Wyllie talks about using a harness and Andy getting lost in a department store. Many children with Down syndrome are known to wander.
Was your child prone to wander off? What steps did you take to keep him or her safe?
Throughout the book the author uses language that was typical for the time. While some of the words might be difficult to process, especially to parents of younger children, some words bring back vivid memories. Two of those words appear in this chapter: “trainable” and “educable.”
How have you felt reading the outdated language? Was your child labeled with terms like this?
Wyllie expresses her opinion of the changing language:
“However, a fancy name does not alter that person’s handicap, nor does tiptoeing around a sensitive subject make it go away. While we are busy glossing over reality with elaborate nomenclature, we need to question whether these cumbersome, tongue-tripping phrases have changed our preconceptions or influenced the real issues of acceptance and assimilation.” – p. 107
Do you agree?
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