Kat,



What's an Advisory Group?  Kathy Jo

















At 11:12 PM 1/2/2005, you wrote:
>I agree with Bobby, Lori.  I think the best thing to do is have him belong to
>a group of kids (or all boys) that are able-bodied and that also have
>disabled members.  The reason?  To get your son to learn how to interact with
>all kinds of people in the real world.
>
>I was fortunate to be "mainstreamed" from Junior High on and even whilst in
>elementary school (I went to a public school for disabled children in Los
>Angeles County) my parents made sure I was in extracurricular activities with
>able-bodied kids.  Thus  by the time I started a parochial school in the
>seventh grade, I'd already learned to function at a mature level with all
>levels of people.
>
>Many year later,  I was a member of a disability advocacy group and was
>appalled at the exhibitions of immature behavior I encountered.  It was
>maddening to come against unrealistic expectations when trying to teach
>people how to protect themselves or how to interview for jobs, etc. All too
>often people had expectations of being hired just because they were disabled,
>not because they were a good fit for the company they were trying to get a
>job in.  Others expected their bosses to know what adaptive equipment they
>needed without needing to tell anyone.  They didn't have enough experience in
>communicating with the world at large to realise that communication is a
>two-way street. Another problem I saw was that a lot of those who were
>sheltered and only interacted with other disabled kids were too trusting -
>they didn't know how to be wary and careful of others.  I am so glad my
>parents didn't allow me to be too comfortable while growing up.  You need to
>learn to put up with the bad as well as the good to survive.  It's called
>"resilient intelligence," I believe, and there's "emotional intelligence" as
>well.
>
>Kat
>
>On Sunday 02 January 2005 8:40 pm, [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > Lori,
> >
> >     I have read some suggestions about having your son socializing with
> > young persons with disabilities, This may work, but it may also have the
> > opposite effect. I have seen such groups keep the maturity level down. Get
> > advice from people in your area.
> >
> > Bobby