I have a family member involved with a work program that tries to provide a rich life experience for people with mental disabilities.
I’m certainly no expert on these matters, but I did want to defend certain people who are afflicted with disorders that cause those who don’t know them to react in a negative manner simply because they haven’t been around people like that before.
Yes, some of these people do act out from time to time. For the most part, it’s like children on the playground. Some of them act inappropriately and get in trouble for it.
If as some people fear, these people were all dangerous, programs like this one would not work. In fact they are not all dangerous. Even so, they also transition through different conditions. Sometimes they cross over into a situation where they can’t function with the group as they used to, and measures have to be taken to make sure they are in a program that is right for them.
This was my emphasis. And it’s important that people understand this. The difference is these folks being placed in a room and wasting away, or living in a group home with their peers, and getting up and going to work every day like others do. They also get to socialize, go to movies, bowling, out to eat, and things on a simpler scale, that still make their lives as fulfilling as ours are.
Even if a job is quite simple, they get a sense of accomplishment out of doing it successfully.
Programs like this are very important to their clientele, and it’s vitally important that members of the community understand what they dynamics truly are.
Amen.