IllVVIltl cuivt lauici, uic juuug '**■ Woman had learned

IllVVIltl

cuivt lauici, uic juuug '**■ Woman had learned the basics of per"'■’sonal care. She could dress herself. ‘• ■She could wash her hair and brush * her teeth. She helped her mother in >1 “ the kitchen and accompanied her dad on shopping expeditions, offering ■’’advice on what to buy for that night’s dinner. She was happy. But her parents had begun to look ahead and worry about what would happen *fto her after their deaths. There were no brothers or sisters to help, and how could she, who had never known anything but patient, supportive love and the freedom of home, understand an institution?

Now she won’t have to try, the mother explained. Now with the skills and confidence she’s gained at Goldsborough House, she’ll be able - .to manage on her own. >; Goldsborough House is an eight. bed residential facility for the men, tally retarded operated by the Rappahannock-Rapidan Community ^Services Board. It serves a five, county Planning District with a population of about 102,000, of whom _ 3,060 are retarded, according to statistical averages. And it has a wait. ing list of about four years. ;, Kristi Johnson first worked with - the retarded while she was still a .. student at Rappahannock County . -High School. A volunteer with the . Special Olympics, she had what she -..describes as the typical attitude toward the mentally handicapped. “People say, ‘Oh, look at those poor .. folks. They need help.’ And sure, , .they need help,” acknowledged Miss Johnson, a residential counselor for .two years and now the supervisor at ..Goldsborough House. “But what . they need is help to help themselves. , They’re capable of learning how to help themselves. They don’t need -babysitting.” , Those who have no experience Jwith retarded adults watch Miss Johnson and fret that she expects .-too much. Sbe#naaintains that others expect too little. Like all good teachers, she knows that her students will strive to live up to expectations; those expectations send an unspoken message that the teacher has confidence in their abilities, and confidence is catching. “People tell me ‘I’m too hard, too harsh, but our clients at Goldsborough House CAN ,>leam. It just takes them longer. I . have to be firm. If I’m not, then I’m not doing them any good,” she explained.

Of the eight beds at Goldsbo’ rough House, one is reserved for .persons being evaluated who hope to ( become residents. There is no economic needs criterion; retarded adult§ from wealthy families are just as eligible as those from poor families. Ability to pay is a factor only in setting the monthly charge for each rlient. To be accepted, the retarded