Lovely excerpt about parenting disabled kids

[kirsten]

I hope you don't mind me stepping into your corner of the forum--I belong in the other categories. I just came across a dad who has been kind enough to offer a rather long excerpt from his book, "Dads of Disability." Although many of the stories are about kids with learning disabilities, I thought that it was quite poignant and useful anyway. Here is the link: http://blog.dadsofdisability.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DadsOfDisability-Preview.pdf

 

[kirsten]

I should add that I'd expect many of you might avoid the word 'disability.' Certainly, I don't consider myself to be disabled. But there is much about these experiences that we do have in common.

 

[Penny]

When I was in school out in Colorado in my early 20's I worked in a home for severly Mentally handicapped adults. Most of these people didn't have family that even came to see them. They just left them there.
I had the lowest functioning group of 8 and I loved working with them. I had no family out there. Mine were in IL (I lived out there 4 years while going to school). I would take 1 client at a time out on the weekend to the "mall, my apt for lunch, a ride in the mountains, Church service, and so on". This all took place before the laws that would not let you. One weekend One of the QMRP (high up bosses) took 5 of us employees plus 13 of lowest functioning adults and we went up Trail Ridge over night camping with them. We all had a ball. This was one of my favorite jobs.

Disabilities. There are all kinds. Not that bad. Some are so minor. Ours are. Luckily we can take care of ourselves with the exceptionof ya we need a dr. but we are disabled. Some more than others.

I liked your post Kirsten.

 

[kirsten]

I think I learned the most about coping with my epilepsy from my mentor, who had severe cerebral palsy--he couldn't walk or use his hands, and his speech was severely impaired. It took me some months to learn how to understand his talking. I got to spend an enormous amount of time with him over ten years and I've also read his autobiography, which speaks of what he went through to get to where he was then. We was fiercely intelligent and determined and generous. He'd type with his shaky, jerking hand, using one pencil to type one key at a time--it took forever, but he still managed to be incredibly prolific with his writing and with helping other writers. He was eventually called 'the most influential person in South African literary history.' So I learned that I could achieve what ever I hoped for if I worked for it. He was 70 when I met him but when he was 30 he was still struggling to accept his disability. I hope that I will one day be as wise and amazing as he was.