Aging with Disabilities

Comment Paper on the following readings by Joanne Marie Forneri 0132687
(1) On Chapter 6 of Disability: A Life Course Approach by Mark Priestley
(2) “When People with Pre-existing Disabilities Age in Place”
by Stephen French Gilson & F. Ellen Netting (Nov. 1997) Health and Social Work 22 (4): 290 - 98
(3) “Aging with Disabilities: Ageism and More” Generations 29 (3): 37 – 41
by Debra J. Sheets
In the above readings I discovered the growing population is amongst the elderly and the elderly with disabilities. Those who are suffering from disability and are elderly as well will face what we call ‘double jeopardy’ meaning they suffer from prejudice and discrimination. Society in general stereotypes them to be ‘old farts’, or ‘hags’, for their hair has turned grey, wrinkles on their faces and hands, plus impairments such as poor eyesight, and hearing. This is not true, for not all seniors age this way, for today we have what is called intervention where we can go to doctors and make us look ten years younger by having face lifts, tummy tucks and hair transplants. To grow old gracefully is accepting what you look like and making the most of what you have.
Those individuals who grow old at an early age because of their disability causes much distress on their lives, for they might look like a senior citizen but they do not qualify or allowed to join any old age club or age-based services. No one who is young wants to be seen around those who look old or are old, they seem to be afraid of them, and so they ostracize them, strip them of their power and make them feel ashamed of whom they are. This is only done because these individuals are ignorant of what old age really means or the benefits they can learn from those who are disabled and old.
Some of the individuals who have aged and have impairments because of the aging process or are disabled and aging want to refuse assistive devices because they do not want the world to know they have a disabilitating problem. I agree with this statement because no one wants to be different from everyone else. They do this because of what society has installed in everyone’s mind that you must look beautiful and have a perfect body with no deformities. Aging chronologically does not tell us about the individual, neither does those who are professionals in the aging of disabled people, they know little of what each other does, and can hinder the person’s assessment and services they can receive. Not everyone can files for services that they need if they fall under the category of being ‘disabled’ or ‘elderly’. I find this wrong for if you age prematurely and am in need of special services that only the elderly can have you should be able to acquire these services as well.
Those individuals who are disabled and aging want to live in their own homes, they do not want to be put into institutions where they will have no privacy or dignity. They can become very depressed when their independence is taken away from them. In the case of Olmstead vs. L.C., 1999 ADA , “it has become a catalyst for the development of home-and community-based services provide alternatives to institutional care for the aged disabled.” {“When People with Pre-existing Disabilities Age in Place”, Health and Social Work 22 (4):290-298) Even though the disabled and the elderly have different concerns they do share concerns as well, such as: affordable housing, public transportation, access to health care, long term care and economic stability. So they should be connected to each other and not ostracized because the elderly contributed to society and the disabled did not. Everyone deserves to have respect, to be protected and given equal opportunities in rehabilitation, independent living and all other daily life sources.
Disability is not always a life course problem, it can occur when an individual grows old. We see the individuals with disabilities grow up with primary reference groups that also stay with them while they are aging, but what about those who are healthy and get impairments from their aging, where do they go for help? The only place that they can go to is to the reference groups of the disabled. People who become disabled need services for now they have lost their independence and rely on others to help them and they become vulnerable to abuse, considered incompetent, and they might not be able to communicate so that their care giver can help them. This is where society must start retraining the social worker, care giver or nurse to understand where these individuals are coming from.
An example of four people from the article on “Aging with Disabilities: Ageism and More”, where they all want to live in their own homes, two of them are in the 40s and two of them are chronologically older. Corrine diagnosed in her 20s with Charcot-Marie-Tooth type I, has three children, oldest son has mild case of CMT, type III, as she tries to remain independent there is no cure, she is now told she looks like she is in her 60s. Her eldest son rarely visits her, for he is afraid that he will look just like his mother, her daughter is also having hard times accepting her mothers aging so rapidly, and the only one that is most accepting of her condition is her youngest son. She was asked to join the senior group at her church but when they found out she was only in her 40s they denied her entrance. Corrine is now facing isolation from her family and friends, her independence she now needs a social worker to help her in doing things she was able to do.
Bob who is 58 has to go into an institution and his wife now has to become the decision maker on putting him there even though he does not want to go. Caroline is 60 and has Tetraplegia resulting from arthritis, vision and upper extremities are affected, she is well educated but has never worked her mother has taken care of her up until 5 years ago when the onset of dementia hit her. They applied for assistance for her mother but because of her mother’s income she did not qualify for assistance in their home. They hired live in help and are living pay cheque to pay cheque.
Mabel 78 has had MS since her 30s taught for 10 years with it. She had to retire from teaching and moved in to her sister’s place with her widowed mother. Disliked assistive devices did not use a wheelchair till she was 60 in which she became house bound, is considered to be a cranky old lady causing a great turn over in social assistants. She only has control over what she eats what she watches and when she gets up.
All four of these people want to live in their own home and some are able to and others not because of financial problems. We need to get help for these people so they can keep their dignity and their home.