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Monkhouse Mondays: Normal or deficient – a matter of perspective!
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« Power-Up Friday: Eden Care Partner Award | Main | Co-Housing Explained »
June 30, 2008 |Permalink |Comments (1)
Monkhouse Mondays: Normal or deficient – a matter of perspective!
[Editor's Note: Eden Alternative Europe Coordinator Christa Monkhouse guest-posts on a weekly basis from across the Big Pond. Christa helped introduce the Eden Alternative to Europe, first in the UK, then Denmark, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and soon in Sweden, Finland and other European nations. Stay-tuned for regular updates on 'Monkhouse Mondays'.]
My husband Lowell (Canadian) told me this story over breakfast (Sunday, summer morning, sitting outside, in sunny Switzerland near Lake Zürich).
During the early 1970’s he was working with a Canadian provincial government and they were attempting to implement the ideas of the Syracuse University Professor Wolf Wolfensberger who had written the book Normalization. They were developing the requisite services so that people with disabilities could live in the community and not in institutions. Once when visiting a Hutterite Colony with his boss, they saw a young man with Down-Syndrome. At that time this young man would have quite likely been living in an institution if not living on the commune. The boss asked the colony’s headman to tell him about “the young man over there”. The headman responded by saying "who, John the cattle herder?" That, in a nutshell, described the solution.
I drew immediate parallels to how we should treat our Elders today. Readers are invited to respond with their ideas and impressions.
-- Christa Monkhouse
Comments ( 1)
I like this story a lot. I would like to think that the community where John lived allowed him to find his ultimate expression of self-actualization through becoming a cattle herder. In that respect, an elder who embraces a troubled teenager through friendship and mentoring would illustrate a parallel example.
I also like the story because it offers us an opportunity to explore various ominous possibilities to what appears on the surface to be a noble deed. Here are some examples of a few bizzaro ideas:
Scenario #1:
John is given this job because cattle herding in this particular community happens to be very dangerous; all the cattle there bite and scratch when approached.
A parallel story: a nursing home resident is sent out for a psychiatric evaluation (followed by the inevitable psychotropic drug restraints) because he tried to kiss one of the caregivers
Scenario #2:
John's community has no idea what to do with him. Cattle herding seems like a fairly benign task - they have dogs who usually do this but they figured John can do it too; it will keep him busy.
A parallel story: lining up nursing home residents along a table in the Activities Room and giving them washcloths to fold. As soon as the batch of washcloths is folded, a caregiver comes, takes the pile and messes it up so that a new batch can be started.
Scenario #3:
A prominent social scientist from John's community is working on a ground breaking theory - involving patients with Down syndrome in cattle herding improves satisfaction among patients and cattle alike.
A parallel story: placing a dog and a few fake plants in a nursing home and calling it an Eden Home.
I hope that my twisted take on John's story is not inappropriate. I thought of these examples as I have been reflecting on my own experiences with changing our existing organizational culture. I deal with my own mind's limitations and that of others every day. I know the road is long and I don't mind. But there is one thing that frustrates me to no end and that is dealing with misconstrued "successes" - placing band aids on deep wounds and coming up with new terminology for the same behaviors while thumping our chests and yelling "culture change!"
Thank you, again, for the story!