Guest guest Posted March 4, 2001 Report Share Posted March 4, 2001 Have a question. Everything I have been reading says the average mental age of an adult with down syndrome is 8. Why then do they have to work? I wouldn't send my *normal* 8 year old out to work every day. I would send her out to play, watch TV and do school. Do adult ds people not think like an 8 year old kid? Do they want to be adults? Do they WANT to work, or would they rather be treated like kids? Am I generalizing? My mind is geared towards children and not adults, but this doesn't make sense to me. Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2001 Report Share Posted March 5, 2001 Boy have you opened a can of worms! this is the constant struggle - does one aim for age appropriate based on chronological age or mental age?? here is a short list of where these things go: Elie is 15, loves Sesame Street. Do I make him watch MTv as more " age appropriate " ? Same for music choices and even on what he listens to music - He loves his Fisher-Price tape player (numer 5) but the last behaviorist we had here told us we were infantalizing him because he should have a tape player and/or a walkman. He does have a walkman, but uses it when we travel. He still prefers Sesame Street or kids folk tapes to any other music. Same with going to the movies - He likes kids movies and musicals. definately NOT teen fare. Work - he can set and clear the table. Is he ready to work at McD? Not hardly. Would I let him go malling - DUH!!!! and we could go on. Sara _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 Hi Gail, My 16 year old daughter has DS (without any *autism*). Speaking for her, she wants very much to get a job, drive, have a boyfriend, get an apartment, and a check book. She also plays with her Barbies everday. She has a " job " at her high school. For 1 period a day, she works in the library-dusting, and putting books back(with help), and also " cleans " a classroom(vacuming, and dusting). For this she gets minimum wage, and is very proud of her money. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 In a message dated 3/6/01 1:22:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, usercameron7001@... writes: << Hi Gail, My 16 year old daughter has DS (without any *autism*). Speaking for her, she wants very much to get a job, drive, have a boyfriend, get an apartment, and a check book. She also plays with her Barbies everday. She has a " job " at her high school. For 1 period a day, she works in the library-dusting, and putting books back(with help), and also " cleans " a classroom(vacuming, and dusting). For this she gets minimum wage, and is very proud of her money. Terri >> Terri, Thanks for sharing that. I have nothing against any job that any of my kids want to do. As long as they enjoy it and do well at it. Even toilet cleaning or stuffing envelopes. I have entertained the possibility of doing those exact same things to bring some extra money into the house. :-) So, your 16 year old can be an adult for a short time, and then get to *play*? That is so cool! I mean that she can do, and wants to do both. Seems like a very happy coexistence to me. Thanks again Terri. Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 In a message dated 3/6/01 6:42:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, pastmidvale@... writes: << He still prefers Sesame Street or kids folk tapes to any other music. Same with going to the movies - He likes kids movies and musicals. definately NOT teen fare. >> Sara, This is the type of thing that bother me. So what if Elie like Sesame Street? It is then *appropriate* for him, isn't it? At the day treatment and residential centers here, if the person can *request* a Disney movie or cartoon, they can watch it. If they can't request, then they have to watch an adult type, age appropriate movie that they haven't got a clue about. This doesn't make any sense to me. Age appropriate doesn't mean crap, does it? Here's another one....the speech therapist at one of the day centers told me one of the clients asked her to put a pretty bad swear word on his device. She did it because of freedom of speech and all that. She almost lost her job because of it. She said he should be able to have it because he requested it and he should be taught where and when it was appropriate to use it. Like, not in group or at therapists, but it was okay with his family or friends if it didn't offend them. Same as any *normal* adult, right? They made her remove it and told her they would wait for him to file a grievance or whatever. Like, who's going to help this guy do that? Boy, if I had the time and knowledge, I know I would be at the center everyday asking what I can do to help these people to attain what they want. Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 Wow Gail, what a concept! I had never given anything like that a thought! I was talking to a teacher once about 's loss of speech and she was asking me what words he used to say. I told her and added that I remembered one time when we were in the grocery store and he was sitting in the cart saying, " *hit " over and over again. She looked at me and said, " Real nice, Terry " . I told her, , if he would say *hit now I would make a cheer out of it! And I meant it! LOL I wonder if anyone else has run into the situation like that young man? My opinion of " age appropriate " is that it is a waste of time and more for the people around the kid/adult. We fell into that trap with a few years ago where some educators " guilted " us into throwing away 's " baby " stuff. The upshot was that couldn't care less about " age appropriate " . He is who he is and he likes what he likes! We try to introduce new things from time to time but we end up passing on that stuff more often than not! Our goal is for to be happy and Barney videos and stim-stuff makes him happy! So be it! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 In a message dated 3/6/01 9:58:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, Imaddenmom@... writes: << He is who he is and he likes what he likes! >> LOL Terry, Just reminded me of things that I do that aren't age appropriate either. LOL How many 47 year olds go sledding, build snowmen, rollerblade, wear pigtails, and play on the swings and slides at a park. (sometimes all by myself)! LOL Gee, Disney movies are still my favorites along with Shirley Temple and all the musicals too. LOL Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 Gail, Keeps us young, huh?! LOL Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 In a message dated 3/6/01 10:31:16 PM Eastern Standard Time, Imaddenmom@... writes: << Gail, Keeps us young, huh?! LOL Terry >> LOL young, sore and a little bit over the edge! LOL Gail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2001 Report Share Posted March 6, 2001 sara, me and elie have alot in common...i too love sesame street..i actually have a sesame street desk set i bought off ebay on my desk. i love to watch disney movies over other tv shows. i love the old return to witch mountain one especially. ashton loves to sit and watch annie, wizard of oz, and old shirley temple movies on saturdays with me!! ashton uses her fisher price tape player too i think its easier because it has big buttons and not alot of confusing crapt on it.....play stop rewind.....only need the basics.....her walkman has elmo on it....i use it when i go to the track......so this can go both ways, either i am just still a kid and " infantilized " (by the way what kind of word is that " and haven't hit maturity and still on a five year old level or she is more mature than her mommy......yhehheheeheh i too can clean tables but prefer not too daily...i like to leave them be three or four days so the crapt sticks on them and you have to scrape leftovers off with butterknife....this can be a very good ot goal for ashton....working on fine motor muscle skills with 80% accuracy 3/5 trials...hehehhe tc leah > >Reply-To: >To: >Subject: Re: mentally 8 >Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 20:24:03 -0500 > >Boy have you opened a can of worms! this is the constant struggle - does >one aim for age appropriate based on chronological age or mental age?? > >here is a short list of where these things go: Elie is 15, loves Sesame >Street. Do I make him watch MTv as more " age appropriate " ? Same for music >choices and even on what he listens to music - He loves his Fisher-Price >tape player (numer 5) but the last behaviorist we had here told us we were >infantalizing him because he should have a tape player and/or a walkman. >He >does have a walkman, but uses it when we travel. He still prefers Sesame >Street or kids folk tapes to any other music. Same with going to the movies >- He likes kids movies and musicals. definately NOT teen fare. > >Work - he can set and clear the table. Is he ready to work at McD? Not >hardly. Would I let him go malling - DUH!!!! > >and we could go on. > >Sara >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2001 Report Share Posted March 7, 2001 you mean rolling in the snow, building snowmen and playing on the playground aren't age appropriate? I'm almost 46 and those are some of my favorite things...like rollerblading too, but can't do the pigtails with this mop...I have very " noncompliant " hair.....Anyway, I agree we ALL are who we are and like what we like ...ds/autism or not! I've been enjoying Lady and the Tramp II lately and I love " Bear in the Big Blue House " ! Re: mentally 8 In a message dated 3/6/01 9:58:06 PM Eastern Standard Time, Imaddenmom@... writes: << He is who he is and he likes what he likes! >> LOL Terry, Just reminded me of things that I do that aren't age appropriate either. LOL How many 47 year olds go sledding, build snowmen, rollerblade, wear pigtails, and play on the swings and slides at a park. (sometimes all by myself)! LOL Gee, Disney movies are still my favorites along with Shirley Temple and all the musicals too. LOL Gail http://www.onelist.com/community/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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