Social Work Intervention
OC 28: Social Work Intervention with the Disabled and their Families
Case Study: Select a family of the disabled child/PWD (person with disability). Become acquainted with the PWD/ family through interviews.
Case: Jeevan Anand Chavan, 25 years
Introduction
Jeevan Anand Chavan is a 25 year old, enthusiastic individual whose vivacity takes you by surprise and makes you want to know more of him. He is working as a Project Coordinator (Self-Employment Scheme) at The Muncherjee Nowrojee Banajee Industrial Home for the Blind. He finished his HSC from King George School, Dadar with a envious score of 82% and went on to do his SSC and Bachelors in Arts at S.I.E.S College, Sion. After that Jeevan went on to do an MA in Social Work from the …show more content…
prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences and specialized in Urban and Rural Community Development. Currently, he is pursuing his LLB from the Government Law College, Mumbai. Jeevan has been visually impaired for the past 20 years of his life.
When I went to The Muncherjee Nowrojee Banajee Industrial Home for the Blind and expressed that I want to speak to him in particular, Jeevan asked me why I wished to study his case in particular. Well, it was a deliberate choice I agree. Let me offer an explanation.
When I met Jeevan for the first time I was totally intrigued by his personality.
He nullified all previous conceptions and perceptions I had of visually impaired people in particular and of the disabled in general. He exuded such a sense of independence and confidence that I had not felt myself in a long time. Also, from what I noticed, Jeevan hardly spoke of the bleak side of the disability that we had, for all this while, studied in this course i.e. Social Work Intervention with the Disabled and their Families. This is what made me want to explore his case and see what is it that keeps people like Jeevan who have been shaken by odds, keep going, and going very smoothly, becoming an inspiration for most around …show more content…
them.
Family and Socio-economic background
Jeevan has lived in a nuclear family all his life that constitutes of his father, mother and younger brother.
The relationships between the family members can be explained in the following genogram more clearly: Jeevan belongs to an upper-class family with a comfortable economic background. His father was in the army and took voluntary retirement early in his career. He now has a government job. Jeevan's grandfather was a Principal in the local village school. Hence, there exists a culture for education in the family. This he says, very objectively and practically, is the reason for his better than the others status despite his impairment. A high social status, earned him and his family a certain respect in society which was a strength in dealing with his impairment. Also, it gave his parents a mindset that made them believe that his impairment need not necessarily mean a handicap. They took it up as a challenge and dealt with it in the best way that they good. And this had a very positive impact on Jeevan despite his disability.
Etiology of the disability
Jeevan's is an acquired impairment. That it, his disability is not congenital- he was not born with it. At the age of five, Jeevan was diagnosed with Glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that gradually steal sight without warning. In the early stages of the disease, there may be no symptoms. Experts estimate that half of the people affected by glaucoma may not know they have it.
Vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve. This nerve acts like an electric cable with over a million wires. It is responsible for carrying images from the eye to the brain.
There is no cure for glaucomayet. However, medication or surgery can slow or prevent further vision loss. The appropriate treatment depends upon the type of glaucoma among other factors. Early detection is vital to stopping the progress of the disease.
Though glaucoma is an primarily an old age disease, Jeevan feels unfortunate to have contracted it so early in life. Since he could talk and express himself at that age, his visual discomfort was brought to the notice of his parents at its conception. They immediately consulted one of the most reputed hospitals in Mumbai- King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital. Here, Jeevan was diagnosed with Glaucoma. After taking treatment for three years, Jeevan was due to undergo surgery at the age of seven. However, at the day of the surgery, his doctor went on leave and trainee doctors operated on him. For six months, his eyes were bandaged and as luck would have it, by the time the bandage was removed, Jeevan had lost his vision.
In 1990, Jeevan got an opporunity to go to the USA for another surgery for vision repairment. But unfortunately, in that year, America called on war on Kuwait and Jeevan missed his chance. There is still an opportunity, and Jeevan hopes that sometime he can go to the USA and undergo that surgery. Life revolves around hope', he says.
