Personality Is What Makes The Person

Personality Is What Makes the Person

Does being mentally retarded classify someone as being unintelligent? According to the American Psychiatric Association (1994), mental retardation is a person being of "significantly sub average general intellectual functioning...that is accompanied by significant limitations in adaptive functioning"; in addition, the condition must appear before the individual is twenty-one years old (Intelligence and Mental Abilities, 2002). "The term mental retardation also implies an inability to perform at least some of the ordinary tasks of daily living" (Intelligence and Mental Abilities, 2002). One might inquire how and what causes mental retardation and if anything can be done to defeat it? Unfortunately in most cases, the causes are simply not known (Intelligence and Mental Abilities, 2002). Nearly ninety percent of all cases have mild retardation, and when the cases are identified, most often they stem from a wide variety of genetic, environmental, social, nutritional, and other risk factors (Intelligence and Mental Abilities, 2002).

The Mental Illness

Down syndrome is a type of mental retardation that a child is born with. It got its name from the nineteenth century British physician Langdon Down, who first described the symptoms (Intelligence and Mental Abilities, 2002). Down syndrome occurs when there are defects on part of chromosome twenty-one (Intelligence and Mental Abilities, 2002). It is typically marked by moderate to severe mental retardation and also by a characteristic pattern of physical deformities, including skin folds on the hands, feet, and eyelids (Intelligence and Mental Abilities, 2002).

Background Information

Following is background information on the person that I have interviewed. Her name is Tammy Tortorelli. She is a recently divorced Caucasian female that is thirty-one years of age. She has recently moved back home with her parents and her brother Tommy. Her brother Tommy has Down syndrome. If anything ever happens to her parents Tammy will be responsible for taking care of Tommy's physical, emotional, and social needs. I have interviewed Ms. Tortorelli to see how she deals with having a brother who has special needs and if she is prepared to take the responsibility involved with his care when the time comes. During the interview I asked a series of related questions to see how Ms. Tortorelli feels about her brother have Down syndrome, how it affects her life in general, and how the public views her brother and how it affects her.

The Interview

The first question that was asked was "How old were you when you first came to learn that your brother was different than other children, and how did you go about learning about your brother's handicap?" Tortorelli responded that she did not really realize that her brother was any different than other children until she started school. She never really could understand why Tommy did not attend the same school as her and her oldest brother. When she started asking questions, her parents decided that it was time for Tammy to learn and understand her brother Tommy's handicap and special needs. After her parents had tried to explain Tommy's condition to her, she extended her knowledge by reading books from the library about Down syndrome. This gave her a better understanding of this form of mental retardation.

The second question that was asked to Tortorelli was if she ever felt confused or depressed due to having a sibling with a mental illness. Tortorelli responded that at times when she was a child, yes, she did feel confused and depressed. However, by having a supportive family and going through counseling in school she learned to cope with and think positive about the situation. Her brother may have a mental illness but she feels he is God's gift to their family. She stated, "He has brought nothing but joy and laughter from day one."

The third question that I asked was, "When you are out in public with your brother and people stare and point at him, how do you handle the situation?" Tortorelli's response was that she basically ignores the people. She feels that when the public reacts in such ways, it is because they are ignorant of and lack the knowledge to understand the ways of a special needs person.

The fourth question asked was if Tortorelli finds that she is holding back her thoughts and feelings towards others when they make fun of her brother and his handicaps. Tortorelli responded that the only feelings that she holds back towards the public are the feelings of anger. She gets angry with other humans making fun of her brother and pointing their fingers and laughing at him. She feels that if they only knew what kind of a special person he really is, then they would not stoop that low and belittle him like they do.

The next question that was asked was, "Would you say that your family as a "whole" has a good and positive attitude about your brother's special needs?" Her response was, "yes". She feels that her family all cater to Tommy's needs and wants, and go out of their way to make sure he has everything that he needs to survive. She stated that, "Even though Tommy is mentally challenged he is a bright individual. He lives a life like you and I do. He eats the same foods and listens to the same music, and he even sings and dances. He also watches movies with the family. Although he may not be able to understand what is going on, he understands the basic actions that occur such as eating, driving the car, and socializing. He is a very happy and unique individual that brings a lot of light into each and every one of our lives. He even goes to work everyday and gets a paycheck like you and I. He works at the Van Buren Vocational Technical Center were they have a workshop for the mentally challenged individuals where they put together car parts.

The next related question that was asked was what kind of personality Tortorelli feels that her brother has. Tortorelli replied,