Week 6 - Professional

As mentioned before Kelly and I are taking a course that is about people with severe learning difficulties. The course so far has been very interesting and I am learning to be thankful for everything that I have and not taking anything for granted. As observed in one of the videos we watched in class, a young boy who has a condition that results in his skin constantly coming off has to suffer a bleach bath four times a week in order to keep his immune system and hygiene levels high. It was heart breaking to watch this but made me realise how easy it is to moan and grumble about things that we don’t have instead of concentrating on the good things we do have, like our health.

The course also included a 10 hour trip (spilt between two days) to a centre that cares for people with all kinds of severe disabilities known as the North Mississippi Regional Centre, located just 15 minutes’ drive away from our apartments. Before entering the centre I believed I had a rough idea of some of the sights I would encounter due to working in a nursing home and also having some experience with children with Special Educational Needs. But I don’t think any amount of preparation could have prepared me for what I found.

The North Mississippi Regional Centre provides a range of services to individuals with intellectual and related developmental disabilities and has done since 1973. The campus is huge and well kept, giving the residents plenty of room to walk around and enjoy the beautiful surrounding gardens. The services provided include that of its own nursing, education and dentistry department and many more which are all located on campus, making it almost a little city within a big city. One of the most shocking facts is that the centre has over 1000 members of staff just to look after 280 residents as their conditions are so severe.

On our first day there, I was put into a classroom of adults who had a wide range of different disabilities and difficulties. The residents were all very affectionate and the staff helped to provide a very positive and friendly atmosphere. As I am training to be a teacher the staff were able to share a lot of information with me about the residents and I was rather shocked to find out what each individual’s annual goals were. For example one resident by the end of the year was aiming to independently load and reload the dishwasher. It was strange to hear that such an easy task to me would be a very difficult task to someone else. On our second day, Kelly and I were in a class that had younger residents and their conditions included those who are blind, deaf, autistic and who had very little means of verbal communication. One resident, who has dementia, is prone to self-abusing and but due to their condition they doesn’t even realise how much they are hurting themselves.

This whole experience has opened my eyes to the wide range of disabilities out there and has widened my knowledge in this area. It warmed my heart to see so many people willing to help and everyone seemed to know each other making them part of one big family.

(28/02/2012)