H • THE ULTIMATE INTEGRATION OF THE SPINALMAN
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From all these considerations, it is obvious that the essence of rehabilitation of the
severely physically handicapped, such as spinal paraplegics and tetraplegics, must lie in
restoring activity of mind and promoting their determination to utilize those talents
which are already apparent and manifest, in addition to encouraging new talents by
awakening and mobilizing those intellectual potentialities which are still dormant. In
this process, early education and training of the disabled child and teenager and retrain
ing of the adult with mature brain are the indispensable essentials. Education and train
ing should be the guiding principles in our work in rehabilitating the disabled of any age,
to counteract from the start those adverse psychological effects which follow almost
inevitably in the wake of severe disability—namely, frustration, apathy and resignation.
Only then can new and dormant talents of the disabled be mobilized to enable him to
become once again a respected and useful member of the community.
In the previous chapter I have given only a few outstanding examples of paraplegics
and tetraplegics, who have developed old talents and mobilized new talents, but they
could be amplified by hundreds and thousands, all over the world.
One could only wish that the community at large would also recognize the new talents
exhibited by paraplegics and other severely disabled in the field of training and employ
ment. The old prejudice towards a person in a wheelchair dies hard. Indeed, there
still a great need for educating the public as a whole to give their disabled fellow men,
women and children fair chances for their social re-integration by providing more and
better facilities both in places of employment and in particular in ordinary schools and
universities, to give wheelchair users the opportunity to be educated in company with
their able-bodied fellows.
In conclusion, there is a wealth of talent lying dormant in human beings, and para
doxically and ironically enough, it often takes a disaster in life resulting in severe dis
ability to bring it out! But, when the disabled, with determination and concentrated
effort, develops his dormant talents, with what pride and satisfaction is he rewarded and
with what priceless treasures the community enriched!