Age of onset of the disability and age of intervention/ treatment received
As mentioned earlier, the onset of the problem was when Jeevan was 5 years old. It gradually became worse and by the time he was 7, he had completely lost his sight.
Owing to aware and alert parents, Jeevan received treatment as soon as the problem surfaced.
Effect of presence of disabled child on individual family members and their attitutdes.
As I probed into the case, I got to know that Jeevan's entire family has been very strong about his illness. They have taken it quite positively. Though his parents, were disappointed and upset about his impairment, they took it in their stride. Both his parents made an attempt at looking beyond the illness. They did not want his impairment to become a handicap for Jeevan. They wanted him to be a self-reliant and a confident individual. They never pitied him or felt sorry for themselves. They treated him like just another child and made efforts to give a good life to their child just like all parents do.
Jeevan mentioned that his family very willingly made adjustments in life to accommodate his impairment. His mother would drop him to and from school every single day and his brother was also admitted to the same school as him.
As far as his relationship with his younger brother is concerned, Jeevan says that they share a typical sibling relationship. Since they have grown up together, unlike disabled people who are institutionalised, he shares a very firm and affectionate bond with his brother. His brother never felt embarassed of or vindictive towards Jeevan's impairment. They are strong support systems for eachother.
Since his grandfather was an educated man with strong values, his grandparents and other relatives never viewed him in the conventional bad omen' or ill-luck' lense. Infact, today they believe and very proudly say that whether or not they might be able to do anything, Jeevan would surely make a mark for himself and that they could always depend on him.
Manner of coping with the disabled child and the extent of coping as percieved by the parents
As mentioned earlier, Jeevan's family took his impairment in the positive light. They tried and maintained their focus beyond the impairment. Just like anyother parents are concerned about their children's future and try to make it secure, so did Jeevan's parents. They gave him the best kind of education and he wasn't deprived of anything owing to his illness.
Jeevan's parents have been very strong in coping with the pain of their child being visually impaired. Infact, if looked at it more closely, I feel that they did not feel any different from other families as they took Jeevan's impairment as anyother aspect of life- and very much a part of it. That, according to me, has helped them cope with the pain in the best possible manner.
Also, since Jeevan lost his vision gradually, the impairment did not come as a shock to his family. Since they saw it coming, they were able to accept it in a healthier way and also, they could prepare and plan for it more effectively.
Another thing that I would attribute to the excellent way that Jeevan and his family took his impairment, is that they are all well educated and well to do.
Due to time constraints, I could not interact with Jeevan's family, but through my conversation with him, I gather that he and his family, feel like they have handled his impairment in the best way they could.
This is also because the results of the life and the support that they gave him, are very evident. Jeevan is in a helping' profession rather that seeking help himself. I don't think anything more needs to be said to prove the success of his case.
Cultural and value system, stereotypes, belief system of the family/PWD
One thing that caught my attention while exploring with Jeevan, his family and their mindset, was that they had thought of and believed in the concept of inclusive education' and integration' when Jeevan was only a child. We are advocating the cause of inclusive education' and integration' only now in India. And that too is being accepted at a very slow pace and with a lot of difficulty. But Jeevan's parents had the foresight of seeing the benefits of inclusive education. They put him in a regular school so that he could learn to adjust with people who are necessarily not his kind- atleast physically. They were realistic enough to see that eventually Jeevan will have to learn to accommodate himself with the rest of the world. Hence they began with it early. This helped Jeevan to not see himself as any different or disadvantaged as compared to other
children.
Other that that, I noticed that there were no conventional beiefs about impairment being ill-luck' or being a result of bad karma'. Infact, they believed that since his vision loss was not congenital, it has absolutely nothing to do with past life. On the other hand, it has to do with negligence of people in this life.
