“I am Sam” (2002) is an inspiring melodrama of Sam Dawson (Sean Penn), a young man with developmental disabilities and a single father to Lucy (Dakota Fanning). While the film did not specify the specific condition, it is believed that Sam had a mental capacity of a 7 year old. Sam and Lucy lived a comfortable independent life at a small apartment and were surrounded by supportive friends who also had developmental disabilities. Sam was able to raise and provide a loving and safe environment for Lucy until one day Sam found himself in a courtroom fighting to regain custody of Lucy who was taken away because he was believed to be incapable of raising a 7 year old girl who has a higher mental capacity than him. This movie is truly inspirational, …show more content…
He’s emotional capacity is surprisingly higher than most people with cognitive impairment. He executes his role as a father and executes it well. If I were to incorporate the client-centered approach when working with a person with disability just like Sam, I would choose would be those tasks that hold the most meaning to them. Uniquely for Sam, considering he takes his role as the father to Lucy very seriously, his work, which is his source of income, and his circle of friends, it would only be appropriate to integrate all these roles into his treatment. By blending all these areas of interest, Sam would be motivated to forth his best effort. The same concept is also applied to other individuals with other physical or mental disability. Client-centered approached emphasizes the importance of occupational priorities and other activities that defines the person. Mentally and physically disabled individuals would take advantage with the social interventions, mobility adaptation and accommodation, day programs that is going to teach them life skills. Socialization. I believe that social skills allow the person to learn and expand the way he/she looks at the world. For people with mental disability like Sam or even those who have physical disability, socialization plays a pivotal role on how they deal with their physical and mental limitations. Social skills are closely associated with language and communication. With that said, integrating socialization does not only help them cope and learn proper social interactions but teach them ways to effectively communicate as
For future practice in social work, I learned that it is important to empower your clients to set goals and help push them to reach those goals. Robert wanted to plays sports and kept trying until he found a sport that was the best fit for him. Snow (2013a) talked about “the ‘problem’ of disability is not within the person, but within the social attitudes, and our attitudes shape the world we live in” (p.119). I agree with Snow, if our attitudes in society don’t change about “disabilities” the person will never feel completely welcomed or “fit” for
The school system should educate the students about disability acceptance in the community by involving people with special needs on the school activities. III. Satisfaction A. Do buddy clubs. This will help start friendships and connections. Know disable people better.
Patricia Bauer was a former Washington post reporter and one of the founders of the UCLA, a school for young adults with intellectual disabilities, although she gains most of her knowledge on the topic from raising a daughter with Down Syndrome. This article was originally published in The Washington Post, one of the most circulates newspapers in America. When this article came out in August of 2008, two major things were happening concerning mental disabled people. The first was a movie that came out
Being able to interact with other people is a topic covered in great detail in her book. While she has gotten better at doing so, there was a time when she had much more difficulty. “When I was a teenager,” Grandin says, “I was aware that I did not fit in socially” (2006, p. 74). Many people with ASD can relate to this sentiment. Grandin endured painful teasing from others (2006, p. 90) who did not understand her and thought she was weird. However, over time, things improved for Grandin as she learned how to successfully interact with other people. Others with ASD can overcome people’s narrow-minded viewpoints and learn to successfully interact with others, just as Grandin
The two movies I choose to compare and contrast are I Am Sam and Radio. In both of these movies the main characters expressed signs of being exceptional learners. In I Am Sam, Sam Dawson, is the main character that shows autistic tendencies accompanied by intellectual disabilities. “The most common syndromes associated with intellectual disability are autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).” (berns peter, 2016). (Nelson, 2002) (Tollin, 2003) (Taylor, 2015) Radio is a young man who is said to have ‘mental retardation’ a term that has been changed to intellectually disabled because of Rosa’s Law. Radio stumbles upon a football practice where his world about to change for the better.
Chapter thirteen has two subject matter that it discusses in some detail, mental illness and developmental disabilities. This review will be exploring the history, philosophy and theories of developmental disabilities. Social workers come in contact with many clients that have developmental disabilities, and the chapter gives a glimpse the history, problems, and theories related to developmental problems. Chapter thirteen explores the issues of dealing with developmental disabilities in the past and what is being done today to help social workers face the issues.
Indira graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a Masters in Special Education in 2003. She works with mentally challenged youth to help them gain the skills necessary for a better life. She told me that children with disorders such as schizophrenia and autism never gain proper skills to lead their lives on their own, but they are very social and they know how to draw, play and communicate with other kids their age, the basic skills of a child. Children with disorders like ADHD and Bipolarity Disorder come to Frest School to learn how to cope with the disorder and lead a normal everyday life.
Development of social skills is very important for children that are diagnosed with autism because of ...
field trip. In the movie there are nine kids that are focused on and what there disability is. There is
needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in
One of the most difficult things teachers will face when dealing with Autistic children is their lack of communication skills and inappropriate or nonexistent social skills. In addition to academic instruction children with Autism require instruction in communication techniques and social skills. Kamps et.al. says “A key to accommodating students with autism in public school settings is the provision of social and behavioral programming to develop meaningful participation with nondisabled persons” (p.174).
When a disability is thrown into the mix, it becomes a daunting task for both the educator and the student. With certain elements of teaching, creating a more approachable environment is easily obtained. "Anthropological evidence has shown that, in many cultures, observational learning and imitation are the major ways by which behaviors unique to that culture are transmitted from one generation to the next." (Salkind, 2006) Using this skill is a part of Vygotsky's teaching tools: mediation. Mediation is a good skill used for older children and adolescents because of the peer to peer environment. Although, some students have a more difficult time adjusting to these situations due to a certain disability. "Children with autism, for example, have imitative deficits and imitate much less frequently than typically developing children." (Salkind,
The problem not only affects the family’s life but it also affects the child’s ability to learn and be productive at school. Children requires a lot of attention and love on a daily basis, however, having a child that has a disability requires extra attention and love because they are trying to understand the world through a different set of lens. This could become a problem especially if there are multiple children in the household. In often cases, the amount of attention that the parents give to the child in need obstruct the family dynamic because of the pa...
One's dream and aspirations to supersede in life must be stronger and greater than limitations set forth by others. The experience that were bestowed to me during my short life has elevated me to the woman I am today. Please walk with me as I give you the opportunity to see the world from my eyes: