1. Since people with down syndrome have come so far since the early 1900's, what else will they be capable of accomplishing in the next decades?
2. Going along with that idea, is it that people with down syndrome are becoming more capable and downs itself does not have the same affect as it did, or is it that we as humans are becoming more accepting, nurturing and able to help as a whole? Maybe people with down syndrome have had these capabilities all along, and we are now just providing them with the opportunities to show their capabilities?
3. In the article, he mentions, in the writings of a man with down syndrome, that his mother's obstetrician "advised the Kingsley family to institutionalize Jason because he would never grow up to have a “meaningful thought.” Herein lies my question; what is it like for people with down syndrome in their own minds? Do they have the same thought processes as I do, and just can't get these out in the same ways that I can? Or is their thought processes disrupted and not similar to mine? Are things "normal" (and I use this loosely, not saying by any means that my thought processes are "normal")in the mind of someone with down syndrome, do they feel like they are trapped inside there, not able to express themselves as they see/think/feel on the inside?
1. What is it like to be a parent of a child with a physical or mental disability? Are you constantly aware of how others perceive your child, and do you always feel the need to protect your child more then a parent who has a child that is fully functioning?
2. Do people need to censor themselves when interacting with people who have down syndrome? Since those with the disability are becoming more and more capable and the community is becoming more accepting why do people feel as if they need to leave certain aspects of life out to protect those with downs?
3. SInce those with downs syndrome are becoming more and more capable as the years progress is this due to discoveries within the disability, the ever changing world we live in, or the actions of people without the disability?
Does the underestimation of people with Down Syndrome and other mental challenges resemble where people currently are and where they can work to be. Or is it strictly seen as end point? As a society could we assume that expectations of their capabilities are not an end of potential?
If understanding and making connections is something that is not easily grasped for people with Downs syndrome then how can problem solving in art exercises allow for this critical thinking skill to develop through practice?
Over the years, there has been a wider range of mental challenges that our society faces and affects our children. However it is also something that is becoming just a challenge to work through and not an end of life, as it used to be viewed. Does this speak to the future and how we can help develop, grow, and harness the capabilities of mentally challenged children and adults to become independent?
There seems to be this huge lack of the idea of presuming competence throughout history, is it possible that physicians would tell their patients to lower their expectations as a means to boost optimism in parents when the presumed child exceeds expectations? Or do you think they truly believe that the child will not progress very far?
Berube noted, "As we learn about Down Syndrome, we honestly - if not paradoxically - don't know what constitutes a reasonable expectation for a person with down syndrome." I find this statement to be very agreeable, yet if you look to typical behavior of somebody without a mental disability they are generally quick to jump to their own predetermined expectations of the capabilities of somebody with down syndrome or any other mental disability...why do you think that is?
Is it possible that people have their own predetermined expectations of those with mental disabilities because of the media and how the media represents those with mental disabilities?
1. Just as parents of children with down syndrome must stay optimistic in terms of what to expect how do we as educators maintain that optimism in our classroom environments and in our curriculum? How do we make sure we are expecting the most out of these students?
2. Considering that we will most likely be working with students with down syndrome in an inclusion setting how can we make sure that we are creating curriculum that expects as much from our specials needs students as it does their typical peers without creating frustration?
3. Michael makes a point about institutionalization in relation to the Kingsley family. Why is that the recommendation is often from early institutionalization? How does this directly relate to ideas about having little expectations?
1. Would Professor Singer feel differently about Down Syndrome and the expectations that are associated with it if he had a son or a daughter who had it?
2. Is Michael Berube being unreasonable in his request for Singer to revise his passage that includes the phrase, "we cannot expect" and change it to "we have no reason to expect"?
3. Berube states that he doesn't know "what constitutes a 'reasonable expectation' for a person with Down Syndrome". How can we, as future educators, create a thriving environment for students with down syndrome if each student has a different level of functioning?
1) If Singer were to start looking at Downs Syndrome as what they can do rather than what they can't do would that change his stance on the issue?
2) What should we as educators except from children with Downs if each child has a different level of functioning?
3) I've also been fascinated by mental disorders, especially Downs Syndrome. What would it be like in the mind of someone with this disorder? How can we "walk in their shoes" and better understand how to communicate on their level?
Questions for the reading, More on Peter Singer and Jamie Berube Submitted by Freida Wright 9/3/2012
1. How will we view and understand Down syndrome in the future and the intelligence levels of each individual with Down syndrome, since these levels vary with all individuals?
