every minute by those who are diagnosed with cerebral palsy or Down syndrome? Surprisingly, it is these people who have the strength and wisdom to motivate us. - healthy, strong and often ungrateful.
turn around
This article is not about those who like to feel sorry for themselves with the first rays of difficulties. Blame the whole world for injustice when a man leaves, and cry into the pillow, lying on the couch.
It's about people. Very brave, strong, whom we try not to notice in everyday life.
Today I woke up. I am well. I'm alive. I am grateful. How do we start our mornings? I think no. Coffee, shower, sandwiches, rush, frantic whirlpool of plans.
Sometimes we don't even notice those around us. Stop for a second! Look around! Mom and daughter are sitting on the bench. Daughter twenty years old. It looks like she has Down syndrome. We immediately avert our eyes and pretend not to notice this couple. That's what the majority does.
Every day these strong people start the morning with a fight- for life, for the ability to move, to exist. For people like us to notice them and accept them into their cruel world.
We offer 3 stories. Amazing, challenging, tearful, inspiring and, hooray- destroying the social framework in our head.
Welcome.
Story one
Trafalgar Venus
How is it to be born without arms and practically without legs? Become a victim of a drug for toxicosis, which was prescribed to pregnant women in the 60s. Being abandoned by a mother and subjected to endless bullying in an orphanage. And with this "jackpot" to find the courage and strength to become a talented artist, an amazing person and a happy mother.
"I'm just a natural anomaly"- Alison jokes. Oh yeah! This beautiful woman has the strength to joke about herself.
She began drawing at the age of three, holding a pencil between her toes. But after the operation, her legs lost their mobility, and the girl began to hold a pencil with her teeth.
After graduating from the orphanage, she entered the faculty of painting and, as best she could, lived independently, every day making a new victory over herself. She hates the word "disabled", learns to live in society.
“Yes, people are always looking at me. I know what I get every time I leave my house.” Alison is raising her son on her own and finds in herself the universal wisdom to take care of the boy so that he does not feel “different”. "They look at us like that because we're really great."
In the center of London on the famous square for two years stood a statue called Trafalgar Venus. It was created by the famous sculptor and designer Mark Quinn, who was captivated by Alison's courage and femininity.
She is beautiful and stubborn, travels a lot, speaks at conferences, writes new paintings. She has her own charitable organization, Mouth and Foot. Alison's life is full of restrictions due to the anomaly, but she breaks the boundaries and stereotypes, lives an exceptionally fulfilling and interesting life.
Alison wrote an autobiography with a very symbolic title"My life is in my hands".
And yours?
Story two
Sunny Ellie
Waking up, we do not know whether grief or joy awaits us during the day.
So early in the morning in an ordinary British family, a 16-month-old sun with eyes the color of the sky had a temperature rise.
Nothing special for kids. But the little heart conceived something of its own and stopped beating. Diagnosis- meningitis. Contrary to all predictions, the baby survived. She just really wanted to live. Joy treacherously fled after four days: arms and legs must be amputated- dot.
Tell me, how can a child live without arms and legs in this world? How to communicate with peers, how to learn to want to live again? Is it even possible? And this little smart girl not only dared- she staged a boycott of grief.
Before you is the only little man in the world who has masteredparalympic bionic blades. Ellie became the first child to play football professionally for the school team on a par with her physically fit peers.
little sun- the most dedicated fan of football and the Arsenal team. Together with dad, they do not miss a single match.
“She loves to play football and feels like a fish in water on the football field. When I watch her play, I completely forget that she has no legs. ”, - says Ellie's mom.
Not everything went so smoothly immediately after the operation. Re-learn to walk- now on dentures. The very first ones caused a lot of pain, but Ellie agreed to wear them for at least 20 minutes a day.
A small but big hero, stubborn and courageous, motivating completely different people all over the planet.
And if someday it seems to you that you are unhappy, that the world is cruel and unfair to you- remember this tiny miracle Ellie. How she smiles and greedily runs forward on her amazing path.
Story three
Braveheart brave to the end
And now, instead of a bar of delicious chocolate, let's taste a bit of bitter human cruelty.
One day, Lizzy turned on her laptop and found a video of herself called “The Ugliest Woman in the World.” The control shot to the temple was the comments below:"Lord, how does she live, with such and such a mug." "Lizzie, kill yourself," these "people" advised.
The girl cried for several days, and then she began to watch the video over and over again - to the point of nausea - and suddenly realized that it no longer bothered her. All this is just decorations, and she wants to be happy, so it's time to change them.
Lizzy was born with an illness unknown to the world so far. Her body does not absorb fat at all. In order not to die, she needs to eat every 15 minutes. She weighs 25 kg with a height of 152 cm. Oh yes, she is also blind in one eye.
