SAY WHAT!!! Those forbidden words you must not say, the f bombs the c bombs. The eating with your hands rather then the ever present knife and fork. Why do you behave in that way? Why do you want to play with a doll or dress like a girl? Behave normally, don't feel like that, don't be silly!!! I could go on........ Within the society I live at present within the UK there is an idea that we have to behave in a way that makes others feel comfortable, we need to not stand out and we must all behave this way or look this way (I am generalising of course and I know things are changing) but in the care industry where I work we need to be more aware of how social conditioning can impact on the people we support.
The 'Invisible boundaries' we have in society and within care and support is the trap of thinking everyone has to conform to the ‘norms’ that have been created by the society around us. This is known as social conditioning. Well the people we support who have Autism, Mental Health issues, Learning Disabilities, Dementia, Brain Injuries and many other conditions and difficulties do not adhere to or can not adhere to or are unable to adhere to social norms and trying to force social norms by having this approach of; 'you must behave like this or do that or not do this' causes a barrier and a hindrance on the ability to be included in society. Darren Wailes and I talk about the need to reduce the expectations of social conditions (social norms) and to adapt, change and remember that the challenge is ours and not the person with the condition. The need to build resilience and empower people to be who they are and build strategies to deal with the barriers that social norms can create and to break some of them down fully. #learningdisabilities #dementiacare #socialconditioning #autism #mentalhealth #socialcare #socialnorms #attentiontocare
