Waterloo Public Library Digital Collections

Waterloo Chronicle (Waterloo, On1868), 16 May 1973, p. 5

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By Weady Herman It used to be when a person was identified as being menâ€" tally retarded little thought was given to that person leadâ€" ing anywhere near a normal life. The Ontario Mental Association for the Mentally Retarded was presenting a different point of view at its annual conâ€" ference held last week at the University of Waterioo. Rather than perpetuating the idea of segregating the menâ€" tally handicapped from society, ideas and methods were being discussed for the integration of these people into soâ€" clety. Although it was understood institutionalization would still be inevitable for the severely handicapped, the conâ€" ference discussed ways of integrating those now in instituâ€" tions into the community where they could live their own lives. In some cases where this is not possible, ideas were on how to make life in the institutions a more ;:izing experience by giving the retardates a chance to de things for themselves. The key speaker at the conference, Miss Ann Shearer of England told of breakthroughs in this line of thinking which had taken place in her home country. Miss Shearer said the last British conference had had an exciting experience when retardates had been allowed to atâ€" tend the convention as delegates to give their ideas on how they would like to be treated. She cited one particular exâ€" ample of a delegate named George. _ When Miss Shearer first met George at the conference, she found he would say little other than, "Yes thankâ€"you, very nice thankâ€"you"‘. e â€" PEAKER SAYS As the conference wore on, Miss Shearer said, George relaxed and began to talk freely about what he would like to see in the institutions and what he would like to do with his life. He joined in the activities which included boating, 7th Waterloo Scout l* auxiliary will hold its TMhal meeting Wednesday May 16 at the home of Mrs. Delegates from the Ontario Mentally Retarded Assoc. visited the Erbsville residence Saturâ€" Holding last meeting Institutions are not centres of excellence Lacey, 194 Ashcroft Place, Waterloo. The meeting will be in the form of a pot luck supper starting at 6: 30 p.m. All of these things, Miss Shearer said, George had never had the opportunity to do before. _ â€" o Miss Shearer expressed her concern about people in instiâ€" tutions. She told the conference, rooms could be painted different colours and made larger or smaller, but the only place people could learn about living in the community is to live in it itself. She added many of the mentally retarded are not consulted about things we would take for granted. Many at the British conference expressed such simple deâ€" sires as to be able to choose the colour of their own room or how it was to be decorated. They were given no chance to express their own opinions. There was one particular instance in England Miss Shearâ€" er brought attention to which clearly illustrated the pubâ€" lic‘s reaction to the mentally retarded. painting, concerts and meeting with other mentally handiâ€" capped with whom he could exchange ideas about things ‘‘There are people like George all over the world," Miss Shearer said. ‘"He knows what they mean by institutionâ€" alization. His quiet introverted nature are the effects of livâ€" ing in a very unsuitable environment none of us would care to live in. That‘s why normalization is very exciting.‘"‘ they had in common All of these thing: ‘"Let‘s not consider the institution the centre of excelâ€" lence, it is the centre of neglect. The best skills available are not in the institution but out in the community serving Another aspect to this problem according to Miss Shearer was the inability of the public to accept the menâ€" tally retarded person. She said the most difficult problem of asking people in society to adjust to the mentally handiâ€" capped is that they do not know what they are adjusting to. us. We need to be working more and more at ways to fit the mentaily retarded when possible into our community .‘ day afternoon to view the facilities and talked to the residents there. Chronicle Photo All garbage must be out by 8:00 A.M. Garbage will be collected community residence was to be constructed near a Monday, May 21st (Victoria Day) GARBAGE COLLECTION OF WATERLOO CITY "The demands of the mentally handicapped people are not so unrealistic.‘‘ Miss Shearer said, ‘"They want to live quite modern lives and have a job with an apartment of their own. If one of us were denied any one of these liberâ€" ties, there surely would be a riot." "It was funny you know," Miss Shearer said, ‘"But not one person could come forward with the fears they had exâ€" pressed before. The man didn‘t come up and ask one of the mentally retarded men whether he was going to rape his daughter. Instead, they were reduced to asking such small questions of the future residents as to what time they went to bed at night. The retardates felt sorry for the normal people but they responded, ‘It depends what‘s on teleâ€" vision.‘ Now you ask 90 per cent of people in England what time they go to bed at night and they will come up with the same reasoning.‘"‘ residential district in a city. The residents protested and expressed their displeasure at having the mentally reâ€" tarded so close to their homes. One man said he was afraid one of the adults would rape his daughter. There was a public meeting held at which time the resiâ€" dents intended to bring their protests forth to stop the buildâ€" ing. Two or three of the mentally handicapped were presâ€" ent at the meeting. Miss Shearer said that over the last 100 years we have learned that a tested IQ of under 70 does not mean normal aspirations and feelings are missing, adding, "will it take us another generation to become ashamed of writing off as unable to appreciate the ‘"normalities‘‘ of life, people with an IQ of below 40?" (xEx" Waterloo Square 576â€"2680 Est. 1947 Mon., Wed., Fri. 7 p.m., 12 Noon, Sat. 1:30 (Jr.) REDUCED 50% to 75% ‘ FAST. FREE W . T MUFFLER m‘DAS INSTALLATION Custom Pipe Bending Shocks 2 min. inspection â€" no obligation 180 Weber North 578â€"3320 Wa}efloo created for little dears . . . . . . and BIG DEARS, too! Sizes up to 16 WATERLOO SQUARE 744â€"5122 Open Every Day . . . Thurs. & Fri. Until 9 p.m. Complete 1973 Spring & Summer Stock Reduced 10% EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY MENâ€"WOMENâ€"CHILOREN HATASHITA SELFâ€"DEFENCE SCHOOL Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, May 16, 1973 bOMMiLG t09S C HILDRE NS WEA mR North America‘s Only Coast to Coast Network of Exclusive Auto Mutffiler Shops Due to Removal of Federal Sales Tax JUDOâ€"KARATEâ€"AIKIDO BALANCE OF STOCK Self Defence Fitness

Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy