[Ohio-talk] Disabilities and their portrayal

[Smith, JW]

I don't want to enter this discussion at this point but I may at some point depending on where it goes and for how long but I am so pleased to see the involvement and intellectual depth of our students represented here!

You are our present and future so keep on thinking and challenging!

Jw

Dr. JW Smith
Associate Professor
Interim Director of Honors Tutorial Studies
School of Communication Studies
Lasher Hall, Rm. 112 
Athens, OH 45701
smithj at ohio.edu
T: 740-593-4838
F: 740-593-4810

*Ask me about the newly revised Ohio Fellows Program or visit http://www.ohio.edu/univcollege/ohiofellows.cfm 

"Regarding the past, change what you can, and can what you can't."
"Our minds are like parachutes. They work best when they are open."

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha Dudley
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 2:31 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Disabilities and their portrayal

Hi everyone,
 I am currently tkking a social justice class this semester and we are starting to discuss some very interesting issues, especially in the readings. It's interesting to see society's views on topics like this, but it is also important to continue to keep challenging the public's beliefs about these matters because some day, blind children will face these unacceptable barriers. 

Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 30, 2014, at 1:33 PM, "Paul Dressell" <pmdbmd at fuse.net> wrote:
> 
> Kaiti Shelton attends the University of Dayton and is active in our 
> Students' Division. Paul
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kaiti Shelton" 
> <kaiti.shelton at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" 
> <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 11:21 AM
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] Disabilities and their portrayal
> 
> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I made quite a stir in my medical ethics class this morning.  We were 
>> asked to consider an example from our book, which concerned a 10 year 
>> old boy who was according to the book having all these horrible 
>> issues as a result of CP.  Some of the things the book claimed about 
>> this boy were not characteristics of CP at all, and it even claimed 
>> that CP was genetic itself rather than caused by complications.  The 
>> question was, "Is it moral to kill Johnny via lethal injection to end 
>> his pain and the suffering of his parents?"  I wasn't going to say 
>> anything at first, but then I started questioning things.  Is it 
>> moral to kill someone if you think they're in pain, but they don't have the autonomy to tell you whether they are or not?
>> Is it moral to kill a child when his parents are making the request?  
>> Is it moral to make this decision without full and accurate knowledge 
>> of what the condition really is?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> And you know what happened?  When I contradicted the book the 
>> professor was first flustered, then when I started answering 
>> questions with the knowledge I had he told me I was ahead of the 
>> curve, and proceeded with his lecture, using the false information and pretenses the book provided.  I was shocked.
>> This is a class of pre-med majors (and me who is the only non-medical 
>> specific person in the class), and it boggled me that this sort of 
>> stuff would be fed to the next generation of doctors, dietitions, 
>> exercise scientists, etc.  I know this is just an undergraduate 
>> class, but shouldn't doctors always take a patient-centered approach, 
>> or a human-centered approach for that matter?  And I'm reminded of 
>> "The Right to Live in the World," and how what that speech says 
>> applies to this situation.  The misinformation in my bioethics 
>> textbook only substantiates the claim that people with disabilities 
>> lead miserable or terribly painful lives, and that misninformation in 
>> the minds and hands of future doctors is a scary thing to me.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Anyway, just thought I'd continue discussion on this topic with 
>> others who will get it.  I'm sorry if I ranted a little; I got a 
>> little passionate on this issue.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Kaiti Shelton
>> 
>> University of Dayton---2016
>> 
>> Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet
>> 
>> Ohio Association of Blind Students, President
>> 
>> NFB Community Service Group, Service Project Committee Chair
>> 
>> Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Ohio-talk mailing list
>> Ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ohio-talk:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/pmdbmd%40fuse.
>> net
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-talk mailing list
> Ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ohio-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/blindcowgirl199
> 3%40gmail.com

_______________________________________________
Ohio-talk mailing list
Ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ohio-talk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/smithj%40ohio.edu