Disability: how functional can one be?


Disability: how functional can one be?

Among the parents, this question was asked. Some kept quiet. I would like to illustrate some extreme examples here.

people doing swim race
Swimming (Photo by Jim De Ramos on Pexels.com)

Examples of low functionality may include catatonia and coma. Most activities of daily living (ADL) need to be attended to. This may include breathing, feeding, cleaning them up, or moving their limbs.

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And here are a few highly functional people. Being differently-abled does not stop them from excelling.

John Forbes Nash Jr. (June 13, 1928- May 23, 2015) was a devoted mathematician. He received the 1994 Nobel Prize in economics. John Nash struggled with schizophrenia.

U.S. gymnast, Simone Biles, swimmer Michael Phelps, tennis star Naomi Osaka, are elite athletes. They have spoken publicly about mental health struggles.

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So, how functional can a special child be?

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5 Comments

  1. Yernasia Quorelios's avatar Yernasia Quorelios says:

    ๐Ÿ’Ž – Diamond Hard – ๐Ÿ’Ž

    ๐Ÿ’Ž On Paper I AM Certified Psychiatrically “DisAbled” EveryOne; so, having been Pensioned Out of The WorkForce I Get to Observe what Really Goes On in a Workers Head…put Simply, Workers ARE Crazier than I AM; it’s ALL of that STRESS!!! ๐Ÿ˜ฉ ๐Ÿ˜ช ๐Ÿ˜ซ ๐Ÿ˜… ๐Ÿ˜‘ ๐Ÿ˜ ๐Ÿ˜ฉ that I Had as Worker leading to Bullying and My Current Psychiatric State of Being; don’t Get Me Wrong, there ARE Plenty of Passionate Folk ENJOYING!!! Their Work with Supportive Management or Going Solo Running Their Own Business, it’s Just NOT!!! For Me EveryBody

    ๐Ÿ’Ž – Diamond Hard – ๐Ÿ’Ž

    …๐Ÿ’Ž๐Ÿ’Ž๐Ÿ’Ž…

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  2. Yernasia Quorelios's avatar Yernasia Quorelios says:

    ๐Ÿ’Ž – Diamond Hard ๐Ÿ’Ž

    ๐Ÿ’Ž The Problem is The Labels ๐Ÿท ๐Ÿ™„ ๐Ÿ˜’ ๐Ÿ˜‘ ๐Ÿคฃ ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿพ ๐Ÿท EveryOne; when ‘Grown Ups’ Quit Labelling ๐Ÿ™„ ๐Ÿ˜’ ๐Ÿ˜‘ ๐Ÿ˜ค ๐Ÿคฆ ๐Ÿ˜ ๐Ÿ™„ “DisAbility” as a Word Evaporates and “We” Sumply Accept just as Children Do…so I Suggest YOU!!! ALL Return to The Purity of YOUR!!! ChildLike State EveryBody; by Being a KiDult

    ๐Ÿ’Ž – Diamond Hard – ๐Ÿ’Ž

    …๐Ÿ’Ž๐Ÿ’Ž๐Ÿ’Ž…

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Ab's avatar Ab says:

    The Michael Phelps example always motivates me. He struggled with ADHD since childhood but his mom recognized that early on and supported him. Look at how he turned out. There is always reason to feel hopeful and to work and to push our children to reach their potential.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, excellent example๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

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