JACKmail: A Growing Mail Delivery Business
Jackson West, a young man from Canberra, Australia, started a mail delivery business known as JACKmail. The business has grown into a carrier service that offers delivery and picks up of emails to and from the post office. JACKmail services major their operations in the southern area of Canberra and have a client base of 15 people. The business has seen a growth within the time period of 10 years that has seen it registered with an ABN, which is public liability insurance and workers compensation cover, thus, legitimizing their operations.
Jackson's Support System
Most of the delivery services are done by Jackson and his support colleague, a young man called Philippe. Philippe majorly drives the delivery vehicle and also see-through interaction between Jackson and JACKmail business clients, and also supports Jackson in all major areas of the work tasks of a particular day. Sally Richards, who is Jackson’s mother does the administrative and is the owner of the business explains that Jackson was diagnosed with a condition is known as Phelan- McDermid syndrome that involves the elimination of chromosome 22. The missing piece of protein structure is essential for brain growth and development and the consequent of this Jackson’s condition. He always needs people’s assistance in most daily activities he carries out. Jackson, despite his disability, has seen himself grow to be respected in the business community and is of a greater figure in helping the young people around Canberra.
Social Role Valorization
In the Social role valorization, it is believed that a community treats and identifies roles of people differently and can be dealt with in a varying way if they are of less value than everyone else due to a particular disability or physiological defect (Wolfensberger, 2012). In essence, when someone holds valued positions in the society, they tend to be considered for chances that will propel their enhancement to feel better due to those positions they hold. Moreover, the theory highlights that life conditions such as exclusion received by people with such disabilities result in behavioral changes that are mostly seen as a developmental disability (Barnes, 2013). During interactions with the people on a daily basis, society sometimes tends to forget their roles in these people lives involving making them feel the sense of inclusivity and helping them move forward and have belief and sense of belonging.
The Effects of Exclusion
Drawing from Jackson’s story, one realizes that he had a magnitude of people around him who were ready to support him in his disability and help him achieve through the mail delivery business. It is also recognized that he had the ability to realize the self-worth and do all he could to achieve. When exclusion of these people leads to major societal effects on themselves that only comes back to bite the people surrounding. Taking, for example, rejection, it is found that this is perceived in a way that developmental disabilities should be just around people who look like them or their own kind. This can be seen as physical or social separation. The latter may have effects such as withdrawal from the society and engagement in the activities due to the fear or feeling of rejection.
Low Social Status and Rejection
Exclusion also has effects such that people with developmental disabilities tend to be accorded low social status. This is pretty obvious everywhere, as these people experience violent reactions from the normal people, and, therefore, see themselves as less worthy. Some people reject to take anything from them in terms of opinions and any other thing. Moreover, they have been called names such as retard, especially when people want to reject anything from them. The rejection leads to violent reactions and they start feeling like that is what they are and need to accept that.
Physical Discontinuity
Physical discontinuity has also become a major challenge for people with developmental disabilities. It has been seen as a major part of social role valorization. The people are put in situations that only tend to isolate them from the normal selves or what is normal or typical. This could lead to very strange ways of interacting with other people; thus, making the groups involved to be confused or uncomfortable. In essence, the people can be supported by making them learn how to sail through the tough path of natural reciprocal friendships. The latter is well illustrated in the story of Jackson West.
De-individualization
Another major effect of Social role valorization is the aspect of de-individualization. This is seen in the expression of their loss of positivity in their lives. Other factors such as low self-esteem, loss of trust in the future, and feeling out of control of lives form part of de-individualization (Simplican et al., 2015). To curb the challenges, people with developmental disabilities should be given the ability to participate in life choices that would positively impact their lives such as the ability to make decisions in doing the things they love and enjoy doing then (Wolfensberger, 2013). They should always be in control of their lives however long that takes to sink in. When society plays a role in letting the people make life choices, motivation would be achieved, and the sense that many people would defy all the odds just to achieve like them. Jackson was loved by everyone in the company due to his ability defy social role valorization. When individuals with developmental disabilities are deprived by the society, they are segregated and denied the opportunity to experience life whether good or bad. The latter means a certain part of their world is taken away from them and they cannot experience the same in the sense of social expectation.
