Chinsurah Sense Society has been working for holistic development and rehabilitation of children/young adults with Autism and intellectual disabilities based on the values derived from the concepts of Social Role Valorization (SRV) theory proposed by Dr. Wolf Wolfensberger.
Our major goal, as guided by the SRV, is to create or support socially valued roles for people with autism (or intellectual disabilities) in the society, because if a person holds valued social roles, that person is highly likely to receive from the society those good things in life that are available to that society.
So our goal is ensure to the persons with autism (or intellectual disabilities), as an inclusive part of the society, all the good things in the social life, to mention a few major examples, home and family; friendship; being accorded dignity, respect, acceptance; a sense of belonging; an education, and the development and exercise of one's capacities; a voice in the affairs of one's community and society; opportunities to participate; a decent material standard of living; at least a normative place to live; and opportunities for work and self-support.
Not necessary to mention that the persons with autism (or intellectual disabilities) are heavily devalued in the society, consequently, are more likely to be subjected to a systematic and possibly life-long pattern of such negative experiences as the following: being rejected by community, society, and even family and services; being cast into severely negative social roles, such as “burden on society”; keeping at a social distance by segregation; having negative images attached to them; being the object of abuse, violence, and brutalization. The good things in life are usually not accorded to people who are devalued in society. For them, many or most good things are beyond reach, denied, withheld, or at least harder to attain. That is why, Chinsurah Sense Society gives utmost importance to imparting at least some valued social roles to the persons with autism. In fact, a person who fills valued social roles is likely to be treated much better than people who have the same devalued characteristics, but who do not having equally valued social roles. This is because when a person with autism holds some valued social roles, their attributes that might otherwise be viewed negatively are much more likely to be overlooked or dismissed as relatively unimportant.