In the hospital, the child was advised to refuse, referring to the fact that she would never walk or talk. And they strongly recommended that parents not give birth to children anymore, otherwise a disabled person will be born again.
It's amazing how people love to give advice and teach life when you don't ask for it at all. The Velazquez family gave the world two more children, completely healthy and beautiful.
Lizzy grew up and not only learned to walk and talk, but also graduated from the University of Texas, wrote three books,gave a speech at the TED Austin Women in her native Texas and made a documentary about her life.
Here are some tips for an amazing and perky girl.
Never let anyone label you. No matter what anyone says about you, only you know what you are capable of and what you are. Set the bar high and strive for it. The dogs bark, the caravan moves on.
It is useless to respond with aggression for aggression. When you get hit, you want to hit back. But by responding with evil for evil, you only increase the negative energy around you. It is unlikely that this will bring you happiness.
Trials and hardships are necessary conditions for growth. Without trials, we would never have reached the top. They help us learn, change and become better.
A loving family means a lot. Parents who believe in their child, whatever it may be, are doing a great job. They form in him self-confidence, the ability to cope with failures and move on.
The world is full of cruelty, pain and suffering, children's tears, terrible disasters. But it all starts with you. Every day, hour, minute remember this.
Starting a new day, we do not know exactly how much we are allotted. But it is important to firmly realize that we can do a lot. The main thing is to start. From myself.
Understand that among us there are people who are a little different from you and me. It doesn't matter what their diagnosis is. The most important thing is that it is a human- the same as you. They feel and grieve, laugh and cry, want to love and believe.
Sometimes it's worth smiling and just saying, "You're beautiful."
Thank the world and the Universe for what you have, and even more so for what you may not have.
Disabled people are PEOPLE with disabilities.
People with disabilities, in Russian, the disabled, are everywhere. Limitation of opportunities leaves its mark on the character of such people. And, perhaps, the most striking feature is the desire to be needed and useful. The overwhelming majority of such people are willing and able to work. We all know that it is more than difficult for a disabled person to find a job in Russia at least somehow, to say nothing of the possibility of finding a good job to your liking, strength and pay. Therefore, we want to bring to your attention a story-sketch about the life of disabled people in the United States. Its author, Svetlana Bukina, has been living in the United States of America for 17 years. Her view of the problem is just a view from the outside.
Walid
It took me several years to live in America to realize that the word "disabled" is the English word invalid written in Russian letters. Miriam-Webster's dictionary defines invalid as follows:
not valid: a: being without foundation or force in fact, truth, or law b: logically inconsequent - groundless, lawless, unsupported by facts. Illogical. Disabled is a noun. We can say, "Here comes the disabled person." In English, there is also a similar word - CRIPPLE, but in terms of the degree of unspoken correlation it will be compared only with the "Negro". It's the name-calling that angry teenagers call after the poor boy on crutches in heart-rending novels.
Nouns define a person - a freak, a genius, an idiot, a hero. Americans love nouns-definitions no less than other peoples, but people with disabilities prefer to be called “disabled persons”. A person with limited options. But first, a person.
I work at the National Guard Building, and there are handicapped people everywhere. We are not talking about war veterans who have lost arms or legs. They say there are a lot of them, but I don't see them. They sit in their "cubes" and do paper or computer work. I'm talking about those who were born with some kind of physical or mental defect, and more often with both. It is easy for a soldier without a leg or arm to find work. Try to find a job for a deaf-mute mentally retarded Korean or a woman in a wheelchair, whose IQ is God forbid 75.
A Korean collects garbage from our baskets and gives out new bags. A nice guy that everyone loves, and they pull out the trash cans from under the tables at the first sound of his good-natured lowing. A woman in a wheelchair, along with a half-mute Mexican, are cleaning our toilets. How they do it (especially she, in a wheelchair), I don’t know for sure, but the toilets are shining. And in the cafeteria, half of the serving girls are clearly out of this world, and they don’t speak English well. But there are no problems - you poke your finger, put it on a plate. They put it very generously, I always ask to take off a little meat, I can’t eat so much. And they always smile. And in a mini-cafe on the third floor, a cheerful guy works, completely blind. He makes such hot dogs, hold on. In seconds. In general, it works better and faster than most sighted people.
These people do not give the impression of being unhappy and miserable, and they are not. Disabled people in wheelchairs have specially equipped cars, or they are transported by a minibus adapted for this purpose. Everyone has a decently paid job, plus very decent pensions, vacations and insurance (they work for the state, after all). I know about how they equip apartments with the example of my own late grandmother, who was installed a special phone when she was almost deaf, and then replaced with the same one, but with giant buttons, when she was almost blind. They also brought a magnifying glass that enlarged each letter a hundred times so that she could read. When her leg was amputated, Grandmother was transferred to a new apartment, where there was a place under the sinks to enter in a wheelchair, all the counters were low, and the bathroom was equipped with “grabbers” built into the wall, so that it was convenient to change from a chair to a toilet or to the bathroom.