Enhancing Social Roles and Competency
There are many ways in which social role valorization can be reached at for devalued people like individuals with developmental disabilities. These can be achieved in two major ways such as the ability to enhance the individuals’ image when socially viewed and development of their ability to be competent in the widest sense of the terms of lives (Oliver, 2017). The two ideas go hand in hand and dependent on each other for their maximum application. The results can often be positive or negative depending on the person.
The Impact of Inclusion and Valuing Lives
Individuals possessing developmental disabilities taking part in activities that deteriorate their lives are always at risk of having a very low expectation from themselves. Besides, people who display low competency in their deeds will have a depreciated image when viewed in society (Moulaert, 2016). On the other hand, people who show a high level of competence tend to show a positive social image. They most likely find the chances to have the necessary knowledge to enhance their abilities. Therefore, it shows that when people with the kind of disability display their abilities, their social role and better image; hence, the need to help them and pay more attention to them. One needs to note that the aspects have an individual effect and the whole society as well.
Changing Perceptions through Inclusivity
Social role valorization has a major part to play in protecting devalued people in the society from experiencing the harm, whether physical or mental that comes from their marginalization (Cobigo et al., 2012). When life is valued, actions and voices are heard by everyone in the society and one gets noticed even in his/her absence. Therefore, it gives people the ability to speak up and talk about themselves just like Jackson West realized in his story to making JACKmail services a major success. A stronger connection between the marginalized and the non-marginalized people is needed to feel the connection with them and make them feel the resemblance between and the normal people. Societal role as facilitators should be to make everyone feel equally important and recognize their contribution to the society (Rothman, 2018).
The Power of Inclusion
In addition, social role valorization has also been used as a powerful model to shift the thinking about disability in every part of this world (Liachowitz, 2010). Most people did not know their thoughts and brain capability could differ with the disabled, and therefore, the mindset has been changed over time through the theory of inclusivity. Even though some people feel resistant and threatened when you challenge their mindset, a right approach used has given them the ability to learn and see the achievements of the individuals with the mental disability. It is important for people to be aware of the fact that they have people with low caliber in terms of capability and they are equally important. This is evidently true when finding employment in areas that see marginalized people as possessing specialist information regarding people with disabilities. It is vital to let the result output show itself when defending people with developmental disabilities and their values of inclusivity.
Conclusion
We have to realize that developmental disability is not the end of the road for an individual in their lives. Work has been put in by the society to change this perception. Inclusion does not necessarily mean we are all the same but we realize that it is one of the important factors in making the marginalized group feel wanted and be recognized in the society. It is also believed that the Inclusion as a factor digs directly into the inner core of people’s values and beliefs. It may look so simple, full of common sense, but it is so complex. Inclusion sparkles fire in the hearts of those involved in achieving it. It questions beliefs in humanity at the same time slicing deep through into the recesses the souls. Inclusion is not just about giving someone with a mental disability or defect an opportunity or a sense of being included in the society. That is only a small piece of the pie. Inclusion is, therefore, more about how to deal with the mixture; how we deal with the difference we see in other people or avoid dealing with our mortality in the society as a whole. With much focus, given the enhanced social roles in interacting with disabilities, individuals can achieve the heights of dealing with developmental disparities.
References
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Oliver, M. (2017). Defining impairment and disability. Disability and Equality Law, 3.
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Wolfensberger, W. (2013). A brief introduction to social role valorization: A high-order concept for addressing the plight of societally devalued people, and for structuring human services. Training Institute for Human Service Planning, Leadership and Change Agentry, Syracuse University.
