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When helping people with disabilities, listen and respect

Listen and respect.

I started thinking about ‘listen and respect’ after a conference I attended in June. The conference participants, mainly professionals in the field of developmental and intellectual disabilities, gathered to exchange ideas and learn about current and future trends in the field.

The keynote speaker at the conference was a young man named Dakota Johns. Dakota is a professional motivational speaker. Like many motivational speakers, his goal is to inspire his audience with his key points using humor and true-life experiences. Unlike most professional speakers, he has Down syndrome.

At the end of his talk, he took a few questions from the audience. The question of the hour was: “What should people like us (i.e., those who provide services for people with developmental disabilities) know?” Dakota paused for a split moment and then replied, “Listen and respect.”

I’m not certain how many audience members realized what a profound statement that was and how well it translates into any business that serves people. The most prevalent business model in our society subsists of having a list of services (or racks of products) from which we allow our customers to choose. Our business succeeds if we can convince our customers that our services (products) meet their needs.

Where does ‘listen and respect’ fit in? If what the customer really needs isn’t clearly on our brochure or on our shelf, do we listen to hear what the underlying need is? Or do we shuffle them out the door and turn our attention to the next customer?

Our current model of providing services to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities doesn’t leave much room to listen and respect. While we can allow people to express their dreams, wishes and needs, the current funding levels and structure of state- and federally-funded services give our customers a very narrow array of services from which to choose. At the same time, the quality and accountability measures do not allow for customers to take the risks that might be necessary to achieve their dreams.

This is where we need you. If disability service providers become proficient at listening to our customers, helping them truly express their wishes and needs and honoring the fact that they really do know what is most important to them, we still may not be able to fulfill all those needs through the system currently in place. But the community can.

Dakota’s success may have been aided by a few paid professionals, but the real supporters in his life have been his parents, who listened to his dreams and believed he could achieve them, and myriad friends he has met along the way.

I assure you, there are people with Dakota’s potential in Southwest Colorado. All they need are a few people to authentically listen to them and respect their decisions and aspirations.

For more information about how to support a person with developmental disabilities in achieving his or her dreams, contact Community Connections at 385-3445 or www.communityconnectionsco.org.

Tara Kiene is the director of case management with Community Connections Inc.



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