{"id":455,"date":"2011-05-11T05:58:26","date_gmt":"2011-05-11T09:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=455"},"modified":"2011-05-07T16:32:48","modified_gmt":"2011-05-07T20:32:48","slug":"fact-or-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/fact-or-fiction.html","title":{"rendered":"Fact or fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Working and living within the intellectually disabled community, I found that there are many common bits of misinformation and urban legends that haunt our population. \u00a0These distortions diminish all of us. \u00a0Here are a few of the most common misunderstandings.<\/p>\n

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  1. They don\u2019t understand insults or compliments. <\/strong>The fact is that they love compliments and completely understand insults. \u00a0Their feelings can be hurt and they are as sensitive as any other person.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. They are dangerous and cannot be trusted.<\/strong> While they are people and can do harm to themselves and others, in reality, our population is usually eager to please. \u00a0In addition, they are much more apt to harm themselves than someone else.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. They are over-sexed individuals, especially the men. <\/strong>Most developmentally disabled women want to have babies; but they are not usually interested in sex for any number of reasons. \u00a0 Men who have had sexual experiences are always more aware than men who have not experimented with sex. \u00a0However, in most cases, the hormones of men and women who are mentally challenged are not underdeveloped.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Individuals who are mentally challenged are loud and unpleasant. <\/strong>The personalities of people who are mentally challenged are as varied and complicated as any other people\u2019s group.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. All people born with Down\u2019s Syndrome are sweet and compliant. <\/strong>While there are those with the typical personality attributed to a person born with Down\u2019s, they too have a variety of personality types.\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. People who are mentally challenged are God\u2019s special children<\/strong>. \u00a0This usually means that they are exempt from sin; and they are given a \u201cget-out-of-jail-free card\u201d in regard to the judgment of God. \u00a0The reality is that they need salvation and discipleship just like everyone else. \u00a0There are some people who will never obtain an age of accountability because their IQ is extremely low. \u00a0Yet, we have seen exceptionally low functioning individuals eagerly accept the claims of Christ, and their lives change as a result of their salvation experience.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. They can\u00a0never understand the plan of salvation because their minds are too simple. <\/strong>Everyone can understand \u201cJesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.\u201d \u00a0This is the essence of God’s salvation plan provided by Jesus.<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. People who are intellectually disabled are especially gifted in spiritual areas. <\/strong> As with other people, there are women and men who hear from God in unique way within our population. \u00a0Nevertheless, there are also people who don’t even care about the things of God. \u00a0They are no more gifted than any other person who care nothing about God.<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. When you meet one mentally challenged person, you have met them all because they are all just alike. <\/strong>This community is extremely diverse. \u00a0Not only are their personalities different but they also have disabilities that are varied and different, adding texture and interesting flavors to their uniqueness.<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Medication should be given to modify every behavior. <\/strong>Medications are important and they are a wonderful gift for modern man. \u00a0Nevertheless, discipline can be learned by our population. \u00a0At times, habits are formed; but they can be broken by godly teachings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/strong>There are other misunderstandings that float through the larger population regarding this interesting sub-culture. \u00a0Yet, God has made every person uniquely his treasure. \u00a0It is up to us to turn our hearts and lives over to this loving Father. \u00a0Is there an interesting person who is mentally challenged that you have met? \u00a0What are some of their characteristics that interest you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Working and living within the intellectually disabled community, I found that there are many common bits of misinformation and urban legends that haunt our population. \u00a0These distortions diminish all of us. \u00a0Here are a few of the most common misunderstandings. They don\u2019t understand insults or compliments. The fact is that they love compliments and completely…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,10,16,28,12,4,1],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,92,699,691,694,19,689,692,700],"class_list":["post-455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-inspirational","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged","category-religion","category-simple-truths","category-uncategorized","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-down-syndrome","tag-faith","tag-inspirational","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nFact or fiction - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fact or fiction - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Working and living within the intellectually disabled community, I found that there are many common bits of misinformation and urban legends that haunt our population. \u00a0These distortions diminish all of us. \u00a0Here are a few of the most common misunderstandings. They don\u2019t understand insults or compliments. The fact is that they love compliments and completely…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/fact-or-fiction.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-05-11T09:58:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-05-07T20:32:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/05\/relax-spain.jpg.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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