Tyrone is now 31 years of age. He remains close to his father, particularly after his mother's death 3 years ago. He still can't believe that she's gone. He and his dad spent almost all of their time together after his mother's death. Tyrone took some time off and has just started back to work as a consultant for the agriculture industry. He continues to live at home.
Tyrone went to a state university and has become a state-wide expert in crop management. His difficulty speaking has been a challenge, but one that he has found ways to manage. Tyrone enjoys his work immensely, and he is happy to be able to contribute to his field in meaningful ways.
Tyrone's only wish is to meet someone who might share his life with him. He has seen a counselor on and off for the last several years, and this theme keeps emerging for him. He is not sure how to go about meeting someone.
* What is the time period for early adulthood? What are the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes that typically take place during this period? How is Tyrone's condition likely to affect what might have been a typical developmental pathway?
* How might Tyrone go about meeting someone in whom he might be interested? Are there specific "matchmaking" websites for people with disabilities? What are the challenges for Tyrone if he wanted to "go out" with someone?
* In addition to his income as a consultant, is Tyrone eligible for additional income and/or assistance owing to his disability? Be as specific as possible.
Early Adulthood is the first phase of adulthood which takes place between the ages of 18-40. It is a time of:
ReplyDelete- establishing personal and economic independence
- developing a career
- selecting a mate
- learning to live with someone in an intimate way
- starting a family
- rearing children
>In terms of physical development, this is the time when adults are in top physical capacity. Also, their manual agility, coordination, and sensory capacities are also at their peak. However, some decline in the perception of high-pitched tones is found by the late 20s as well as in manual dexterity. People in early adulthood are usually energetic and healthy however, this is the time period when they get the most freedom and tend to have bad eating habits as well as have the ability to use damaging products (alcohol, tobacco).
> In terms of cognitive development, those in early adulthood are able to handle cognitive tasks in a more abstract way as they have more life experiences. However, this doesn’t mean that cognitive development is over. One element in cognitive thinking that comes to light during early adulthood is the idea of postformal thought/reasoning. During this time in life, many people have learned and are learning that there is contradicting features and information everywhere, especially in the human environment. People are moody and act differently around different people and different situations. During this time period, people begin to understand that there are many different perspectives of a situation and that solutions can vary among different situations and that the situation itself can determine different solutions. In order to deal with these contradictions people go progress through 3 stages of reasoning which include: absolutist, relativist, and dialectical. The absolutist phase is when the person always assumes that there is always a single answer to any problem. The relativist phase is when the person is aware that there are different perspectives on every issue and that the correct solution may depend on the circumstance. The dialectical phase is when the person knows that competing positions are incorporated and the combination is attained. They are able to understand why there are different views on problems and appreciate the process of finding the correct solution given the situation.
> In terms of social and emotional changes, early adulthood is full of important tasks, like college, employment, finding a romance, all things that can create a lot of joy and a lot more stress. All of those things combined with a growing list of responsibility can really make an impact. According to Erikson, the focus of early adulthood is the ‘development of intimacy’ which is the ability to love and trust another person. On the other hand, Levinson, thought that there are social role requirements at different life stages that occur during adulthood. The first stage is ‘dream’ which is supposed to occur within the ages of 18-22 and includes the individual’s ‘dreams’ of what they want to do with their life and any goals they have for their future. The next stage occurs between the ages of 22-28, where the individual is supposed to be creating a pathway in their career and making heavy strides in that department as well as finding someone special to spend their time with. The next stage occurs on and around when the individual turns 30 and includes them sort of questioning themselves and their dreams for the future. The final stages occur from the ages 33-40 (which ends early adulthood) and is described as a settling down time where the individual has found their place in life and begine to consolidate their roles.
- I think that this phase in life is all about finding a career and finding that someone to start a family with and while Tyrone has done very well in the school and career path, his task of finding someone to start a family with hasn’t really gone anywhere. I think that his problems communicating have had a lot to do with that and have affected his self-esteem as well. If he could seek improvement in that then that could be a real ego booster and give him the courage to get out there and meet more people and hopefully find the one.
ReplyDeleteDurkin, K. (2010). Adolescence and adulthood. Intro to Psychology. Retrieved on November 17, 2011, from http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/intropsych/pdf/chapter10.pdf.
There are a lot of websites for online dating, even some specifically designed for those with special needs. If you just Google “disabilities dating services”, a lot of websites come up. Our group also thought that if he began volunteering with the Special Olympics as a swim coach, he maybe able to meet someone that way as well. If Tyrone wanted to “go out” with someone, he would have particular difficulty in transportation. Since he cannot drive, he would need to arrange a ride for his date and for himself, whether that is his dad or a handicapped friendly taxi. He also needs to make sure that the restaurant is handicapped friendly. Additionally, since Tyrone hasn’t had experience dating, it may be socially awkward at first. He may want to attend a sexual education class through a group home or something before beginning to date.
ReplyDeleteTryone is eligible for Medicaid due to his disability. Assuming his income is low enough, Medicaid will cover a lot of his medical expenses such as physical and speech therapy. Also, if Tyrone’s income is low enough, he may be eligible for supplemental security income.
http://cerebralpalsycosts.com/aid.html
http://www.dating4disabled.com/
Since the death of Tyrone's mother, the slow realization this Tyrone's father will not be around has come up. Both Tyrone and his dad have started discussions about Tyrone starting to transition out of the house. There were several options for someone with a disability to live on their own. They can be moved to a group home which provides support 24/7. There are two other options which provide less support this is called supported living. The person will receive help when needed.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.supportedliving.org.au/about/index.html