Looking at Nathan and the number of transitions he will and is going through made me start to think about how people deal with transition. Nathan is dealing with the transition of going from not having a disability to having a disability. He is also transitioning from HS to College. This involves moving to a new place, meeting new people, and having to make his way around a new campus, and living area.
I found two articles regarding transition:
"On the road to nowhere? Young disabled people and transition" B. Beresford
"Transition from school to adult life for physically disabled young people" L Firoentino, D Datta, S Gentle, DMB Hall, V Harpin, D Phillips, A Walker
These articles talk about transitioning from being a child to being an adult while living with a disability. This means that their services shift along with their care. It is found that for most young disabled people both the process of transition from child to adult services and achieving transition to adulthood are problematic (Firoentino et al, 2004)
"More recent research paints an unhappy picture of the experience of leaving school for many young disabled people as a time of loneliness, with minimal contact with peers and with few opportunities to enjoy meaningful activities or to further develop skills and abilities" (Firoentino et al, 2004 P. 583)
This article also provided some main problems with the transition process for many young people with a disability.
Problems:
1. Lack of information made available for young people and parents about future options and opportunities and services available
2. Insufficient specialist staff available to work with young people and their parents around the time of a transition.
3. Young people and parents are not properly involved in decision-making involving their transition process and plan.
This article made me think about all the transitions that Nathan would be going through and road blocks and struggled he would face.
Would he be provided with all the information regarding his accident and condition?
Would he be able to make choices about his accident?
Would he suffer from depression, or stress due to his new disability?
How would he cope with his disability?
Would his identity change due to his sudden disability?
Below are some areas that I will look into further in hopes of answering the above questions:
Chickering's Theory of Identity Development (The Seven Vectors):
1. Developing Competence- Intellectually (the "thinking me")- development of critical thinking an an intellectual curiosity outside of the formal classroom; Physically (the "physical me")- development of the ability to handle one's self in physical and manual activities; Interpersonally (the "aware me")- development of the ability to be a part of a cooperative effort, understand the motives and concerns of others.
2. Managing Emotions- recognize and accept emotions and appropriately express and control them
3. Moving Through Autonomy Toward Interdependence- evidenced in the growth of self-sufficiency, less need for approval of others, the recognition of interdependence (role of self in the larger community/society/campus)
4. Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships- develop intercultural & interpersonal tolerance, appreciate difference; create healthy, intimate relationships
5. Establishing Identity- acknowledge differences in identity development based on gender, ethnic background & sexual orientation
6. Developing Purpose- develop career goals, make commitments to personal interests & activities, establish strong interpersonal commitments
7. Developing Integrity- development of a personally valid set of beliefs and values that provide a guide to behavior and emotions
Schlossberg's Transition Theory:
- The three transition types are anticipated (ex. expecting to graduate from college), unanticipated (ex. divorce, sudden death, not being accepted to graduate school), or a nonevent.
- Transitions have context and are determined by the individuals relationship to the environmental setting in which the transition is occurring.
- The impact of the transition varies depending on the alterations it causes in an individual's daily life.
- The 4 "S's" that affect one's ability to cope with transition are: Situation (trigger, timing, control, role change, duration, previous experience with a similar transition, concurrent stress, assessment), Self (two kinds: personal & demographic characteristics- SES, gender, age, health, ethnicity, culture, etc.- and psychological resources- ego development, outlook, commitment, resilience, spirituality, self-efficacy, values, etc.), Support (types- intimate, family, friends, institution-, functions- affects, affirmation, aid, honest feedback- & meashurements- stable and changing supports), and Strategies (three categories- modify the situation, control the meaning of the problem, or aid in the managing of stress afterwards- and four coping models- information seeking, direction action, inhibition of action, intraphsychic behavior).
Related Articles to Explore:
http://my.fit.edu/~tharrell/cbhc/Medical/Chronic%20Illness%20Adaptation/chronic%20illness%20therapist%20info.pdf
Looks at Identity Process Theory
http://www.academia.edu/491938/Disfigurement_the_challenges_for_identity_and_the_strategies_for_coping
Racial Identify and Disability
http://www.uky.edu/Centers/HIV/Sonja%20Articles/Alston,%20Bell%20&%20Feist-Price%201996.pdf
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