Free Will

I just finished my second reading of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. As is my usual, I got some things out of it that could apply to my work with people with intellectual disabilities. Or at least, things to think about.

In this story, Pullman says that children do not have free will but adults do. That's part of coming-of-age. Young people in our society and any society find that as they mature, they are given more freedom to make their own choices. Where does that leave adults with cognitive impairments? It is my observation that it leaves them frustrated. They want to have free will that all other adults have but they recognize that they do not have it. By free will, I mean that a person can direct their life in whatever way they want. One dictionary definition of free will is the ability to make a choice without coercion or external influence. Very often, I believe we influence and suggest what we think the right choices are for them, though.

The people I work with certainly have choices. Many choices. We give them choices all through their day. I think of these as 'guided' choices. They can choose between toast or bagel for breakfast. They can choose between the red shirt and the blue shirt. (Sometimes we hold up two shirts for them to pick from instead of having them look through their closet to choose their outfit, as that is how the goal is written).  They can choose to go to the beach or stay home. True free will would let them say, "I would like to make eggs for breakfast instead of the toast and cereal on the menu." Just as I might choose. True free will would let them say, "I don't want to go to the beach or stay home. I want to go to the movies." Just as I would.

Those are perfect-world scenarios, though. We agencies are not yet designed to accommodate true free will.  We do not have enough staff, enough vans, enough money, enough time to allow everyone who lives in a group-home setting or attends a day-program to make those meaningful choices. It's not a terrible thing to learn to cooperate, take turns, and share with others. It is just another way in which they must live differently than I do, thereby not being considered equal.