Normalization

First of all, in order to understand what needs to talk place in our society to help people with spinal cord injuries, we must examine what society deems "normal." Dictionary.com provides eight definitions of normal: "1) conforming, usual, or regular; 2) serving to establish a standard; 3) free from mental disorder, sane," and so on and so on. Each of these definitions gives a guideline for what people would call "normal." What does society say? Many things, but as for laying down a solid definition of normal, it is more of an unwritten rule that people live by. Do people in Hollywood live normally? Do the Amish live normally? Do you? What is normal?

In the briefest of senses, normal can be described by society as somone who is free from physical impairments, cognitive/developmental impairments, somewhat middle class with a job. Without these critical images, you would not be considered normal. People may envy you, or they may scoff at you if you do not have these images all planned out as society says you should. However, there is hope. The definition of normal does not change, but society's expectations do, so if you change society's expectation to include people who would not be considered "normal" by today's definition, then people could live "normal" lives in acceptance of others who may have had some setbacks or struggles in life.

If society encouraged people to reach for the stars, no matter what setback one may have had in life, then entering the job circut or social ring after a life altering injury would not be so difficult. Programs that allow people to help someone with a SCI and play games together, will help mold society's view. Once we stop making an injury about the injury and start making the injury a person with a face, then things change, people change. Support groups and services about disability and making the most out of the situation, like recreational therapy, helps encourage people to move on. Life is going to throw setbacks/trials; it is always different for each person, that is why support groups, like spinalcord.com is set up to give people a great understanding of what they are dealing with and what to do next. SCI's are serious, but if we don't help change society's view of normal, the situation will become more than serious; it could become deadly.

Participant Interview

The person that I interviewed was AJ. He is a six year old boy with Autism, who is one of the smartest kids that I know. As I was interviewing him and his parents, I learned a great deal about just how smart he is, considering that he started reading at 41/2 and started recognizing letters, numbers and patterns at 31/2.

One of the concepts that really jumped out at me during the interview was when his mom told me that they started noticing symptoms of Autism at a very young age, but he wasn't diagnosed until he was 20 months. The amazing thing is that his parents started therapy right away, and by 26 months, he was seeing an Occupational Therapist and Hippotherapy at just over four years of age. His parents are very supportive of him and only want the best for their child (as do most parents), but what amazed me even more was the fact that they don't let AJ's Autism discourage them in any way. AJ is a very bright kid with great futuristic opportunity because his parents have been pro-active and really helping their child through therapy.

For my service plan, I chose to focus on AJ's goal of better communication, by having him work on answering questions and requesting help when he needs help, instead of just whining. Since, I work with AJ in a therapeutic riding setting, I focused my care plan in that direction. One of the first goals his parents told me they wanted for him in therapeutic riding is that AJ becomes completely comfortable with horses and learns to ride on his own. So, I had this as one goal and focused on better communication for the second goal, with a couple of objectives to help reach this goal.