To
Whom It May Concern:
I was inspired to write the letter to the
editor, printed below, after speaking to a home daycare provider.--
I was trying to find a daycare, for a couple of hours three days
a week, for my child with special needs. The daycare provider kept
insisting on calling my beautiful son "handicapped" several times; even
after I requested that she use the term "special needs" rather than "handicap".
She also insisted that no one wishes to care for children with handicaps,
even the mild cases. While I understood her level of thinking, I
felt like my heart was crushed, because I do not view my son as handicapped
although having special needs. He is a beautiful child with a beautiful
spirit. He is like any other child, despite his challenges.
He is my teacher and mentor.
I sat down, wrote her a letter, explaining
how I really felt. The lay out of the letter came out wonderfully.
I sent the letter to her. She called me back and thanked me for helping
her understand. Many others call my son handicapped as well.
It hurts. I know other individuals and parents of children with special
needs feel as I do.
I am sending you the letter hoping that you would
submit it in your newsletter. Something I feel will enlighten the
hearts of many.
Thank You.
Sincerely, Ginger Potvin,
Mother and advocate of children with special needs
Labeling Creates The Handicaps
Letter to the Editor, reprinted
from The Herald of Randolph
As a mother of
a child with special needs, I have been provided many valuable lessons.
These lessons have been invaluable, penetrating my soul with great truth.
I feel this strong desire to share some of my lessons with many.
I truly view my child as being
no different from any other child. I love him. I have the same
desires and hopes. I envision my child with special needs as having
every opportunity as any child would in this lifetime.
Why? It
is the unconditional love I hold for him. Yes, I feel pain.
I grieve. I worry, I'm concerned. Somehow the unconditional
love allows me to understand and accept this as how my son is supposed
to be.
He is here on
this earth with a very important mission- just as we all are. We
all are given challenges to overcome, face, cope with, strengthen.
Because I feel this truthfully, the gut-wrenching emotions seem to subside
for the most part. I am able to come to grips with what seems horrible
to many.
Truly, his condition is not
horrible, it is not sad, it is only what I make of it. I choose to
bathe in the gifts my son has to offer. You see, love sees no imperfections.
Love only loves.
I have come to
understand it is the condition "labeled", that is more devastating to a
parent, or person with special needs, than it is the initial condition
itself. Society unintentionally attacks individuals viciously by
labeling conditions as a handicap, or as a disability.
I have grown to understand
that almost no child has a handicap. If children with special needs
are handicapped, it would be fair to say we are all handicapped.
You see, every one of us faces some kind of challenge. We all have
a deficit, a weakness. We all have strengths, too.
Absolutely none
of us are perfect. Can you truly call a deaf person deaf, when they
have never know any difference? I ask you to think about my questions
carefully because the answers offer a beautiful truth. A truth that
cannot be fully appreciated unless our eyes are fully open to that truth,
that insight.
I have grown to understand
labeling is a form of prejudice. Too many of us are quick to judge
without really knowing the other side of the story. Our false assumptions
lead to labeling, stereotyping, and forming unnecessary prejudices.
Prejudice, really, defines the fear of the unknown. Prejudice in
truth is ignorance.
Take this time
to think for a moment. Suppose someone labeled your child unfairly.
How would it make you feel? Would you feel hurt? Would you
disagree? You see, I, like you, need my child to be viewed, treated,
and respected the same as you expect your child to be treated. My
son does not deserve to be treated as different. He does not deserve
to be punished for something he cannot help having- mild cerebral palsy.
You see, in truth, all of
us have some form of special need. We all have challenges.
We all have gifts. We are all equal under the eyes of God.
Please be sensitive
to the labels traditionally used. We parents truly prefer "special
needs." |
