Individuals with intellectual disabilities tend to exhibit behaviors that cause them troubles in their lives. I wish there was another term we could all use because the use of 'behavior' tends to be one of those terms of inequality. If I go on a rant about being the only one in the house to wash the dishes, I go on a rant. If an individual with developmental disabilities goes on a rant, they are 'having a behavior' or 'having a tantrum/outburst' and they might need a 'behavior plan' to address the ranting. If I rant (or vent), it is because I was frustrated at the situation and was expressing myself. If a person with intellectual disabilities rants (or has a behavior), those around them think it was primarily a ploy to get attention, as if they are overly needy. When I was ranting, I absolutely wanted attention, too. I wanted everybody's attention. But I was not considered an attention-seeker; I was being assertive in getting my needs met.
Most of us have a preconceived notion of what people with intellectual disabilities are. We are prejudiced. We prejudge the group of people with disabilities as having unfavorable qualities without truly knowing them. We think them incapable, eternally children, holy innocents, slow, and at times, dangerous.
When I say that I want us to consider behavior in a social context, I want us to think about the ways in which we have treated others differently because of our prejudice and to consider that they are behaving in the same way as any of us would under those circumstances.
First of all, instead of calling them 'behaviors', we could normalize the language and call them 'actions'.
So picture yourself in a social world where you are not heard because you are thought of as not intelligent enough to make your own decisions. If you are not being heard, what would you do? You would get louder. Your actions would be to yell, and still if no one was listening, you might pound something with your hand, or shake your fist at someone. This might be called 'maladaptive behavior' in the clinical world of intellectual disabilities. If I do it, I might be taking actions that are firm and decisive in my resolve to get what I need.
To be honest, it would be highly unusual for me to lose my cool. It would take a lot for me to start yelling, venting, ranting, or raising my fist. But that's because my life is not in any way contentious. I get all of my needs met. I have been treated respectfully all these years. I have a certain amount of status. I have a family that loves and supports me and my many quirks. I have a life that is productive and interests me. Place me in a social context where I have to rebel, and I would (I hope) fight to get my needs met by whatever means. If I found myself in a revolution, I'd take up arms.
My contention here is that individuals with cognitive impairments have been treated so differently or have lived a life so different from the rest of us around them that they have to act out to get their needs met. They don't have status. They are told what to do and how to do it every day of their lives. Most are not married or engage in intimate relationships. In the majority of cases, this is discouraged. Most will not have access to things they want when they want them. Most will not hold down jobs, thereby not feeling needed and productive. Most will be expected to wait patiently a good portion of their lives because they are often doing things in a group. This list goes on and on and you could probably think of so many more life differences on your own. Differences are okay, but not when they hinder, interfere, or harm another. Not when it breeds a revolution and we call it a behavior problem.
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