2. How are reasonable expectations determined and measured for an individual with Down syndrome for each age level and stage of development?
3. How can we honestly know what constitutes a reasonable expectation for a person with Down syndrome? Don't expectations have to do with how an individual is reared along with what educational opportunities were available to that person as a child, teen, and then an adult?
1) How can teachers shape curriculum around students with down sydrome? Each individual has a different level of social, cognitive, and physical functioning, so is this possible?
2) Do you agree with the author that you should not limit what an invidividual with down syndrome is capable and incapable of?
3) Do you think because the author is the father of the invididual with down syndrome, there is an immediate bias drawn?
1. Overall, has the internet benefited children with disabilities? Although it allows people to be easily informed, is it always truthful information?
2. The article brings out how parents need to constantly examine their own expectations of their child, and affirm their own faith in their child. Are parents of children with down syndrome advised or required to undergo therapy or class sessions to be clearly informed about down syndrome? This would seem like a logical advancement to help parents raise and guide their child.
3. The article tells how one doctor in the 1970’s advised a family to institutionalize their son with down syndrome because “he would never grow up to have a meaningful thought”. Did doctors truly believe this because they were given false information? Or were they just extremely inconsiderate because of prejudices?
1. How can parents of children with Down syndrome be better informed about what to expect? 2. How do we categorize the many different levels of functionality within people with Down syndrome? 3. How can we change the minds of medical and academic professionals who doubt the quality of life of someone with Down syndrome?
Michael Berube talks about early intervention programs for children with Down syndrome and how they have helped to improve the lives of these children. I was just wondering what these programs consist of? What types of exercises are most successful at helping kids with Down syndrome develop their cognitive and communicative skills? What can teachers suggest to parents to help their child grow and learn?
When Berube addresses the concerns of the parents of a Down syndrome child he says “it’s not just a matter of contesting other people’s low expectations of your child, it’s a matter of recalibrating your own expectations time and time again”. This led me to think how extremely it can effect a Down syndrome child’s development if a parent has very low expectations of them. Could this be the reason why some people with Down syndrome excel and others don’t? Is it right for a parent to tell their child that they can achieve their dreams or could this just lead to disappointment for a child with Down syndrome? It seems like a very fine line and I see just how difficult it can be for the parent who doesn’t want to mislead their child or give them faults expectations; but I do agree with Berube that parents shouldn’t believe that they “cannot expect” that their child can do something.
Berube talks about Jason Kingsley who wrote the book Count Us In. Kingsley tells the story of a doctor who advised the Kingsley family to institutionalize him because “he would never grow up to have a meaningful thought.” I found this very surprising that a doctor would say this. Its extremely insensitive and closed minded of a doctor to speak of his patients’ child in this way. I was wondering how we could change this type of attitude. Are doctors told not to say this type of thing to their patients? Isn’t their training that discourages giving such extreme advice and passing such harsh judgments about what a child with Down syndrome can or cannot do?
1. what constitutes a meaningless thought? I know plenty of people not affected by down syndrome that have an abundance of meaningless thoughts? Who am I or anyone else to deem something meaningful or not?
2. Does severe protection from the outside world absolutely need to play a role in the lives of those with down syndrome? To a degree, do you believe it could be helpful or harmful to shelter those with DS?
3. "You're looking for things they can't do, I'm looking for things they can." If all doctors and people in general took this approach to diseases such as DS, do you think it would effect them in any way?
1. Considering that this article is written by a parent with Down's Syndrome, are his obvious biases affecting its validity or judgment?
2. The article talks a lot about how there are so many differing abilities of people with Down's Syndrome (i.e. the cognition to appreciate a certain type of humor). This may sound ignorant, but do people with Down's Syndrome fall on a kind of spectrum similar to those with Autism? How do we categorize the different levels of function/impairment?
3. Our country's knowledge/acceptance/willingness to understand disabilities like Down's Syndrome has significantly changed within the last century. How do we ensure that generations in the future will continue this shift (and then some) to help people with Down's be understood and treated more equally?
Bethany Hall
ReplyDeleteI wonder what people with down syndrome will be capable of 20, 40, and 100 years from now?
Also I wonder what other exceptional things have been done by people with down syndrome?
And last I wonder what it is like for a baby with down syndrome who is institutionalized? What all is that child missing out on because of that?
