KJ,
If it is family members and friends, TALK TO THEM DIRECTLY, especially at
the moments when they talk to you/about you like you are a child. Nip the
problem in the bud. Tell them clearly and firmly that you are an adult and
do not appreciate being referred to as a baby and that using language like
that hurts your feelings, makes you feel uncomfortable etc. If they respect
you and care for you, they will think twice in the future about treating you
this way.
But as others have said, you have to act like an adult to be treated like
one. Handle this problem like an adult and they may realize you have grown
up. Yes, people like to treat us like children sometimes and it is often
the people closest to us that forget we are not little girls anymore, but we
have to be the one to prove to them and remind them WE ARE NOT kids anymore.
Believe me, my own mother often still gives me "advice" like I am a child
(and I don't need the care and assistance you do) and I am expecting my own
baby in a few weeks!
Linda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Pink" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 12:56 PM
Subject: Re: Babysitter Issue
> Kendall,
>
>
>
> Other people (family members, other friends). Would it be appropriate to
> e-mail the people that are doing it?
>
>
>
> KJ
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>From: Kendall David Corbett <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: Cerebral Palsy List <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: Babysitter Issue
>>Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 11:48:09 -0600
>>
>>KJ,
>>
>>Are your attendants referring to themselves as your "babysitters," or are
>>other people ("Friends," family members, etc.) referring to them that way?
>>In either case, it's inappropriate, but if it's friends and/or family
>>members, it sounds like it's time to sit down with them and say "Look, I'm
>>in my 30's. Thirty year olds, even with disabilities, may need help with
>>some tasks, but that doesn't make us children!"
>>
>>My first job out of college was working for an agency that helped people
>>with disabilities live independently. We had some employees who were in
>>their 50's and early 60's, who referred to the people we worked with as
>>kids, and I hated it! After I'd been working there about 6 months, I got
>>the job of training coordinator, and one of the first things I did was
>>start training on the use of People First language, and treating EVERYONE
>>in an age appropriate manner.
>>
>>One of the toughest groups to work with was family members of the people
>>we
>>provided support to. But I told them that if I heard staff referring to
>>their family member inappropriately, I'd have a "talk" with that staff
>>member, and it'd make things a lot easier for the staff if family members
>>and friends used People First and age appropriate language.
>>
>>It didn't completely solve the problem, but it helped a lot!
>>
>>Kendall Corbett
>>Coordinator of Consumer Activities
>>Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities - WIND
>>College of Health Sciences
>>University of Wyoming
>>1000 E. University Avenue, Dept. 4298
>>Laramie, WY 82070
>>(307) 766-2853
>>[log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Kathy Pink [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>>Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 3:04 PM
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Babysitter Issue
>>
>>For those of you that need assistance in dialy life, here's a question for
>>you. . . Do other people in your kife,,, call them your baby-sitter?
>>
>>_________________________________________________________________
>>On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to
>>get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement
>>
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>
> _________________________________________________________________
> On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to
> get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement
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