David V. Whalen Trainer/Consultant disabilityawarenesstraining

1. David V. Whalen Trainer/Consultant www.disabilityawarenesstraining.com Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse And Prevention-September 23, 2014

2. “A person who is severely impaired never knows his hidden sources of strength until he is treated like a normal human being and encouraged to shape his own life.”

3. “all kids desperately want to succeed” • Robert White • “to believe that all kids from birth want to learn and be successful” • Julian Siegel • “It’s easier to build a child than to repair an adult”

4. Disability Awareness • Disability awareness helps “to remove barriers so that responsible, self-sufficient people with disabilities can assume risks, make choices and contribute as they wish… this is a vision in which we all win.”

5. Avoidance Rights Marriage Transportation Discrimination Policy Respect Integration Housing Relationships Employment Dignity Inclusion Education Funding Why Disability Awareness?

6. Promotes: Dignity & Equality Shared Experience Protection of Rights Integration Expanded Opportunity Social & Other Inclusion Empathy Education Employment A Richer & more Diverse community for EVERYONE in the community Combats: “Caretaker” Mindset US vs.THEM Mindset Curtailed Rights Segregation Limited Opportunity Social & Other Exclusion Sympathy (poor them!) Avoidance Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) Syndrome A Divided & Inequitable community Why “Awareness”

7. Inclusion • Inclusion is a term used by people with disabilities and other disability rights advocates for the idea that all people should freely, openly, and without pity accommodate any person with a disability without restrictions or limitations of any kind

8. Diversity • Race • Ethnicity • Religion • Culture • Gender • Generational • Sexual orientation • Disability

9. The Disabled perspective • The media relies on the fact that all of us are familiar with certain stereotypes: • The elderly a. are jolly • People w/disabilities b. are absent-minded • Teenagers c. are hot tempered • Redheads d. are not intelligent • Athletes e. disrespect adults • Professors f. make false promises • ‘Little people’ g. are senile • Obese people h. aren’t scholars • Politicians i. only read books • Librarians j. only have jobs in movies • Stereotyping is LABELING! It distorts the truth

10. Acceptance • An expression of the feelings we develop about ourselves and about diverse groups. Some level of understanding must come before achieving any genuine acceptance of other people. This is particularly true for those with different abilities, customs, values, and sexual orientation

11. Behavior • Refers to our ability to interact with different people. It indicates our ability to perform tasks with comfort and ease in our interactions with people who are different from us

12. Knowledge • The foundation for all other areas. Information about other people is necessary before we can understand someone else’s feelings, thoughts, and motives. Only then can we begin to know how our own feelings, thoughts, and routines impact others

13. Disability Awareness • Accessibility/Accommodations • Education/Transition • Employment • Spirituality • Advocacy • Municipalities (Town Hall Training) • Transportation • Recreation/Leisure • Person First • Health Care

14. Definitions • Statistics • 18.6% of the U.S. population 16-64 years • 41.9% of the U.S. population 65 years and over

15. Numbers • Intellectual Disability; 2-3% of population (7M) • Cerebral palsy; 700,000 Americans • Post-polio syndrome; 1M survivors (433,000 report paralysis) • 8M Americans with visual impairment • Stroke; 4.5M survivors • 3.2M wheelchair users/30M individuals with ambulation challenges • 910,000 people in Assisted Living facilities • Autism; 1 in 68 children

16. Disability Awareness • Accessibility/Accommodations • School/Transition • Employment • Spirituality • Advocacy • Town Hall (Municipalities) • Transportation • Recreation/Leisure • Person First • Health Care

18. Victimization and the Disabled • 4-10 times higher (In 2007 estimated 5M Individuals with developmental disabilities victimized-70% not reported to law enforcement) • Often victimized repeatedly by the same individual • Officer usually the first to interact • Never assume that IWD suffer less emotional trauma and psychological injury than other crime victims • Communication by officer often key to defusing anxiety and getting accurate responses

19. Abuse-Myths; Dr. Dick Sobsey • Families of people with disabilities are always under increased stress • Inappropriate behavior and psychological disturbances are direct outcomes of developmental disabilities • People won’t attack a defenseless person • Human service professionals choose careers working with vulnerable people because of a strong need to help others • People with intellectual disabilities don’t suffer from abuse because they don’t understand what is happening to them • Myths about Abuse BOTH facilitate and rationalize it