1. Since people with down syndrome have come so far since the early 1900's, what else will they be capable of accomplishing in the next decades?
ReplyDelete2. Going along with that idea, is it that people with down syndrome are becoming more capable and downs itself does not have the same affect as it did, or is it that we as humans are becoming more accepting, nurturing and able to help as a whole? Maybe people with down syndrome have had these capabilities all along, and we are now just providing them with the opportunities to show their capabilities?
3. In the article, he mentions, in the writings of a man with down syndrome, that his mother's obstetrician "advised the Kingsley family to institutionalize Jason because he would never grow up to have a “meaningful thought.” Herein lies my question; what is it like for people with down syndrome in their own minds? Do they have the same thought processes as I do, and just can't get these out in the same ways that I can? Or is their thought processes disrupted and not similar to mine? Are things "normal" (and I use this loosely, not saying by any means that my thought processes are "normal")in the mind of someone with down syndrome, do they feel like they are trapped inside there, not able to express themselves as they see/think/feel on the inside?
1. What is it like to be a parent of a child with a physical or mental disability? Are you constantly aware of how others perceive your child, and do you always feel the need to protect your child more then a parent who has a child that is fully functioning?
ReplyDelete2. Do people need to censor themselves when interacting with people who have down syndrome? Since those with the disability are becoming more and more capable and the community is becoming more accepting why do people feel as if they need to leave certain aspects of life out to protect those with downs?
3. SInce those with downs syndrome are becoming more and more capable as the years progress is this due to discoveries within the disability, the ever changing world we live in, or the actions of people without the disability?
Does the underestimation of people with Down Syndrome and other mental challenges resemble where people currently are and where they can work to be. Or is it strictly seen as end point? As a society could we assume that expectations of their capabilities are not an end of potential?
ReplyDeleteIf understanding and making connections is something that is not easily grasped for people with Downs syndrome then how can problem solving in art exercises allow for this critical thinking skill to develop through practice?
Over the years, there has been a wider range of mental challenges that our society faces and affects our children. However it is also something that is becoming just a challenge to work through and not an end of life, as it used to be viewed. Does this speak to the future and how we can help develop, grow, and harness the capabilities of mentally challenged children and adults to become independent?
There seems to be this huge lack of the idea of presuming competence throughout history, is it possible that physicians would tell their patients to lower their expectations as a means to boost optimism in parents when the presumed child exceeds expectations? Or do you think they truly believe that the child will not progress very far?
ReplyDeleteBerube noted, "As we learn about Down Syndrome, we honestly - if not paradoxically - don't know what constitutes a reasonable expectation for a person with down syndrome." I find this statement to be very agreeable, yet if you look to typical behavior of somebody without a mental disability they are generally quick to jump to their own predetermined expectations of the capabilities of somebody with down syndrome or any other mental disability...why do you think that is?
Is it possible that people have their own predetermined expectations of those with mental disabilities because of the media and how the media represents those with mental disabilities?
-Jessica Krut
1. Just as parents of children with down syndrome must stay optimistic in terms of what to expect how do we as educators maintain that optimism in our classroom environments and in our curriculum? How do we make sure we are expecting the most out of these students?
ReplyDelete2. Considering that we will most likely be working with students with down syndrome in an inclusion setting how can we make sure that we are creating curriculum that expects as much from our specials needs students as it does their typical peers without creating frustration?
3. Michael makes a point about institutionalization in relation to the Kingsley family. Why is that the recommendation is often from early institutionalization? How does this directly relate to ideas about having little expectations?
1. Would Professor Singer feel differently about Down Syndrome and the expectations that are associated with it if he had a son or a daughter who had it?
ReplyDelete2. Is Michael Berube being unreasonable in his request for Singer to revise his passage that includes the phrase, "we cannot expect" and change it to "we have no reason to expect"?
3. Berube states that he doesn't know "what constitutes a 'reasonable expectation' for a person with Down Syndrome". How can we, as future educators, create a thriving environment for students with down syndrome if each student has a different level of functioning?
1) If Singer were to start looking at Downs Syndrome as what they can do rather than what they can't do would that change his stance on the issue?
ReplyDelete2) What should we as educators except from children with Downs if each child has a different level of functioning?
