Cerebral Functioning
We humans are not created equal in all functional respects, physically or mentally. We are endowed in accordance with our genetic inheritance, further through our experiences and exposure to various learning stimulants. And there are always nature's accidents, when a foetus in gestation does not evolve as it normally should, when cells and wiring go awry, and chromosomes do not match genetic imprinting. This is where the unanticipated intrudes, and when parents are informed that their child has inherited a genetic fault or has, in utero through deranged cells, not developed normally.
We do not select or elect to become what we are; we are the product of an exchange of genetic materials, some from the male, some from the female in the production of another human being. When children are born with mental handicaps, their brains, on a varying scale of potentials simply are not capable of functioning at the same level as children without that kind of incapacitation. And while it is true that children with Down syndrome may be able to function at a reasonable level they will be unable to do so at quite the level of a child whose cerebral functioning is considered in the normal range.
The chromosomal disorder that Down syndrome exemplifies is characterized by different levels of potential among different affected individuals, affecting cognitive ability. Physical growth may be impaired, and facial appearance is such that the condition is immediately recognizable. Cognitive impairment has a wide range, from mild to profound. Parents of Down syndrome children no longer consign their children as was once done, to an institution where they live out their natural life-span.
Down syndrome children have entered the normal stream of life, living with their families, attending the same elementary and secondary schools as other children, when they demonstrate ability and capacity. In adulthood many are more than capable of working in occupations that do not demand intelligence fuller than that most people can muster during the course of an ordinary working day. Adults with fewer skills and ability are still able to function at a higher than rudimentary level in the workforce, matching most low-skill workers' capabilities.
But attend an institute of higher learning, in a society that is reluctant to be less than 'fair and open-minded', wanting to be inclusive and balanced toward all its members? This is one area of fulfillment that is not really feasible, to anticipate that a Down syndrome individual, however well functioning, would be capable of grasping concepts, amassing cerebral skills, advancing theories, collecting and weighing data. The sheer knowledge base required to achieve a university degree is simply not consonant with the abilities of the cognitive-impaired.
In whatever sphere of higher learning, it just does not seem sensible for a parent to insist that a Down syndrome child - who has been carefully fostered through the education system with the assistance of an intermediary who takes notes, interprets and explains them so that the pupil is able to assimilate the information - attend university. The academic environment is not for everyone. Certainly not for individuals in the 'normal' intelligence mainstream who demonstrate little cognitive ability, and not, likewise for individuals whose cognition is impaired from birth.
A young adult who requires assistance not related to cerebral functioning; one without eyesight or hearing can take advantage of mechanical assists in a university setting, along with the help of a special assistant. Blindness or hearing impairment does not affect the cognitive functioning of the brain. Nor does something like spina bifida, or any other serious degenerative condition. A brain, however, that is not wired to receive and retain information, to evaluate and to extract data simply is not academic material.
An open and free society, one that is sympathetic to the needs of all its members does go out of its way to accommodate, when practical, all aspirations. The mother of a young man with Down syndrome, Ashif Jaffer, in the process of suing York University for $3 million has her priorities skewed. She insists that the public education system has an obligation to undo what nature failed to endow her son with.
She has convinced herself that society owes every opportunity to her son to achieve a level of education not quite commensurate with his native ability to attain. She has gone further than that; she has imbued that desire in her son, convinced him that it is his due, and that he is fully capable of achieving the goals she has set for him. And she is ferocious in her determination that York University give him the opportunity to pass university-level examinations.
Not as all other university students must, but on her terms, with an assistant present at all times to do the work of note-taking, then explaining the meaning of the notes, their relevance, context, and interpretation. Guiding him to a level of understanding that is mechanical, not intuitive or self-generating. During examinations the presence of that same assistant would be required to guide the student through the procedure of assimilating the questions and creating adequate responses.
