What You Get Away With

It is so funny all the things that individuals who live in group homes get caught doing. The other day, a young man with Down syndrome licked the rim of a barbecue sauce bottle so it wouldn't drip. The staff who were present talked to him about the fact that others live in the home and that it isn't sanitary to do that. And they threw the bottle away even though there was still some barbecue sauce left. All of that should have taken place, I suppose, but licking a bottle shared by others is a very minor event, comparatively-speaking. It's not a big deal and should definitely not been written up nor should it have been addressed as something negative to his parents (which it was).

The individuals really can't get away with anything. Because we are providing a certain level of supervision to assure for their safety, they don't have the same freedoms to try things out. What would it feel like to be watched by others who are likely to scrutinize your behavior all the time? Orwell's dystopian book 1984 comes to mind. (Remember the story of the government who maintains total control over humans?)

I don't want to admit to the things I get away with but I have licked a bottle of salad dressing from time to time for the same reason the other fellow did - it's easier, efficient, and faster than getting a paper towel to wipe it. My story is that I'm the only one who uses that dressing and I'm sticking to it.

Let's see, what else do we get away with when we think no one is looking?  Statistically, most of us don't wash our hands after using a public restroom unless someone else is in there with us. Some of us probably pick our noses. We drink from the milk carton. Some of us root through trash cans for treasures. The vast majority of people steal from their employers. We lie all the time. We embellish stories to make ourselves look better than we are. We look at pictures of naked people. Oh, and we double-dip like George Costanza. Human beings are funny things when we are in private, whether we have a disability or not.

When the individuals in group homes are caught doing these things, they are corrected if it is necessary. But we need to be sensitive to what we can get away with without censor of any kind while people with disabilities often do not have the same luxury.

And don't make too big a deal over something that is not a big deal.