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RATIONALE
WHY A FARMSTEAD?
In a time when most professionals are focused on getting
people with disabilities included in the mainstream
of society, why do we suggest a farmstead which would
cluster several people with autism and other developmental
disabilities together and separate them, to some extent,
from their communities???
Let us begin by stating that we agree that all people
have the right to be fully included in the mainstream
of society. We further agree that most people with developmental
disabilities can enjoy and benefit from full inclusion
in their communities. However, we believe that the special
needs of some individuals get lost when professionals
insist that everyone is best served in the same setting
prototype (i.e. the mainstream). In this age of "self-determination"
we need to make allowances for those who choose to spend
some of their time apart from the mainstream.
We believe a farmstead is a good, and perhaps is the
best, situation for some people for a number of reasons.
First, most employment and living opportunities are
in urban areas. However, there are some people (e.g.
many of those with autism) for whom the fast pace and
crowded conditions of urban life are noxious. These
people need more space and a slower pace. A rural setting
provides that; a farm provides it optimally. Second,
a farm provides numerous vocational activities (working
with animals, growing plants, baking, selling, etc.)
that many people find meaningful and satisfying because
the results of their work are readily evident (an animal
anxiously awaiting their arrival at feeding time, a
plant growing and producing food which they can eat,
etc.) Third, the proposed farmstead would be less stressful
than most competitive employment situations because
everyone could work at his own pace; production levels
wouldn’t be a concern. This is important for people,
such as those with autism, who already live under more
stress than the rest of us will probably ever know.
Fourth, the expense and difficulty of providing transportation
to rural work opportunities as well as to the numerous
recreational activities that could be available on a
farmstead could be significantly eliminated for those
who choose to live on the farmstead.
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