Expanding the Circle

As a DSP, I keep my purpose in mind at all times. My main concerns are the needs of the person I am supporting, but there is a bigger picture of which I stay mindful. I make a conscious goal to remove any barriers which prevent the people I support from being ordinary community members and expanding their support circle.  This goes beyond joining local organizations or being seen at church every Sunday.

What does it mean to include a person with disabilities as an ordinary citizen? Making a person with a disability the organization's mascot is not inclusion. Forcing that person to be the "token" member of the group does not further the cause of inclusion and acceptance. In fact, it accomplishes the opposite. It makes a spectacle and a mockery of the person at the expense of his or her dignity and individuality. Hero worship is another obstacle. Why should society hold a person with disabilities up as a hero for such activities as getting a college degree, or getting married? There is nothing heroic about achieving your goals. Most people in the community have struggles and are not held up as heroes simply for living life.

Ordinary community members are nothing more than people who conduct their daily activities in society with everybody else. When we facilitate the ability for the people we support to be ordinary community members, they are able to expand their circle of support; not by being a mascot or token member, but by being contributing citizens and active participants in the educational, civic, and economic activities of the community. Simply being an ordinary member of the community is filling a valued social role, and leads to relationships within that community. Participation expands the circle of support.