"The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become" –Goethe I remember reading that quote while I was in college and some 15 years later it has become even more important than when I first read it. Being a father of a child with special needs I advocate in hopes of making others aware of what Goethe wrote about. I do the Buddy Walks and take the pledge to “Spread the Word to End the Word”. I join support groups and “like” pictures of inspirational sayings. I think I am Steven Spielberg and create low budget PSA’s. And I also have been known on some occasions to fire off emails and letters to people in regards to the special needs community and unfortunately get very little to no response from them. But when all is said and done it all comes down to someone’s perception of my daughter and others like her. The way people see my daughter will ultimately shape her life. And viewing her not as “disabled” but “differently” abled is a step in the right direction. I am not going to sit here and act like I never used the word “retard” or made fun of someone with a disability. I have. I think we all have. Including parents that now have children who are “differently” abled. What is different now is I have the displeasure of seeing firsthand how words and actions hurt not only those that are being made fun of but the ones that love them as well. I can honestly say that within the week after receiving the diagnosis of Down Syndrome for my daughter from the doctors I cried. A lot. And one of the reasons why was because I knew how people can be cruel, how words can hurt and the way we treat people will shape what they will become. 9 months in to this T21 adventure a good portion of what I cried about has gone away and looking back now seems silly. My goal is simple. It is one that I pledged from day one when I found out my daughter has designer genes and here it is: Change the way we treat, regard and address the special needs population. Obtainable? Absolutely! Can it be done overnight? No. But if each of us in our own way begin to erase the negative stigma that belittles people with special needs we than begin to see the potential in all.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:33:11 +0000
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