20. Bullying • 40% of kids that are bullied have a disability; many of them physically assaulted • 50-60% do not tell anyone • 9 of 10 elementary school students are bullied - Stanford study • Career bullies slightly more likely to serve prison time, also tend to suffer from depression, up to 50% also have a disability • Kids routinely victimized exhibit higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts

21. Definitions • Emotional Disability (Mental Health) • Physical Disability • Learning Disability • Sensory disability • Intellectual Disabilities • Developmental Disabilities

22. How Do Disabilities Present • Obvious; individuals who use a wheelchair, individuals who have certain outward characteristics • Non-obvious/hidden; disability is not visually evident until discussion becomes more involved, response is unusual, person identifies, or it is manifested • Evident shortly after encounter by discussion, appearance or response

23. Definitions • Emotional Disability – Mental Health • Affective disorders • Depression • Bipolar disorder • Schizophrenia • Anxiety disorders • Phobias • Panic disorder • Obsessive-compulsive disorder • Post-traumatic stress disorder • Personality disorders • Eating disorders • Psychoses • ADD/ADHD

24. Co-Morbidity • Refers to two disabilities that may be evident in an individual but not necessarily because an individual has one or the other. • Individual will have two disabilities that have a relationship; • Cerebral palsy-Seizure disorder • ADHD-Learning Disability • Anxiety-Depression

25. ADHD • 2 ADHD children in every classroom in USA • 11% of population • Most common: • Behavioral referral to health care professional • Referral/diagnosis in special education • Behavior problem in classes • Diagnosis in child MH facilities

26. ADHD-Academics • 33% have academic problems (sp ed, probation, drop out, held back) vs 2% of controls • 48% have at least 1 year of special ed placement vs 3% of controls • 12% vs 5% have been held back a grade • 9% drop out vs 1% of controls • ADHD adolescents a full grade lower than controls, with twice the rate of absences • Total annual cost per child $4900

27. ADHD

28. Oppositional Defiant Disorder • Symptoms: • Actively does not follow adults requests • Angry and resentful of others • Argues with adults • Blames others for own mistakes • Has few/no friends, has lost friends • Is in constant trouble in school • Loses temper • Spiteful or seeks revenge • Touchy, easily annoyed

29. Emotional disturbance • A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance: • An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors • An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers • Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances • A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression • A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems

30. Children and Depression • family history • linked to an imbalance of brain chemicals-neurotransmitters • Some causes: meds, illness, stress • before puberty, equal in sexes, between 15-18y/o, twice as likely in females • First signs; • Sad, bored, irritable, behavior, school problems

31. Children and Depression • Symptoms: • long term irritability, sadness, loss of pleasure in activities once enjoyed • change in appetite that may lead to problems maintaining a normal weight • sleeping too much or not enough • feeling hopeless, worthless, guilty • difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions • recurring thoughts of death or suicide

32. Mental Health perception • The MacArthur foundation (2001) research on mental illness and violence: • “Mental disorder” and violence are closely linked in the public mind. A combination of factors promotes this perception: sensationalized reporting by the media, popular misuse of psychiatric terms, and exploitation of stock formulas and narrow stereotypes by the entertainment industry. The public justifies its fear and rejection of people labeled “mentally ill”, and attempts to segregate them by the assumption of “dangerousness”

33. Definitions • Physical Disability • Cerebral palsy • Stroke victims • Amputees • Severe arthritis • Spinal cord injury • Leukodystrophies • Multiple Sclerosis • Muscular Dystrophy Sensory Disability • Hard of Hearing /Deaf • Visual Impairment/Blind

34. Learning Disability • Learning Disability: a disorder that affects people’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain. • These limitations can show up in many ways - as specific difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. • Such difficulties extend to schoolwork and can impede learning to read or write, or to do math.

