It is with great pleasure that I introduce our next guest writer, Ezra Lockhart. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have met Ezra through LinkedIn and he has graciously agreed to share a guest post with us on Nathan's Voice. Please give him a warm welcome and I encourage you to leave him a comment at the end of his post!
The more substantial hindrance for many people with
developmental disability is not the academic deficits, but the social deficits
that isolates them from their peers (Osman & Blinder, 1982). Undoubtedly,
social isolation and peer rejection can lead to feelings of loneliness (Margalit & Al-Yagon, 2002). Deficits in social skills
contribute considerably to creating socially isolated environments and situations.
Moreover, these social functioning deficits negatively affect adult outcomes
and are implicated as contributors to patterns of unemployment and
underemployment, lack of friendships and romantic relationships, and low rates
of independent living in adults with developmental disability (Farley et al.,
2009). Indeed, with impacts to these adult outcomes loneliness is a problem for
people with developmental disability.
Developing support for social functioning and participation is
important not only to address the issue of loneliness, but to positively impact
outcomes in a variety of areas (i.e., school, family life, employment,
recreation, community resources, independent living, etc.). There is a contemporary
trend for support to be developed specifically as early intervention and
implemented in early childhood educational settings. There is a consensus that
this approach provides the most benefit to the individual throughout their life
span. The benefits of early intervention are apparent, unfortunately, there are
generations of adults that have surpassed support designed for traditional educational
settings and for younger populations. Therefore it is imperative to develop and
implement support for social functioning and participation in varying environments
frequently encountered by adults with developmental disability that is attuned
for situational encounters with their age-appropriate peer groups. In other
words, social support interventions need expanded to account for family, community,
employment, independent living, and recreational settings. This will aid in
addressing the issue of loneliness as well as increasing social communication
skills necessary for access to resources in these varied settings.
In conjunction with developing adult interventions that address
age-appropriate environments and situational encounters, it is important to address
the following factors identified as predicting social difficulties and
loneliness experiences among persons with developmental disability. Researchers
(e.g. Margalit & Al-Yagon, 2002) identified three main predicting factors:
a) the knowledge deficit (Pearl, 1992), b) the performance deficit (Vaughn
& La Greca, 1992), and c) rejected and loneliness behavioral styles
(Margalit, 1994). Pearl (1992) describes the knowledge deficit as the lack of
age-appropriate knowledge needed to develop social relationships. Vaughn and La
Greca (1992) describe the performance deficit as the lack of ability to
translate age-appropriate knowledge into effective social behaviors. Lastly,
Margalit (1994) describes rejected and loneliness behavioral styles as
individuals accepting the reputation and characteristics of isolated
individuals and adopting such behaviors. These deficiencies in social
functioning and maladaptive behavioral styles inhibit the individual from
establishing social relationships. Their self-concept and beliefs in their
inability to develop social relationships needs to be addressed in future
support models.
In a final analysis, loneliness is a distinct issue adversely
affecting people with developmental disability. Addressing this concern will require
interventions that are delivered in various age-appropriate settings.
Furthermore, reforming self-concept, beliefs, and behavioral styles for persons
with developmental disability will be integral to establishing healthy
attitudes and actions conducive to building and maintaining social
relationships.
References
Farley,
M. A., McMahon, W. M., Fombonne, E., Jenson, W. R., Miller, J., Gardner, M.,
... & Coon, H. (2009). Twenty-year outcome for individuals with autism and
average or near-average cognitive abilities. Autism Research, 2(2),
109-118.
Margalit,
M., & Al-Yagon, M. (2002). The loneliness experience of children with
learning disabilities. In B. Y. Wong & M. L. Donahue (Eds.), The social
dimensions of learning disabilities: Essays in honor of Tanis Bryan (pp.53-75).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Osman,
B. B., & Blinder, H. (1982). A note. In B. Osman & H. Blinder No one
to play with: The social side of learning disabilities (pp. ixx). New York:
Random House.
Pearl,
R. (1992). Psychosocial characteristics of learning disabled students. In N. N.
Singh & I. L. Beale (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory,
research and therapy (pp. 1-18). New York, NY: Wiley.
Vaughn,
S., & La Greca, A. M. (1992). Beyond greetings and making friends: Social
skills from a broader perspective. In Y. L. Wong (Ed.), Contemporary
intervention research in learning disabilities: An international perspective (pp.
94-114). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
Ezra Lockhart,
MHlthSc(DD) candidate, MCSE, AC has worked one-on-one with over 50 individuals
who experience a wide range of physical, developmental and intellectual
disabilities. In 2004, he started assisting adults with various physical
disabilities. In 2011, he specialized in providing home- and community-based
behavioral supports for individuals who live on the autistic spectrum. In 2014,
he expanded to provide milieu and group therapy (e.g., psychoeducational, skill
development, cognitive-behavioral) for youth coping with fetal alcohol effects,
severe emotion disturbances, personality disorders, and behavioral and substance
abuse issues. Be sure to follow Ezra on his ePortfolio at http://www.ezralockhart.com and
connect with him on LinkedIn.