Stigma/Discrimination faced by the PWD or his family
When I asked Jeevan about this, he told me that luckily he hasn't had to face stigma about his impairment. He once again owes it to the social and education status his family enjoys.
Infact, throughout his academic life also, he has found friends who have been supportive but not discriminatory. One particular incident he mentions is when, he returned to playing cricket after vision loss, he continued to bowlnce he always was a good bowler.
Unique life situations faced by the PWD/family
Well according to me, what seperated Jeevan's case from others of his kind was that he was backed with strong family support. That ofcourse could be attributed to the fact that his parents we well educated and enjoyed high social status.
Another thing that comes to my mind is the fact that Jeevan has had a brilliant academic record. He has been an excellent student and that has probably earned him the respect of his peers and others. He bagged admission into The Tata Institute of Social Sciences not as a reserved category student but as a general category student. That itself goes to prove that he could not only compete but even beat most able bodied individuals. His education is a very strong selling point for Jeevan. It makes him unique from others who suffer from visual impairment and have due to life circumstances or by choice, not been able to educate themselves well.
PWD/Parents perception of effectiveness of the services availed of by the family/him.
When I asked Jeevan about this, he gave me a quizzical look and said "what services?". This clearly shows that neither Jeevan nor his family has availed of any statutory services offered. His admissions were always in the general category and so were all other aspects in life.
List the factors contributing to the PWD/families achievement
If I were to list down factors that I think contributed to Jeevan's successful management of his impairment, the following will be it:
1. Social status of family
2. Educational status of family
3. Broadmindedness and opsitive approach of parents
4. Jeevan's academic acumen
5. Living in a nuclear family
6. Living in a cosmopolitan and forward city like Mumbai
Level of acceptance of his/her own disability by the PWD/family
As I have mentioned earlier, both Jeevan and his family have accepted his impairment as a part of life and made attempts to look at life beyond it. The level of acceptance is high but it's not that they have considered this as their fate and not made ant efforts towards it. Still there is a look out for possible treatment and all throughout, the best poosible efforts have been made by them to fight the vision loss and to empower Jeevan.
Level of acceptance of aids and appliances, government benefits received
Jeevan does not use, not has ever used any aids and appliances to compensate for his illness.
Intervention required:
Jeevan's family has been an example in itself. Infact, in more ways than one, I have learnt and and enriched my thoughts on disability and rehabilitation through Jeevan's narrative. Thus, I see little scope for intervention with Jeevan's family.
On the contrary, I feel that it would really help if Jeevan's case is kept as a reference and shown as an example to other families that have people with disability in them. They have truly been able to discard the need or rather the concept of stigma' from disability. Jeevan in himself, shows the positives of integration' and inclusive education' . Also, the family has set an example in nullifying the myths attached to disability. Analysis:
Studying, rather exploring the case of Jeevan helped me see an entirely new dimension in disability studies, particularly in the light of rehabilitation.
Importance of family support and consequently that of education has been brought about very vividly. Jeevan's family stuck by him, taking responsibility of making him capable of being responsible for himself. The idea of unproductivity' of an impaired person which makes people abandon disabled persons or institutionalize them, is fatal to the cause of rehabilitation. Family support and education led to Jeevan's gaining education and inturn becoming empowered.
Also, another thing that comes out from this analysis is the importance of inclusive education. Jeevan's is a live example of how much inclusive education can help in reducing stigma, empowering the disabled and in changing perceptions of the so called able bodied individuals.
Jeevan's quest for knowledge and ambitious future plans can keep the hope ticking in anyone. When I asked him about his future plans, he said, oh there are too many'. This itself shows his strong conviction in himself and his world, just as it is. Not once, in my entire conversation did I feel that Jeevan had complaints from life. This to me, is true rehabilitation.
