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The focus of our project was a comparison of the degree of stigmatization attached to the mentally disabled in the U. S. and Japan. The study included research, volunteering in a facility for the mentally disabled in America, and visiting institutions in Japan. Coping with a disability for both the person who has it and their family is difficult for all people throughout the world, but the degree of stigma attached to disabilities varies.
Recently in America the stigma attached to mental disabilities has been decreasing for several reasons. The public has become significantly more aware and knowledgeable of mental disabilities and is beginning to recognize them as illnesses like any other such as heart disease or diabetes. In addition, the increase of special drugs and institutions for people with mental disabilities has been extremely helpful. With this help those who suffer with mental disabilities have become increasingly able to live more everyday lives.
In order to participate in the Japan Project we were required to volunteer at an institution related to our topic. We volunteered at Joseph P. Addabbo Children's Psychiatric Day Treatment Program. There we had the opportunity to witness all of the different methods the teachers used to prepare the children for assimilation into public schools. The primary method used was one on one teaching used to target each individual child's problem. After speaking with several of the teachers and students we were pleased to discover that the system has been successful in the past with this particular school.
We were so impressed with this institution and enjoyed our short stay there so much that we decided to continue volunteering there over the summer. This gave us a much better understanding of the way specific disabilities are treated and the proper way to go about doing that.
Although the Stigma of mental disabilities has decreased over the past few years, it has in no way disappeared. While volunteering we had the opportunity to form close relations to many of the children who attended the school. They would often speak to us about the embarrassment they had to face everyday because of the stigma that is attached to mental disabilities. The local children often taunted them when they got off the yellow school bus, which all students at the treatment center were required to ride in.
During recess, we would often ask the children if they wished to go play in the local schoolyard. Realizing that it was summer and beautiful outside, we assumed they would be excited about the idea. Still, most of the children resisted and would rather stay inside and do work simply because they knew that there would be other children outside who would taunt them because they were under special care.
Most of the children in the treatment center were not able to look to their parents for support. The Joseph P. Addabbo Children's Psychiatric Day Treatment Program is located in a crime-ridden area and many of the parents are drug users. They are unable to take care of themselves and are therefore completely unable to take care of a child with special needs. In addition, this center is right next door to a low income housing project, where everyone knows each other; often resulting of the parents feeling ashamed of their child's disability. While volunteering there, we often had to deal with parents who would constantly scream and yell that their children did not belong in a special school. It was hard for us to grasp how a parent was more concerned about what the community thought of them than there own child, but it is a good example of how much the stigma of mental disabilities can affect a family and prevent them from receiving the care that they need.
America is often known as a land of diversity. There is no one particular race, ethnic background or culture. In Japan, on the other hand, difference is often mistaken for a weakness. Perhaps, this lack of diversity causes a greater attention to be placed on anyone who is unique; this would naturally apply to people who have mental disabilities.
In order to prepare for the Japan trip we were required to read several books about Japan, one with the main theme being the maintenance of "wa " meaning Harmony and it's importance in Japan's society. The education system in Japan does not provide special education in most public schools and there is no form of AP classes. Each child is treated equally, which in some ways may be considered positive, yet it can also be negative. Each student learns differently, some faster than others. Therefore, having all students learn at the same speed can leave those with disabilities in a hopeless situation.
In one of our group seminars before departing to Japan we discussed an important quote that we felt really applied to our topic "when one nail sticks out hammer it down." We believe that this quote really shows the extremes in which many in Japan are willing to go keep "wa."
While researching about the stigma of mental disabilities in Japan we came across two important words; "uchi" meaning inside behaviors vs. "soto" meaning outside behavior. While in a group setting, there is a strict way that many in Japan feel people should act. For example, almost all schools have a uniform. While walking the streets of Japan, we found it almost eerie to see hundreds of children marching to school in the same outfits. Even the adults were all wearing similar attire.
(TO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
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