35. Learning Disability-Signs • may have trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to sounds • may make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat and pause often • may not understand what he or she reads • may have real trouble with spelling • may have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly • may struggle to express ideas in writing • may have trouble remembering the sounds that letter make or hearing slight differences between words • may learn language late and have a limited vocabulary • may have trouble understanding jokes, comics, and sarcasm

36. Learning Disability-Signs • may have trouble following directions • may mispronounce words or use a wrong word that sounds similar • may have trouble organizing what they want to say or not be able to think of the word needed for writing or conversation • may not follow social rules of conversation and may stand too close to listener • may confuse math symbols and misread numbers • may not be able to retell a story in order • may not know where to begin a task or how to go on from there

37. Learning Disability Impact of LD without supports or services: -35% of students with LD drop out of High School -Greater risk of substance abuse, depression, suicide, psychiatric problems -31% of adolescents with LD will be arrested 3-5 years out of High School Estimates range from 40% to 65% or even higher for inmates and parolees who have learning disabilities, mild intellectual disability, ADHD, and psychiatric or addictive disorders, or some combination thereof. As many as 65% of the children incarcerated in juvenile correctional facilities prove to be eligible for special education services.

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39. Among the learning disabled • Bruce Jenner • Cher • Stevie Wonder • Henry Winkler (The Fonz) • Tom Cruise • Charles Schwab • Bob Weir • Whoopie Goldberg • Thomas Edison • Albert Einstein • Leonardo DaVinci • Nelson Rockefeller • General George Patton • Woodrow Wilson • Babe Ruth

40. Definitions • Developmental Disabilities • Attributable to a mental or physical impairment, or combination • Intellectual disability • autism • cerebral palsy • neurological impairment • Epilepsy/seizure disorder • Manifested before 22 years old • Likely to continue indefinitely • Results in three or more substantial functional limitations in: • self-care • receptive and expressive language • learning • mobility • self direction • capacity for independent living • economic sufficiency • Need for special services that are lifelong or extended and individually planned and coordinated

41. Cognition • Development is defined as thinking, problem solving, concept understanding, information processing, and overall intelligence • ID (MR) characteristics: • Learning; delays, slower pace, difficulty in applying • personal care • communication, speech • social skills

42. Socially Difficult Tics and Obsessions • Vocal tics that involve inappropriate language • Motor and vocal tics that have a sexual context • Motor tics that are complex and may seem aggressive • Misunderstood obsessions which may appear to indicate mental illness

43. Tourette Syndrome (TS) • Tics increase as a result of stress, anxiety, excitement, and fatigue. • Motor Tics (42); examples include eye blinking, hitting self, pulling at clothes, finger tapping, hair tossing • Vocal Tics (21); yelling, sniffing, barking, humming, coughing, hissing • Complex Tics; repeating phrases, words, parts of words; animal sounds; stuttering; amplitude of speech; muttering

44. Tic • An involuntary, repetitive motor movement or vocalization.

45. Autism • Neurological disorder, usually appears in first 3 years of life • Characteristics; • communication; delayed or no language development, words with no meaning, gesturing, short attention span • social interaction; spends time alone, less responsive to social cues • sensory impairment • play; lack of spontaneous or imaginative play • behaviors; overactive or passive, tantrums, may lack common sense, may show aggression, needs routine • Clearing up the myths; may make eye contact, smile/laugh, show affection, display emotions, respond to their environment in positive or negative ways

46. High Functioning Autism • Individual will have average to above average intelligence and will be able to verbally communicate needs and wants.

47. High Functioning Autism • Social situations confusing • Hard to make small talk • Usually strong, narrow interests • Behavior may seem odd, quirky • Literal, concrete, highly logical thinker • Finds security in repetition

48. High Functioning Autism • May be considered rude with no intention of being so • Stress when routine suddenly changes • Lack of empathy (may not grasp other’s feelings)

49. Behavior Challenges • Why they present themselves • How they present themselves • How to respond Definition:1. The manner in which one behaves2. (Psychology) The actions or reactions of persons or things in response to external or internal stimuli

50. Behavior Challenges • Why they present themselves • Difficulty focusing attention • Poor impulse control • Failure to recognize potential dangers • Short frustration tolerance • Overreaction to stimulus • Easily confused • Inability to grasp concepts • Inability to perceive time/space relationships • Poor memory – can’t remember/can’t forget • Locked into developmental stage due to disability • Lack of appropriate life experience • Medical issue • Inability to communicate