OC 28: Social Work Intervention with the Disabled and their Families
Submitted to: Ms. Vaishali Kolhe
Submitted by: 2005MP002
Submitted on: October 10, 2006
`
Case Study: Select a family of the disabled child/PWD (person with disability). Become acquainted with the PWD/ family through interviews.
Case: Jeevan Anand Chavan, 25 years
Introduction
Jeevan Anand Chavan is a 25 year old, enthusiastic individual whose vivacity takes you by surprise and makes you want to know more of him. He is working as a Project Coordinator (Self-Employment Scheme) at The Muncherjee Nowrojee Banajee Industrial Home for the Blind. He finished his HSC from King George School, Dadar with a envious score of 82% and went on to do his SSC and Bachelors in Arts at S.I.E.S College, Sion. After that Jeevan went on to do an MA in Social Work from the …show more content…
prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences and specialized in Urban and Rural Community Development. Currently, he is pursuing his LLB from the Government Law College, Mumbai. Jeevan has been visually impaired for the past 20 years of his life.
When I went to The Muncherjee Nowrojee Banajee Industrial Home for the Blind and expressed that I want to speak to him in particular, Jeevan asked me why I wished to study his case in particular. Well, it was a deliberate choice I agree. Let me offer an explanation.
When I met Jeevan for the first time I was totally intrigued by his personality.
He nullified all previous conceptions and perceptions I had of visually impaired people in particular and of the disabled in general. He exuded such a sense of independence and confidence that I had not felt myself in a long time. Also, from what I noticed, Jeevan hardly spoke of the bleak side of the disability that we had, for all this while, studied in this course i.e. Social Work Intervention with the Disabled and their Families. This is what made me want to explore his case and see what is it that keeps people like Jeevan who have been shaken by odds, keep going, and going very smoothly, becoming an inspiration for most around …show more content…
them.
Family and Socio-economic background
Jeevan has lived in a nuclear family all his life that constitutes of his father, mother and younger brother.
The relationships between the family members can be explained in the following genogram more clearly: Jeevan belongs to an upper-class family with a comfortable economic background. His father was in the army and took voluntary retirement early in his career. He now has a government job. Jeevan's grandfather was a Principal in the local village school. Hence, there exists a culture for education in the family. This he says, very objectively and practically, is the reason for his better than the others status despite his impairment. A high social status, earned him and his family a certain respect in society which was a strength in dealing with his impairment. Also, it gave his parents a mindset that made them believe that his impairment need not necessarily mean a handicap. They took it up as a challenge and dealt with it in the best way that they good. And this had a very positive impact on Jeevan despite his disability.
Etiology of the disability
Jeevan's is an acquired impairment. That it, his disability is not congenital- he was not born with it. At the age of five, Jeevan was diagnosed with Glaucoma. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that gradually steal sight without warning. In the early stages of the disease, there may be no symptoms. Experts estimate that half of the people affected by glaucoma may not know they have it.
Vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve. This nerve acts like an electric cable with over a million wires. It is responsible for carrying images from the eye to the brain.
There is no cure for glaucomayet. However, medication or surgery can slow or prevent further vision loss. The appropriate treatment depends upon the type of glaucoma among other factors. Early detection is vital to stopping the progress of the disease.
Though glaucoma is an primarily an old age disease, Jeevan feels unfortunate to have contracted it so early in life. Since he could talk and express himself at that age, his visual discomfort was brought to the notice of his parents at its conception. They immediately consulted one of the most reputed hospitals in Mumbai- King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital. Here, Jeevan was diagnosed with Glaucoma. After taking treatment for three years, Jeevan was due to undergo surgery at the age of seven. However, at the day of the surgery, his doctor went on leave and trainee doctors operated on him. For six months, his eyes were bandaged and as luck would have it, by the time the bandage was removed, Jeevan had lost his vision.
In 1990, Jeevan got an opporunity to go to the USA for another surgery for vision repairment. But unfortunately, in that year, America called on war on Kuwait and Jeevan missed his chance. There is still an opportunity, and Jeevan hopes that sometime he can go to the USA and undergo that surgery. Life revolves around hope', he says.
