Advantage:An assessment of "Enabling Dreams"

The video showed numerous people with disabilities that used laptops and other forms of computer related devices to do their school work or to communicate with people that did not need help communicating at all. One girl even said in the video that she would not be where she was without the type of special technology that she uses for school. What she uses technology for is she records her voice for her college courses even though she can still type. This enables her to keep up with college students as she is a sophomore in college. Another person who had a disability used a laptop to do his work in high school. Although laptops are very uncommon in high schools (especially in Guam), this student takes four advanced placement courses and is also the president of a student organization. One of the most remarkable stories about this video was about a student that had a disability that caused stiffness in his limbs. What is remarkable about this student is that he plays an instrument using a joy stick. As the story was being told about the student, there was an unfortunate incident that occurred where his instrument was stolen. However, by the help of the community the family was able to raise over $6,000 and buy a more efficient model of the same instrument.This is exactly the type of approach we need to take to address the needs of students with disabilities not only at the United States of America but everywhere else, including here on Guam. Guam is unique in itself in that I believe that students with disabilities do not get the same attention and therefore do not exactly have the same opportunities as people with disabilities do in the U.S.A. From what I have seen in the public schools on Guam is that there are no assistive technological devices to aid students with disabilities. There are barely even any computers for classrooms for students without disabilities. I think that once students with disabilities in the public schools on Guam can use the same type of devices as those students with disabilities in the U.S.A, then the students with disabilities here can achieve the same goals.

"Ending the Silence" by Diane Nelson Bryen, Ph.D.

The lecture today was about crimes against people with developmental disabilities. Dr. Bryen emphasized about the problem about the silence of crimes against people with disabilities. She showed that the biggest difference between a normal person being raped and a person with disabilities being raped is that when the person with disabilities is raped, it ends up going silent. She showed that this happens because many cannot report their offenders. She also stated that the alleged offenders are often tried and found not guilty. This really gave me a new view as to how difficult it is to live with a disability. What was more sad about this was the story that Dr. Bryen had told us. It was a story about a girl with a disability who was raped. It took a year for the parents to discover that their daughter had been raped because the girl herself did not even know what rape was. When the girl was being questioned and the offender was caught, he was given a lighter sentence because the police said that the family of the victim was leading her. Dr. Bryen pointed out that crimes against victims with disabilities is silent because of issues like communities covering it up or emphasis on other crimes. The shocking aspect of this lecture was the data that said that people with developmental disabilities are at four to ten times higher of a risk of becoming crime victims. She also showed that the offenders are often the caregivers themselves.
Dr. Bryen then talked about how we can "end the silence." One of those ways was to help people with developmental disabilities protect themselves by providing training with self-defense, a better vocabulary for those with disabilities, and more. We should also form some sort of partnership with the police and the justice system. People that are the victims themselves could help end the silence by telling their own stories.
Dr. Bryen then showed us a video about six people with disabilities that were sexually and physically abused. It was extremely depressing to hear these people talk about how they were abused by other people. One person was talking about how he had been abused at the age of ten and still at the age of forty-nine, he is still haunted by what happened.
After the video Dr. Bryen got into a discussion with us about how each of us can help "end this silence." We came up with seven ways being: 1. Educate future educators of this issue 2. Observe behaviors and find ways to "tell" it 3. Infuse this issue into training programs for counselors, therapist, and protective services. 4. Equal justice (crimes are crimes) 5. Improve access to the criminal justice system 6. Increase awareness 7. Incorporate, if needed, into self advocacy training.
I thought that this special lecture was one of the most informative and very well presented lectures that I have ever been to. Hopefully that there can be more lectures like this so that the silence can forever be ended.