Why Hold Them Back?

I have to privilege to work alongside wonderful individuals at ARC Marion who care deeply for the clients served here.  They take great pride in their work and rejoice in every “victory” in a client’s life and feel pain and anguish when clients are hurt and sad.  Great things happen here every day.  Too many to even recount, so when I hear of parents of the developmentally disabled in our community who are reluctant to have their children here, at times it gets my blood boiling. 

Recently some local developmentally disabled students currently in the school system toured the ARC Marion campus.  One of them proudly announced that she was 22 years old and still had not “graduated” to come to ARC Marion  or any other service provider in the area (ARC Marion accepts individuals 18 and older but Medicaid waiver funding doesn’t kick in until age 22).  When asked why she hadn’t yet graduated, she replied that her mother didn’t want her to leave the “safe” environment of school.  What that equates to in my mind is keeping the child from excellent job skills training and the potential for employment in the community or even one day a supported living environment where the girl could be on her own in a self-sustaining situation. 

I’m truly amazed every time I hear that there are families holding their children back from opportunities that could forever change their lives.  It’s horrible when you hear of normal children who weren’t given a chance, but when there are great possibilities out there for those with disabilities to progress, it’s even worse to hold them back.  Society already expects them to be behind, so as they advance, the accomplishments are more profound and visible. 

I charge any parent of a developmentally disabled individual to not give up on that child, no matter his or her age.  It’s not fair to that person, and it’s not fair to society.  Don’t hold them back!