Age of onset of the disability and age of intervention/ treatment received
As mentioned earlier, the onset of the problem was when Jeevan was 5 years old. It gradually became worse and by the time he was 7, he had completely lost his sight.
Owing to aware and alert parents, Jeevan received treatment as soon as the problem surfaced.
Effect of presence of disabled child on individual family members and their attitutdes.
As I probed into the case, I got to know that Jeevan's entire family has been very strong about his illness. They have taken it quite positively. Though his parents, were disappointed and upset about his impairment, they took it in their stride. Both his parents made an attempt at looking beyond the illness. They did not want his impairment to become a handicap for Jeevan. They wanted him to be a self-reliant and a confident individual. They never pitied him or felt sorry for themselves. They treated him like just another child and made efforts to give a good life to their child just like all parents do.
Jeevan mentioned that his family very willingly made adjustments in life to accommodate his impairment. His mother would drop him to and from school every single day and his brother was also admitted to the same school as him.
As far as his relationship with his younger brother is concerned, Jeevan says that they share a typical sibling relationship. Since they have grown up together, unlike disabled people who are institutionalised, he shares a very firm and affectionate bond with his brother. His brother never felt embarassed of or vindictive towards Jeevan's impairment. They are strong support systems for eachother.
Since his grandfather was an educated man with strong values, his grandparents and other relatives never viewed him in the conventional bad omen' or ill-luck' lense. Infact, today they believe and very proudly say that whether or not they might be able to do anything, Jeevan would surely make a mark for himself and that they could always depend on him.
Manner of coping with the disabled child and the extent of coping as percieved by the parents
As mentioned earlier, Jeevan's family took his impairment in the positive light. They tried and maintained their focus beyond the impairment. Just like anyother parents are concerned about their children's future and try to make it secure, so did Jeevan's parents. They gave him the best kind of education and he wasn't deprived of anything owing to his illness.
Jeevan's parents have been very strong in coping with the pain of their child being visually impaired. Infact, if looked at it more closely, I feel that they did not feel any different from other families as they took Jeevan's impairment as anyother aspect of life- and very much a part of it. That, according to me, has helped them cope with the pain in the best possible manner.
Also, since Jeevan lost his vision gradually, the impairment did not come as a shock to his family. Since they saw it coming, they were able to accept it in a healthier way and also, they could prepare and plan for it more effectively.
Another thing that I would attribute to the excellent way that Jeevan and his family took his impairment, is that they are all well educated and well to do.
Due to time constraints, I could not interact with Jeevan's family, but through my conversation with him, I gather that he and his family, feel like they have handled his impairment in the best way they could.
This is also because the results of the life and the support that they gave him, are very evident. Jeevan is in a helping' profession rather that seeking help himself. I don't think anything more needs to be said to prove the success of his case.
Cultural and value system, stereotypes, belief system of the family/PWD
One thing that caught my attention while exploring with Jeevan, his family and their mindset, was that they had thought of and believed in the concept of inclusive education' and integration' when Jeevan was only a child. We are advocating the cause of inclusive education' and integration' only now in India. And that too is being accepted at a very slow pace and with a lot of difficulty. But Jeevan's parents had the foresight of seeing the benefits of inclusive education. They put him in a regular school so that he could learn to adjust with people who are necessarily not his kind- atleast physically. They were realistic enough to see that eventually Jeevan will have to learn to accommodate himself with the rest of the world. Hence they began with it early. This helped Jeevan to not see himself as any different or disadvantaged as compared to other
children.
Other that that, I noticed that there were no conventional beiefs about impairment being ill-luck' or being a result of bad karma'. Infact, they believed that since his vision loss was not congenital, it has absolutely nothing to do with past life. On the other hand, it has to do with negligence of people in this life.
