Comments on: Finding suitable work http://www.henkterheide.com/2008/09/17/finding-suitable-work/ Random Acts of Art Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:41:27 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: admin http://www.henkterheide.com/2008/09/17/finding-suitable-work/comment-page-1/#comment-340 admin Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:16:56 +0000 http://www.henkterheide.com/?p=605#comment-340 Of course if you really wanted to teach this girl to dress herself, you could start out with something like the game "who can put on her socks?". Start out with brightly colored socks that are a few sizes to big and make it into a fun game. Something the girl will enjoy doing. Compliment her a lot, even if progress is slow. As long as the girl enjoys the game she will keep playing it and get better at it. If she succeeds in putting on her socks you could move up to (buttonless) trousers and (buttonless) sweaters. But what ever you do. Never do this game when you're going for a swim. Then you won't have time for games like this. Only let her change herself when you know she can do it in the time allowed. Otherwise you would get annoyed and she would stop liking the game. regards Henk Of course if you really wanted to teach this girl to dress herself, you could start out with something like the game “who can put on her socks?”.
Start out with brightly colored socks that are a few sizes to big and make it into a fun game. Something the girl will enjoy doing. Compliment her a lot, even if progress is slow.
As long as the girl enjoys the game she will keep playing it and get better at it.
If she succeeds in putting on her socks you could move up to (buttonless) trousers and (buttonless) sweaters.
But what ever you do. Never do this game when you’re going for a swim. Then you won’t have time for games like this. Only let her change herself when you know she can do it in the time allowed. Otherwise you would get annoyed and she would stop liking the game.

regards Henk

]]> By: admin http://www.henkterheide.com/2008/09/17/finding-suitable-work/comment-page-1/#comment-339 admin Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:16:50 +0000 http://www.henkterheide.com/?p=605#comment-339 Hi Ettina, It does indeed sound like you're her boss. I don't know how low functioning this girl is but have you ever tried to teach her to change into her swimsuit herself? Teaching her to do something her self will take a lot of time at first. But at some point she will know it and could do it herself. Not only would it save you time but she would probably in joy doing it herself. The experience in the Netherlands is that you can teach almost anyone simple tasks like dressing them selfs. Even though it may cost a lot of time and money at first, in the long run it makes caring for people cheaper and it gives them a feeling equality. Hi Ettina,

It does indeed sound like you’re her boss.
I don’t know how low functioning this girl is but have you ever tried to teach her to change into her swimsuit herself?
Teaching her to do something her self will take a lot of time at first. But at some point she will know it and could do it herself. Not only would it save you time but she would probably in joy doing it herself.

The experience in the Netherlands is that you can teach almost anyone simple tasks like dressing them selfs. Even though it may cost a lot of time and money at first, in the long run it makes caring for people cheaper and it gives them a feeling equality.

]]> By: Ettina http://www.henkterheide.com/2008/09/17/finding-suitable-work/comment-page-1/#comment-338 Ettina Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:51:40 +0000 http://www.henkterheide.com/?p=605#comment-338 "Influenced by emancipation movement of the sixties and seventies the way social workers dealt with the disabled changed. People became responsible for there own actions. Which meant that social workers became advisers and sounding board for their clients. Listening to them and asking them questions. Which is a completely different skill set. One for which I don’t qualify." In my experience working with disabled people, it's not at all like that. Could be because I'm Canadian instead of Dutch, or could be that I've worked with lower functioning people than you, but most of the programs I've found are full of people telling other people what to do. With one girl, for example, I basically spend the entire time with her prompting her verbally and/or physically to 'go here, grab this, sit here' etc, or else just doing things to her (like changing her into her swimsuit for the pool). I'm no adviser to her, I'm her boss. “Influenced by emancipation movement of the sixties and seventies the way social workers dealt with the disabled changed. People became responsible for there own actions. Which meant that social workers became advisers and sounding board for their clients. Listening to them and asking them questions. Which is a completely different skill set. One for which I don’t qualify.”

In my experience working with disabled people, it’s not at all like that. Could be because I’m Canadian instead of Dutch, or could be that I’ve worked with lower functioning people than you, but most of the programs I’ve found are full of people telling other people what to do. With one girl, for example, I basically spend the entire time with her prompting her verbally and/or physically to ‘go here, grab this, sit here’ etc, or else just doing things to her (like changing her into her swimsuit for the pool). I’m no adviser to her, I’m her boss.

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