Steven
B. Schnee Ph.D.
Executive Director
March 2002
Disabled But Able
March is mental retardation month. It is a time to pause and recognize people who, through no fault of their own, have limited intellectual functioning and tremendous perseverance. It is a time to reflect on the many, many advances in this field and the accomplishments of so many people with mental retardation in assuming participating, contributing lives as a part of our communities. It is a time to thank all their family members who realigned their personal expectations and provided the love, commitment, support, and encouragement to “shore up” their loved one to meet the challenges and continue to advance.
It is a time to believe in what can be while appreciating how far we have come.
Have you ever walked with a person with mental retardation through his or her apartment (HCS) or group home and seen the excitement and happiness as he/she described their space and daily activities?
Have you ever gone with or spoken to a person with mental retardation about their job in a local business or industry and heard the pride in their accomplishments and the rewards that came from making a contribution through work?
Have you ever sat in a classroom with a group of people with mental retardation and watched as they worked hard – sometimes really hard – to learn new skills and abilities which would let them function and live in the community in more independent fashion?
Have you ever been to the Special Olympics and watched the pride of participation, joy of competition, and thrill of victory?
Have you ever gone to the Candy Cane Ball, right before the Christmas Holiday, and experienced hundreds and hundreds of persons with mental retardation, dressed to the “nines”, dancing, singing, swaying with the music – enjoying the moment fully?
Have you every spoken to a family who has a loved one with mental retardation, who has committed countless hours, internal strength, and family resources well past the point that most parents expect to have their children go off “on their own” – but needed that little extra financial support through In Home and Family Support to purchase a little respite care, or special therapy, or an adaptive devise so they could continue to share that special relationship, that special love with their mentally retarded adult child in their home?
Have you ever watched a child with significant developmental delays begin to gain mobility and speech – and see the look in their parents’ eyes and the hope on their faces?
Well, I have. And, it is these special moments – these times when I see, and feel, and hear the benefits of what we – what you, each of you – do each day that I appreciate in ways that are hard to articulate the real difference being made in the lives of the consumers of services and supports through the network of providers, both public and private, under the umbrella of the Mental Retardation Division of MHMRA.
In spite of caring for some of the most challenged people with mental retardation in the county, often with complex, challenging medical and/or behavioral conditions,
In spite of being in one of the lowest per capita states in terms of financial resources available within a given fiscal year,
In spite of funding inequities that “short” Harris County some $33.4 million dollars a year for the services and supports for priority population consumers with mental retardation – just to be at the state average in FY 2002,
In spite of the continuing “juggling act” – to ensure that consumers who get into the system have just the right amount of resources for services and supports to accomplish their goals as clinically justified, not too little or too much – while assisting those hundreds and in some cases thousands, who are standing in line on a waiting list to try to understand why the wait and to cope with the absence of assistance,
In spite of all the challenges, what we are able to do continues to make a huge difference for those we “touch”.
Do people with mental retardation have feelings, hopes, desires, wants, expectations, goals, dreams – you betcha they do. Look in their eyes, watch their faces, listen to their voices. They, each of them, want to be all they are capable of being. Each has unique abilities and ways to both participate and contribute. Each may have a mental disability, but each is able. It falls to us to find the ways to help them express themselves – to listen with all our senses, not just our ears.
It is the countless special people – the staff at all levels, the family members, the advocates, the educators, the organizations – who day in and day out assist people with mental retardation to more fully reach their level of ability – their individual potential. A special thanks to each of you.