Stigma/Discrimination faced by the PWD or his family
When I asked Jeevan about this, he told me that luckily he hasn't had to face stigma about his impairment. He once again owes it to the social and education status his family enjoys.
Infact, throughout his academic life also, he has found friends who have been supportive but not discriminatory. One particular incident he mentions is when, he returned to playing cricket after vision loss, he continued to bowlnce he always was a good bowler.
Unique life situations faced by the PWD/family
Well according to me, what seperated Jeevan's case from others of his kind was that he was backed with strong family support. That ofcourse could be attributed to the fact that his parents we well educated and enjoyed high social status.
Another thing that comes to my mind is the fact that Jeevan has had a brilliant academic record. He has been an excellent student and that has probably earned him the respect of his peers and others. He bagged admission into The Tata Institute of Social Sciences not as a reserved category student but as a general category student. That itself goes to prove that he could not only compete but even beat most able bodied individuals. His education is a very strong selling point for Jeevan. It makes him unique from others who suffer from visual impairment and have due to life circumstances or by choice, not been able to educate themselves well.
PWD/Parents perception of effectiveness of the services availed of by the family/him.
When I asked Jeevan about this, he gave me a quizzical look and said "what services?". This clearly shows that neither Jeevan nor his family has availed of any statutory services offered. His admissions were always in the general category and so were all other aspects in life.
List the factors contributing to the PWD/families achievement
If I were to list down factors that I think contributed to Jeevan's successful management of his impairment, the following will be it:
1. Social status of family
2. Educational status of family
3. Broadmindedness and opsitive approach of parents
4. Jeevan's academic acumen
5. Living in a nuclear family
6. Living in a cosmopolitan and forward city like Mumbai
Level of acceptance of his/her own disability by the PWD/family
As I have mentioned earlier, both Jeevan and his family have accepted his impairment as a part of life and made attempts to look at life beyond it. The level of acceptance is high but it's not that they have considered this as their fate and not made ant efforts towards it. Still there is a look out for possible treatment and all throughout, the best poosible efforts have been made by them to fight the vision loss and to empower Jeevan.
Level of acceptance of aids and appliances, government benefits received
Jeevan does not use, not has ever used any aids and appliances to compensate for his illness.
Intervention required:
Jeevan's family has been an example in itself. Infact, in more ways than one, I have learnt and and enriched my thoughts on disability and rehabilitation through Jeevan's narrative. Thus, I see little scope for intervention with Jeevan's family.
On the contrary, I feel that it would really help if Jeevan's case is kept as a reference and shown as an example to other families that have people with disability in them. They have truly been able to discard the need or rather the concept of stigma' from disability. Jeevan in himself, shows the positives of integration' and inclusive education' . Also, the family has set an example in nullifying the myths attached to disability. Analysis:
Studying, rather exploring the case of Jeevan helped me see an entirely new dimension in disability studies, particularly in the light of rehabilitation.
Importance of family support and consequently that of education has been brought about very vividly. Jeevan's family stuck by him, taking responsibility of making him capable of being responsible for himself. The idea of unproductivity' of an impaired person which makes people abandon disabled persons or institutionalize them, is fatal to the cause of rehabilitation. Family support and education led to Jeevan's gaining education and inturn becoming empowered.
Also, another thing that comes out from this analysis is the importance of inclusive education. Jeevan's is a live example of how much inclusive education can help in reducing stigma, empowering the disabled and in changing perceptions of the so called able bodied individuals.
Jeevan's quest for knowledge and ambitious future plans can keep the hope ticking in anyone. When I asked him about his future plans, he said, oh there are too many'. This itself shows his strong conviction in himself and his world, just as it is. Not once, in my entire conversation did I feel that Jeevan had complaints from life. This to me, is true rehabilitation.
OC 28: Social Work Intervention with the Disabled and their Families
Submitted to: Ms. Vaishali Kolhe
Submitted by: 2005MP002
Submitted on: October 10, 2006
`