Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!think!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!714!404.0!Greg.See-Kee
From: Greg.See-Kee@p0.f404.n714.z3.fidonet.org (Greg See-Kee)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: CP RELATIONSHIPS
Message-ID: <10428@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 27 Feb 90 16:36:59 GMT
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Index Number: 6984

 J> It depends on his personality on how
 J> well he is liked.  At least that's what I keep telling my 
son who
 J> has C.P.

Agreed.  In the 5 years before my own accident, I worked with the
Australian Quadriplegic Association (AQA)

As a "replacement" for the arms & legs of a man (muscular
atrophy) and a woman (CP), I helped them experience their first
double bed, their marriage, their parenthood to two teenage
children (from her previous marriage to a bus driver working at
the Spastic Centre of NSW), and their adjustment in living
arragements.

When I met them, they each had single beds in a nursing home, and
were unemployed.  AQA then gave them their first "proper" (not
sheltered) jobs.

After the nursing home, came the AQA shared-house, then there own
rented house, then their own purchased house.

Other contributing factors: strong support from their
upper-middle class families, very skilled staff at AQA (myself
included), International Year for Disabled Persons, plus fairly
high natural intelligence, especially in the man.

Which goes to support my observation -- advanced post-industrial
societies value people for their number one asset.

That asset is not just immitating the robots and machinery that
we now have.  Our No. 1 Asset is the natural intelligence.  With
this intelligence, we can them work smoothly, coordinating the
robots & machinery around us.

As Japan is now showing the world, the path to national wealth is
the ability to work smoothly & cooperatively with other people.
Be sensitive to their needs, their tastes.  Go out of your way to
conform to THEIR ways of operating in the world.

PEOPLE SKILLS are the No.1 Asset.   Whatever you do, though,
don't give yourself brain damage.  Even with temporary brain
damage (induced very easily with alcohol), you will be doing
things to ruin the relationships with your environment.  You
might not remember it at the time, but your brain damage also
damaged your environment.

ps: I now have permanent brain damage.

--
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