Aspergers Diary : Lynn Soraya
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/aspergers-diary
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
After Dinner Recollections
Sitting around the table, following a wonderful meal at the home of Dan & Angie Kurtz, we got to talking about the mission and vision of the Promise Foundation. During the conversation, Dick Smith shared a poignant memory with us.
“You know, I still remember her name today”, he told us, recalling one particular classmate from his elementary school days-- from more than a few years ago.
But even today, he remembers the name of one little girl from his class.
“She was . . . well, you know, different”, he remembers.
He also recalls that "after awhile, she just stopped coming to school”.
In those days, “developmental disability” was an unfamiliar, if not unknown, term of art.
Dick continued to relate how, back in the old days, his classroom had desks with flip-top lids that seated two students side-by-side. (Don’t know if they had inkwells, I should ask.)
He recalls that he and the "other boys” would, occassionally, get a little rowdy or, once or twice, actually misbehaved. He remembered the teacher yelling at them, demanding acceptable behavior and an end to their juvenile insubordination. And, in the most extreme circumstances, with no other recourse, their teacher would eventually get around to threatening the very WORST punishment of all-- care to guess what it was?
For really major felons, this teacher and authority in loco parentis would force the culprit to occupy a desk sitting next to their one developmentally disabled classmate; the girl whose name Dick Smith still remembers today, the girl who eventually just stopped coming to school.
“You know, I still remember her name today”, he told us, recalling one particular classmate from his elementary school days-- from more than a few years ago.
But even today, he remembers the name of one little girl from his class.
“She was . . . well, you know, different”, he remembers.
He also recalls that "after awhile, she just stopped coming to school”.
In those days, “developmental disability” was an unfamiliar, if not unknown, term of art.
Dick continued to relate how, back in the old days, his classroom had desks with flip-top lids that seated two students side-by-side. (Don’t know if they had inkwells, I should ask.)
He recalls that he and the "other boys” would, occassionally, get a little rowdy or, once or twice, actually misbehaved. He remembered the teacher yelling at them, demanding acceptable behavior and an end to their juvenile insubordination. And, in the most extreme circumstances, with no other recourse, their teacher would eventually get around to threatening the very WORST punishment of all-- care to guess what it was?
For really major felons, this teacher and authority in loco parentis would force the culprit to occupy a desk sitting next to their one developmentally disabled classmate; the girl whose name Dick Smith still remembers today, the girl who eventually just stopped coming to school.
Each journey begins with the first step....
Saturday. January 8th 2010
Angie Kurtz, Dan Kurtz, and Dick and Carol Smith, founding members of the Promise Foundation Sandusky ("PFS"), meet with Tom and Kathleen Zraik (of the Zraik Law Office) to discuss the Foundation's mission, history, and possible future direction.
Angie Kurtz, Dan Kurtz, and Dick and Carol Smith, founding members of the Promise Foundation Sandusky ("PFS"), meet with Tom and Kathleen Zraik (of the Zraik Law Office) to discuss the Foundation's mission, history, and possible future direction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)