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Running Head: THE POWER OF INFLENCERS

The Power of Influencers

Amber Kalender
Fresno Pacific University

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Running Head: THE POWER OF INFLENCERS
The Power of Influencers
Throughout life children are being socialized from the minute they are born. Each
personal interaction and life experience will shape a child into the person they become as they
grow up. As a child the process of socialization can be a time a growth and learning of how and
where the child fits within the world. For a child with a disability this time in life can be even
more stressful. For the purpose of this discussion the first area of socialization that will be
examined is disability, self-concept, and cultural differences. The second area of socialization to
be examined is parents, children, and social change as influencers on the socialization of
children. The way that we socialize our children with disabilities is important to acknowledge on
a global scale to see what areas our culture is excelling in and also what our culture needs to
improve on.
On a global scale the treatment of children with disabilities has been less than desirable
and at times criminal. In our own history Americans have institutionalized disabled people which
is a dark time in our history. But thats just in history, right? Many people may still believe that
children with disabilities are treated well across the world because Americas treatment of
children with special needs have improved by leaps and bounds however, that is not the case. In
different areas of the world children with disabilities are being socialized and abused segregated
away from the rest of the world.
Across the world children with special needs are treated differently from country to
country based on cultural difference. The mistreatment of children with special needs is
discussed in the article For Russian Kids, A Disability Often Means Life in an Orphanage. The
articles purpose is to detail the low quality of life that children who are born with disabilities face
in Russia. Audie Cornish states that children with disabilities face cruelty and violence when

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living in orphanages in Russia. Cornish also makes the point that these children who are abused
in orphanages are not prepared or socialized to function in society. (Corey 2014). In Russia the
socialization of disabled children is often abusive and neglectful. In a society where this
mistreatment of a child is common a person must wonder whether this is a problem with the way
the orphanages are running or is this a cultural problem.
In Russia is it a common mindset that having a child with a disability is a burden which
can explain why the majority of special needs children end up in an orphanage. In the article
Corey speaks to a mother who gave birth to a child with down syndrome and the mother retells
the events that took place when she found out her baby had down syndrome. The mother of the
baby stated that the doctors encouraged her to abandon her baby and give it to an institution.
Finally within the first year of giving her baby to an institution she decided to bring the baby
home and now believes that the doctors are in need of better advice themselves (Corey 2014). By
looking at the way an expecting mother is advised by doctors to give up their baby with
disabilities to an institution it can be determined that this a cultural issue that runs deep within
the community.
One major value within the Russian culture is the idea of perfection. It was described in
the article that in Russian society today the idea of perfection is strong amongst the country.
People in Russia do not want disabled children walking around because they lack perfection. By
looking into Russian society is made clear that the culture of the land greatly influences the way
that disabled people are treated and socialized. In an interview with Andrea Mazzarino a human
rights worker she recounts her research stating that in the 10 institutions for children she visited
she either encountered mistreatment of the children or it was reported to her. Mazzairno
describes the treatment of the children, that includes tying children up and sedating them,

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beating them or dousing them with cold waterchildren with severe disabilities are confined to
so-called, lying down rooms, where they spend their days in cribs kept in diapers and fed through
tubes. Photos from her report show teenagers with a physical development of preschoolers
because of years of confinement. (Corey 2014), by looking at what is taking place in Russia
readers can get an extreme example of how cultural norms can affect children with disabilities.
Because cultural values tell society that a person with special needs lacks perfection they are
then socialized under brutal circumstances. Being socialized under such circumstances we can
only imagine what kind of self-image these children have developed.
Self-image is a concept that spans throughout our whole lives. It is easy to imagine how
the disabled children of Russia would have a poor self-image based on the cultural views of them
as well as the abusive environment and neglect. But what would the self-image of disabled
people look like if they were in fact taken care of in a much more positive environment. In our
culture adults with special needs often live at home or in a group home where they can have a
sense of freedom while being monitored at the same time. The article entitled Are We Valuing
Peoples Choices Now? Restrictions to Mundane Choices Made by Adults with Learning
Difficulties examines how we as a society treat adults with learning disabilities. Basically what
the article is stating is that rather than giving a person with a disability a meaningful choice it is
easier to give them a choice between two things that will keep them under control. The focus of
the study was to track if adults with special needs had control over their diets and choices of
food. The research showed that five of the women they were following did not have control over
their diets but instead were given the food by their caregivers without a meaningful choice
(Hollomotz 2014). Overall in all areas of the disabled peoples life there were different options in
all facets of their daily lives including food, alcohol consumption, and daytime activities but if

