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Carla's mom should focus on Carla's strengths and interests instead of forcing her own wants for Carla. Daniel is a big support system for Carla because he is independent despite his disability. Carla looks up to him. One of her sisters also promotes Carla being independent and tells her mom that some of the books put today advocate independence for the disabled.

A model of disability that reflects the character Carla is that of independent living. This model promotes individuals having control of their own life (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2016). Rather than being told what to do, the individual lays out their plan and is then guided by professionals on how to obtain their independent living goals (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2016). Carla looked to her teachers at the school for guidance on independent living. Carla's mom soon comes around to the idea of Carla living on her own and her boyfriend who was already living independently with his disability also guides and supports her. The disability culture of Carla is also related to her independence. As a professional working with individuals with disabilities to support their personal goals is the best way to advocate for them (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2016). Carla's culture is obtaining her independence by making her own choices, selecting a career and obtaining her own housing. Carla's idea of disability culture is separate from the general public which see disabilities as crippling.

The social model is also used to promote Carla's independence.

Language used by professionals when working with individuals who have disabilities should never make the individual feel bad about their disability. In Carla's case, her mental illness is labeled as just that although at the beginning of the movie her father states he does not want Carla to be "stupid". Her support system as she got older included her teachers, sisters, and Daniel. Her support system supported her decisions and persuaded her mom to allow her to take classes and eventually get married.

https://youtu.be/KOuEztXFhL4

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Her mother changed her room and made her play tennis in an effort to help her be more "well-bred". Her mom does not know how to communicate with her well and gets upset which causes Carla to run away from home. Carla returns to the school she attended and the school contacts Carla's parents. Carla said her mom was smothering her. Carla's mom is trying to get her involved in activities but those activities are not interesting to Carla. Carla's school tells Carla's mom that Carla would like to make her own decisions instead of having her mom try to control her life.  At the beginning Carla's mom does not want Carla to make any decisions on her own and feels like Carla will continuously get put down. She fails to realize that the challenges of becoming independent will only strengthen Carla.

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Families were limited to how often they could visit the students at the school. This impacted Carla and her family because her mom still wanted to treat her like a baby when she arrived home. Before returning home or throughout the school term the family should have been incorporated in the lessons Carla was learning about living an independent life. A professional should try to involve family members whenever possible especially if the client is under the age of 21. The family members can be incorporated in the goal setting for a disabled client but the professional must assure the interests of the clients are above the family members. Any goals, short or long term, is obtainable with a great support system. Carla mentions that parents are discouraged from visiting their children at the school because it upsets the kids and family members but research has proved otherwise (Brown, Ireys, Allen, Krissik, Barrett, Pires, & Blau, 2011). If her parents would have visited more often, Carla's goals for independent living could have gone into effect before she arrived home, her parents could have started looking for an apartment for her and decorated it the way she wanted. The strained relationship that Carla's parents had at the beginning of the movie with her father drinking alcohol as well as her mothers stress with her mental health condition could have impacted their rate of visitation. Nickerson, Brooks, Colby, Rickert, & Salamone (2006) determined that families with tense relationships were a cause of less visitation. Social workers should work with family members of clients in mental health institutions and encourage them to visit their family member.

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Carla leaves her school and goes back home. Social adjustment problems affected her attending a public school. She was sent to a school for the mentally challenged. Her family is wealthy and were able to afford sending their daughter to a school in a different area (santa Barbara) while they live in San Fransisco. She wants to pursue more schooling so she can become a veterinary assistant.

Social Support Map
School Teachers > Parents > Siblings > Professionals/Social Worker > Husband > Friends

Resources for mental health disability

www.mentalhealth.gov
www.nami.com
www.mentalhelp.net
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help/index.shtml
https://psychcentral.com/

Ethics

Professionals should always put the best interest of the client first even if the client is disabled. The promotion of self determination is also important. A professional should advocate for the client and also seek resources for the client to use such as housing and career resources. The Code of Ethics should always be followed especially when working with disabled clients. A lot of time the disabled are scapegoated so a professional social worker should give them the respect and patience they deserve when setting goals.

References

Brown, J. D., Ireys, H. T., Allen, K., Krissik, T., Barrett, K., Pires, S. A., & Blau, G. (2011). Youth and Family Participation in the Governance of Residential Treatment Facilities. Residential Treatment For Children & Youth, 28(4), 311-326. doi:10.1080/0886571X.2011.615238

Mackelprang, R., & Salsgiver, R. (2016). Disability: a diversity model approach in human service practice. Chicago, IL : Oxford University Press.

Nickerson, A. B., Brooks, J. L., Colby, S. A., Rickert, J. M., & Salamone, F. J. (2006). Family Involvement in Residential Treatment: Staff, Parent, and Adolescent Perspectives. Journal Of Child And Family Studies, 15(6), 681. doi:10.1007/s10826-006-9041-1