Maid, an Assistive Technology?

Assistive Technology (AT) is a generic term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices and the process used in selecting, locating, and using them. AT promotes greater independence for people with disabilities by enabling them to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to or changed methods of interacting with the technology needed to accomplish such tasks.

(definations extracted from Wikipedia)

As mentioned by H.B, it is commonly seen in Singapore, or Asian countries, how much a person with disability/ies rely on a maid for basic ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) like dressing, bathing, etc and sometimes these people can actually do by themselves.

And more often than not, as I have seen during my clinicals, most of the time is the family members who asked the maids to do all the things for the child/ person with disability. Then, in this case, how can the person be independent? And getting the maid to do the tasks for them, isn't that makes a maid an assistive technology? That was also mentioned by H.B.

Perhaps, we should change the mindsets of the public. And before getting the public change the mindset, I think the media should STOP showing how pity the disabled people are. I think it has been a little mind bogging after we seen videos on how the disable riots for their rights and how people in the asia resign to their fate and fall into self-pity and stuff.....

S.J mentioned that has this course changed us to give empathy selectively now... ... Has our mindset changed from an "empathy for all the less fortunate people" to "Yes, you are disabled, but you can still think and you are still abled in many ways. Why are you crying and think that that is the end of the life?"

Well, I would not dare to say our mindset has changed but rather our OT education has exposed us to see what is beyond the bodily function. A person does not make up just the physical body alone. It has other areas like spiritually, thinking and feelings.....

Perhaps, now the media should focus on how ABLE people with disabilities can be. And they should start not to use all the sad stories as a means to raise funds for the organizations, making use of the public's sympathy. I'm not trying to say that the public should not donate the money but rather, that is not the way to create the awareness of the disabilities. This will be a viscous cycle. This will make the public pity them ---> disabled to self-pity -----> more pity from the public..... and this goes on and on.... there must be a stop somewhere.....

Maybe with the better educated generation things will get better. Or perhaps when we start to work as a full fledged therapists, we can make an impact our clients and as well as the public.