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all of their choices were pre-selected for them do they really have a meaningful choice or are
they being controlled by their caregivers? The article at one point states that, the management of
predictable risks is at the very core of advanced modern societiesWe are no longer primarily
concerned with attaining something good but with preventing the worst, with the result that
self-limitation, as opposed to self-realization, becomes the goal of both the individual and
society (Hollomotz 2014), this statement sheds light on the way that our culture socialized
people with disabilities,. Rather than having a person with a disability make a choice we present
them preselected choices that will avoid an undesirable behavior and regardless of the choice the
person makes it will still align with what the caregiver wants. By creating pre-selected choices
for adults and children with special needs the question is still what does there self- image look
like?
In our society do we want to promote a persons dependence on caregivers based on
convenience and preventing undesirable behavior? A person with limited choices may have a
self-image of themselves that is dependent or inadequate to function as an adult on their own.
Yes, there has to limitations based on the severity of the disability but in situations where a
person or child may be able to explore their independence or make reasonable choices shouldnt
caregivers allow them the opportunity to do so? To promote a positive self-image where the child
feels pride, resourcefulness, and independence we should allow all children even ones with
disabilities to make meaningful choices which will allow them to become influencers on their
own lives and the lives of their peers.
The idea of allowing children to be influencers in their classroom environment is an idea
that should be incorporated into every classroom. The classroom and school environment is
where many children spend the most time out of their day. Children will also have a different

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perspective than those of the staff at the school which could mean that they could possibly bring
new ideas to the classroom. I also feel that if a child is expected to follow the rules at school then
they should have a role in influencing the rules. By allowing children at circle time to affect the
policies within their schools the instructors are providing the children with opportunities to
practice key skills in their social and emotional development. When collaborating with peers and
instructors children are able to organize with one another about common goals and then
communicate those goals. Children are natural influencers so by allowing them to incorporate
this aspect of their identity into the education, teachers can help guide them and facilitate
discussions which are skills that they can carry on with them through adulthood.
As an educator my ultimate goal is to give the children in my care the tools that they will
need in order to become a successful adult within their own right. In the classroom I can give
children these skills through socialization. Examining the many different aspects to socialization
and apply them to children with disabilities is an important concept to me because I am currently
employed as a special education technician. It was important for me to learn about different
cultures around the world in order to see how people with disabilities are treated compared to the
way my culture treats people with disabilities. When reflecting on if I did some of the negative
things that I read about I found that I practice on of the topics.
From this paper I realized that I have often given children with special needs meaningful
choices in the everyday lives. I now realize that this will serve them no long term benefits and I
need to start working to find new ways to get them to exhibit correct behavior. I think learning
about the mistreatment of disabled people is important to learn about in order to prevent it from
happening within my own culture. I am looking forward to developing strategies when it comes
to socializing my students with and without special needs. As a teacher I hope to be a positive

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influencer and do what is best for my students now as well as set them on the right path to
becoming happy and healthy adults with a positive self-image.

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Running Head: THE POWER OF INFLENCERS
Corey, F. (2014). For Russian Kids, A Disablity Often Means Life In An Orphanage. All Things
Considered (NPR),
Hollomotz, A. (2014). Are We Valuing People's Choices Now? Restrictions to Mundane Choices
Made by Adults with Learning Difficulties. British Journal of Social Work, 44(2), 234251.
Leach, T., & Lewis, E. (2013). Childrens experiences during circle-time: a call for researchinformed debate. Pastoral Care In Education, 31(1), 43-52.
doi:10.1080/02643944.2012.702781