My main reason for enrolling into the Disability Studies Master’s program was to increase my knowledge on disability and disability related issues. After working in the field of developmental disabilities for over twelve years and not having any undergraduate human services/social sciences background; it was an opportunity for me to formalize what I learnt over the years through the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD, formerly OMRDD) and my experience as a service provider and advocate.
Doing this program was one of the best decisions I ever made. Before starting, I had a lot of information on and experience with developmental disabilities and in my world, this category of disabilities was the only one that mattered. This view started changing from my first day of class, when I was introduced to the disability rights movement. This was also compounded as time went by, from reading and hearing about the various life experiences of disabled individuals over the years and from my classmates and guest speakers who lived with disabilities.
Even though in my field of work, I was already focused on the individual and individualized services; this program helped me realize that the individual’s experiences were key to the way they react to society and also what determines the type of services and advocacy they would need in order to live the life they want to live. I was now more determined than ever to ensure that any decisions made on behalf of a disabled individual was made with input from that person and in line with their needs, wants and wishes.
When I meet with families and disabled individuals, I make it a point to advocate for and stress the importance of the individual’s choice, when it comes to any matter which may affect their life. Also when reviewing cases on my agency’s Human Rights Committee I ensure that none of the disabled individual’s rights are subjugated or minimized when it comes to medications and rights restriction. I must say that everything I have learnt in this program, I have put to use in my job working with disabled individuals and in my daily life when advocating for others.
The courses in this program helped me understand the role of society in the disablement of people with disabilities. Such a concept never really dawned upon me before this program. The environment in which someone lives, the lack of services and how society’s view of a person or group affects the outcome of their lives and their experiences were all thoughts that were foreign to me. At the beginning of the program, I leaned more towards the medical model of disability (more than likely because of my background in the natural sciences); but now that the various social models of disability have been discussed, reviewed and debated, my view has changed.
I now believe in a combination of the various models which is expressed by the Biopsychosocial Model of Disability. Many disability scholars do not agree with this hybrid and prefer to accept variations of the social model as the only model, but I see this as the only true representation of disability which includes all aspects especially the disabled individual’s experience. It is my plan to forge ahead with my advocacy based on my current views of disability, which have grown as a direct result of this disability studies program.
The thing I valued the most was being able to meet and have discussions with others who shared the same or similar interest in disability. The significance of hearing about the experiences of individuals living with disabilities who were also my classmates cannot be met by just reading a book or journal. It enabled me to identify with that person and intimately understand their unique perspective and their lived experience. Such interactions will stay with me for the rest of my life and I will use those thoughts, quotes and stories when discussing disability and related issues.
I have spent almost two and a half years completing this program. During that time I have learnt a lot and spent many hours reading and completing assignments. My biggest regret was that with my hectic work schedule and having a young child, I was not able to devote as much time as I would have liked to when completing assignments. This lack of time did however motivate me to give the best works possible in the little time that I had, but still I would have like to do better.
Hopefully I will be able to utilize everything I have learnt in this program to further the advocacy of disabled individuals in this country as well as help develop proper services and advocacy for disabled individuals living in the island of Trinidad and Tobago. My long term goal is to help push the development of services in the twin island nation in a direction that circumvents many of the road blocks disabled individuals in the United States have faced with services throughout the years. If I get the time and opportunity to further my education in disability studies or another related field, I will move forward in that direction, however my ultimate goal is to advocate for individuals with disabilities in Trinidad and Tobago.
For additional reflection on the courses I completed one can click on the ‘Academic Work’ tab above or on the individual links below.
Pyschosocial, Political and Cultural.doc
Disability Studies in Education.doc
Disabilitiy and The Humanities.doc
Disability Service Administration.doc