Having seen enough of these people, I began to observe mentally and physically retarded children without sadness. The kindergarten that my youngest son attends is located in a separate wing of the school for such children. Every morning I see how they get off the buses or cars of their parents - some by themselves, some with someone's help. Some from the outside look absolutely normal, while others can be seen from a mile away that something is wrong with them. But these are ordinary children - throwing snowballs, laughing, making faces, losing mittens. They study in a well-equipped school, where teachers are taught by specialists who have been trained for at least four years on how best to handle them and how best to teach such children.
Recently I happened to run into a man at work, let's call him Nikolai, who came to America from Moscow several years ago. After talking with him for a while, I still could not understand what prompted this man to emigrate. Himself - a highly qualified specialist, a programmer, his wife - too, and both were well arranged; the eldest son graduated from one of the best physics and mathematics schools in Moscow. They had a wonderful apartment, a car… Besides, the people were Russians, Muscovites of God-knows-what generation, all the relatives stayed there, all the friends. Nikolai did not fit into the image of a typical immigrant. Nevertheless, he was precisely an immigrant: he won a green card, applied for citizenship, bought a house and was not going to return. Politics? Climate? Ecology? I was at a loss.
I had to ask directly. “So my daughter…” hesitated my new friend. The daughter was mutilated at birth - somehow they pulled it out with forceps incorrectly. The girl has cerebral palsy in a rather serious form, she walks on crutches (those that start from the elbow, such supports), she must wear special shoes and is several years behind in development.
In Moscow, I had no relatives or friends with mentally or physically retarded children, so what Nikolai said was a revelation and caused a slight shock. Firstly, the girl had nowhere to teach. At home - please, but there are no normal (read: special) schools for them. What is, it is better not to mention. The wife had to quit her job and teach her daughter at home. Yes, but how? It is difficult to teach such children in traditional ways, special methods, a certain approach are needed. It is not enough to accumulate information on the Internet - a special talent is required. My wife, a mathematician, had many talents, but God deprived her of this particular one. The woman left a promising and beloved job and hung around with a disabled child, not knowing how to deal with her, and feeling that life was going to hell.
But that was only the beginning. The child was entitled to some special benefits that had to be beaten out by humiliating himself and going through seven circles of bureaucratic hell. The worst were the doctor visits. The girl was terrified of them, yelled, trembled and fought in hysterics. Each time they hurt her very much, with a stern look explaining to her mother that it was necessary. All this - for very decent money, in a private clinic. Nikolai told me that his daughter had a phobia for many years - she was terribly afraid of all people in white coats. It took a few months here in America for her to start to back off, and a few years for her to fully trust the doctors.
However, all this was not enough to push Nicholas to emigrate. Painfully deeply rooted in Russia. The decision to leave was made when the daughter began to grow up, and Nikolai and his wife suddenly realized that in that country she had absolutely no prospects, no hope, pardon the banality, for a brighter future. You can live in Moscow if you are healthy and able to earn decent money. A person with a serious disability, coupled with mental retardation, simply has nothing to do there. They left for their daughter.
They do not regret. They are nostalgic, of course, they love their Motherland, they go there in two years for the third and cherish Russian passports. Nikolai spoke only good things about Russia. But he prefers to live here. A daughter in America has flourished, goes to a school like the one in which my son’s kindergarten is only two or three years behind in development compared to five a few years ago, made a bunch of girlfriends and learned to love doctors and physiotherapists. The whole street loves her. The wife went to work and perked up.
Nikolai and his family do not live in a metropolis like New York or Washington, but in a small city in a middle American state. I will not name the state - there are too few Russians, they are easily recognized - but imagine Kentucky or Ohio. There are similar schools everywhere, and not only teachers, but also psychologists and career counselors work there.
Speaking of careers. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not force, as some people think, to hire or guarantee employment for people with disabilities. It clearly states that exactly the same is expected from a worker with a disability as from others. I personally saw, and took part in the interview, how they hired not a deaf or lame person (and not a black one, by the way), but someone who was better suited for the position that was opened. Decisions were always reasoned, and there were never any problems.
A deaf conductor, a blind photographer, or a loader who breaks his back will have to find another job. But if an accountant broke his back, then the employer is obliged to provide him with access to the workplace - to build a ramp for a wheelchair, for example, or to install an elevator. A paralyzed accountant is no worse than a healthy one, but if he is fired or not hired, all other things being equal, because the owner of the company was too lazy to build a ramp or feel sorry for the money for a specially equipped cubicle in the toilet, then the boss can easily be sued.
At first, many spat, but then the buildings simply began to be built differently. And at the same time modify the old ones - just in case. Existence determines consciousness. "For the disabled" is now equipped with almost everything, everywhere. It is not only the disabled themselves who win, but society wins. Those with only physical problems are out of the question - the country is acquiring high-quality specialists in a myriad of fields. In one IBM, for example, there are hundreds of paralyzed, blind, deaf and dumb and whatever else programmers and financiers. Their work is evaluated exactly according to the same criteria as the work of everyone else. Having once invested money in infrastructure, the company reaps the benefits for many years, getting qualified and, most importantly, grateful and loyal employees.
But what about the mentally retarded? For those who have everything in order with mobility, there are also plenty of jobs. But even for someone like the woman who cleans our toilets, there is work to be done. Extend her brush and brush, and she will scrub the toilet just as well as any other cleaner. You can pack food in bags in supermarkets or mow lawns, walk dogs or look after babies. One of the teachers in her son's kindergarten is a girl with Down syndrome. She is certainly not the main caregiver and does not make serious decisions, but she is a very warm and gentle person and calms all the screaming babies, never getting annoyed or raising her voice. Children love her.
Let's forget about the benefit to society for a moment. Of course, well-to-do people do not have to pay disability benefits from our common pocket, and this is good from an economic point of view, and from a demographic one. But it's not just that. Attitude towards the elderly and the disabled is one of the best determinants of the health of society. No amount of economic indicators, no military power, no amount of political weight will tell you about a country what a bunch of happy kids with autism, cerebral palsy, or Down's Syndrome will say, let alone an equally happy group of their parents. After all, America not only gave Nikolai's daughter hope for a normal - and decent - life, she gave no less to her mother.
Medicine is moving forward by leaps and bounds. More and more sick children are surviving to adulthood, and women are giving birth later and later, whether we like it or not. The number of children with disabilities is unlikely to decrease, although early testing of pregnant women allows for the time being to keep it more or less stable. An interesting fact is that more and more mothers, having learned that their child has Down syndrome or some other disorder, choose not to have an abortion.
Of course, the physical problems and low IQ will not go away, and at the average level, these people will not function. But one thing is for sure: whatever their potential, they will achieve the maximum that they are capable of. Because a person with disability is not a disabled person. This is a man with a lot of problems. And if you help him, he will become a valid.
This article is one of the top 30 most discussed articles in the blogosphere. But it does not contain anything that the general reader usually pecks at. Just a calm look from the outside, just a sketch. The author did not set a goal to be proud, show off, collect hundreds of comments. In the US, everyone is used to seeing people with disabilities for who they are. The life of a person with disabilities does not become an extra effort. This is probably why the article had so many responses from Russia.
You read the article and understand how we are still infinitely far from such social comfort. Sometimes it’s impossible to push an ordinary baby stroller into an elevator, but there’s no need to talk about wheelchairs for the disabled.
A year ago, we translated one of our site's popular content into English Do We Need Sick Children? , the article was devoted to the problems of children with disabilities in Russia. English-speaking readers did not understand us, they were completely incomprehensible to the problems of the article and the problems discussed in it. Instead of drawing attention to what we thought was an acute problem, we focused on the difficult situation that has developed in the Fatherland.
However, we are also seeing some shifts. People with disabilities are at least beginning to talk about the problems. More and more ramps, large roomy elevators and toilets for the disabled. It is still difficult for people with disabilities to enjoy these benefits of civilization, because the houses that they used to be and have remained, as well as public transport, the metro, etc.
But, the main problem, most likely, is not this. Disabled people have been isolated from society for so long that now meeting with them is like a shock for ordinary people. The man looks at the disabled person for a long time with surprise and curiosity. It turns out a kind of "zoo" among people. But such a long isolation from “other” people did not benefit a healthy, so to speak, society. We have absolutely no knowledge and culture of behavior in relation to the disabled. Therefore, we behave with him wildly and tactlessly.
«. ..I live in Russia, my child is severely disabled. Plus, I live in a small provincial town where there is NOTHING for my child at all. No treatment, no training, no seedy integration. We try to walk with the child every day and every day, passers-by examine me and the child from head to toe, some try to walk past 2-3 times if we couldn’t see everything the first time .. If someone sees that I can’t push the stroller or get stuck in a snowdrift, they will watch how the matter ends, whether I dump the child on the ground or not, but no one will come to help ... When we have the audacity and we call in a cafe (the only cafe in the city without steps, the entrance is level with the ), then no one will sit at our table, even if there are no more empty seats.
And this is Russia…our country…our Motherland.”
What will you answer to this ... Infinitely sad and infinitely ashamed. Therefore, it is necessary to start solving the problems of social adaptation of anyone from healthy people, from themselves and right now. And as long as situations like the above comment exist, no ramps, lifts, handrails and elevators will bridge the gap between the healthy and the sick, the normal and the handicapped.