This is the result of a woman who has been unable to come to terms with the reality that her child has limitations. She has been incapable of adjusting to that reality, has encouraged her son to follow her dream for him. The bubble of evanescent impracticality she lives in must be pricked by reality. She has to submit to the understanding that he should be valued for who and what he is, not for what she wants him to be.
We do not select or elect to become what we are; we are the product of an exchange of genetic materials, some from the male, some from the female in the production of another human being. When children are born with mental handicaps, their brains, on a varying scale of potentials simply are not capable of functioning at the same level as children without that kind of incapacitation. And while it is true that children with Down syndrome may be able to function at a reasonable level they will be unable to do so at quite the level of a child whose cerebral functioning is considered in the normal range.
The chromosomal disorder that Down syndrome exemplifies is characterized by different levels of potential among different affected individuals, affecting cognitive ability. Physical growth may be impaired, and facial appearance is such that the condition is immediately recognizable. Cognitive impairment has a wide range, from mild to profound. Parents of Down syndrome children no longer consign their children as was once done, to an institution where they live out their natural life-span.
Down syndrome children have entered the normal stream of life, living with their families, attending the same elementary and secondary schools as other children, when they demonstrate ability and capacity. In adulthood many are more than capable of working in occupations that do not demand intelligence fuller than that most people can muster during the course of an ordinary working day. Adults with fewer skills and ability are still able to function at a higher than rudimentary level in the workforce, matching most low-skill workers' capabilities.
But attend an institute of higher learning, in a society that is reluctant to be less than 'fair and open-minded', wanting to be inclusive and balanced toward all its members? This is one area of fulfillment that is not really feasible, to anticipate that a Down syndrome individual, however well functioning, would be capable of grasping concepts, amassing cerebral skills, advancing theories, collecting and weighing data. The sheer knowledge base required to achieve a university degree is simply not consonant with the abilities of the cognitive-impaired.
In whatever sphere of higher learning, it just does not seem sensible for a parent to insist that a Down syndrome child - who has been carefully fostered through the education system with the assistance of an intermediary who takes notes, interprets and explains them so that the pupil is able to assimilate the information - attend university. The academic environment is not for everyone. Certainly not for individuals in the 'normal' intelligence mainstream who demonstrate little cognitive ability, and not, likewise for individuals whose cognition is impaired from birth.
A young adult who requires assistance not related to cerebral functioning; one without eyesight or hearing can take advantage of mechanical assists in a university setting, along with the help of a special assistant. Blindness or hearing impairment does not affect the cognitive functioning of the brain. Nor does something like spina bifida, or any other serious degenerative condition. A brain, however, that is not wired to receive and retain information, to evaluate and to extract data simply is not academic material.
An open and free society, one that is sympathetic to the needs of all its members does go out of its way to accommodate, when practical, all aspirations. The mother of a young man with Down syndrome, Ashif Jaffer, in the process of suing York University for $3 million has her priorities skewed. She insists that the public education system has an obligation to undo what nature failed to endow her son with.
She has convinced herself that society owes every opportunity to her son to achieve a level of education not quite commensurate with his native ability to attain. She has gone further than that; she has imbued that desire in her son, convinced him that it is his due, and that he is fully capable of achieving the goals she has set for him. And she is ferocious in her determination that York University give him the opportunity to pass university-level examinations.
Not as all other university students must, but on her terms, with an assistant present at all times to do the work of note-taking, then explaining the meaning of the notes, their relevance, context, and interpretation. Guiding him to a level of understanding that is mechanical, not intuitive or self-generating. During examinations the presence of that same assistant would be required to guide the student through the procedure of assimilating the questions and creating adequate responses.
This is the result of a woman who has been unable to come to terms with the reality that her child has limitations. She has been incapable of adjusting to that reality, has encouraged her son to follow her dream for him. The bubble of evanescent impracticality she lives in must be pricked by reality. She has to submit to the understanding that he should be valued for who and what he is, not for what she wants him to be.
Labels: Health, Human Relations, Social-Cultural Deviations
posted by Pieface @ 6:16 PM
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