3) I've also been fascinated by mental disorders, especially Downs Syndrome. What would it be like in the mind of someone with this disorder? How can we "walk in their shoes" and better understand how to communicate on their level?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteQuestions for the reading, More on Peter Singer and Jamie Berube
ReplyDeleteSubmitted by Freida Wright
9/3/2012
1. How will we view and understand Down syndrome in the future and the intelligence levels of each individual with Down syndrome, since these levels vary with all individuals?
2. How are reasonable expectations determined and measured for an individual with Down syndrome for each age level and stage of development?
3. How can we honestly know what constitutes a reasonable expectation for a person with Down syndrome? Don't expectations have to do with how an individual is reared along with what educational opportunities were available to that person as a child, teen, and then an adult?
1) How can teachers shape curriculum around students with down sydrome? Each individual has a different level of social, cognitive, and physical functioning, so is this possible?
ReplyDelete2) Do you agree with the author that you should not limit what an invidividual with down syndrome is capable and incapable of?
3) Do you think because the author is the father of the invididual with down syndrome, there is an immediate bias drawn?
1. Overall, has the internet benefited children with disabilities? Although it allows people to be easily informed, is it always truthful information?
ReplyDelete2. The article brings out how parents need to constantly examine their own expectations of their child, and affirm their own faith in their child. Are parents of children with down syndrome advised or required to undergo therapy or class sessions to be clearly informed about down syndrome? This would seem like a logical advancement to help parents raise and guide their child.
3. The article tells how one doctor in the 1970’s advised a family to institutionalize their son with down syndrome because “he would never grow up to have a meaningful thought”. Did doctors truly believe this because they were given false information? Or were they just extremely inconsiderate because of prejudices?
1. How can parents of children with Down syndrome be better informed about what to expect?
ReplyDelete2. How do we categorize the many different levels of functionality within people with Down syndrome?
3. How can we change the minds of medical and academic professionals who doubt the quality of life of someone with Down syndrome?
Michael Berube talks about early intervention programs for children with Down syndrome and how they have helped to improve the lives of these children. I was just wondering what these programs consist of? What types of exercises are most successful at helping kids with Down syndrome develop their cognitive and communicative skills? What can teachers suggest to parents to help their child grow and learn?
ReplyDeleteWhen Berube addresses the concerns of the parents of a Down syndrome child he says “it’s not just a matter of contesting other people’s low expectations of your child, it’s a matter of recalibrating your own expectations time and time again”. This led me to think how extremely it can effect a Down syndrome child’s development if a parent has very low expectations of them. Could this be the reason why some people with Down syndrome excel and others don’t? Is it right for a parent to tell their child that they can achieve their dreams or could this just lead to disappointment for a child with Down syndrome? It seems like a very fine line and I see just how difficult it can be for the parent who doesn’t want to mislead their child or give them faults expectations; but I do agree with Berube that parents shouldn’t believe that they “cannot expect” that their child can do something.
Berube talks about Jason Kingsley who wrote the book Count Us In. Kingsley tells the story of a doctor who advised the Kingsley family to institutionalize him because “he would never grow up to have a meaningful thought.” I found this very surprising that a doctor would say this. Its extremely insensitive and closed minded of a doctor to speak of his patients’ child in this way. I was wondering how we could change this type of attitude. Are doctors told not to say this type of thing to their patients? Isn’t their training that discourages giving such extreme advice and passing such harsh judgments about what a child with Down syndrome can or cannot do?
1. what constitutes a meaningless thought? I know plenty of people not affected by down syndrome that have an abundance of meaningless thoughts? Who am I or anyone else to deem something meaningful or not?
ReplyDelete2. Does severe protection from the outside world absolutely need to play a role in the lives of those with down syndrome? To a degree, do you believe it could be helpful or harmful to shelter those with DS?
3. "You're looking for things they can't do, I'm looking for things they can." If all doctors and people in general took this approach to diseases such as DS, do you think it would effect them in any way?
1. Considering that this article is written by a parent with Down's Syndrome, are his obvious biases affecting its validity or judgment?
ReplyDelete2. The article talks a lot about how there are so many differing abilities of people with Down's Syndrome (i.e. the cognition to appreciate a certain type of humor). This may sound ignorant, but do people with Down's Syndrome fall on a kind of spectrum similar to those with Autism? How do we categorize the different levels of function/impairment?
3. Our country's knowledge/acceptance/willingness to understand disabilities like Down's Syndrome has significantly changed within the last century. How do we ensure that generations in the future will continue this shift (and then some) to help people with Down's be understood and treated more equally?