Introduction

I have wanted to share my brother's story for a long time. He is a trailblazer, or perhaps more accurately, my parents were trailblazers in the movement to keep special needs kids at home with their families after birth. John was born in 1960, a time when almost no middle class parents kept kids like him at home. Somehow, my mother knew that his potential could only be maximized by his living at home with his parents and three sisters. And so he did. I know it was really hard for many people, but it was never hard for me.
He was born about a month early and I've been told it was a very difficult birth for my mother. There were no sonograms in 1960, so no one knew in advance that he had a very large head, even for an achondroplasiac dwarf. Despite the best efforts of the doctors, his brain was damaged during birth, leaving him mentally retarded. Friends and family members recommended that John be institutionalized for the 'good' of my sisters and me, but my mother was resolute and home he stayed.
I cannot imagine what my life would have been like had John not been in it. I created this blog to share with others the joy and pain I have experienced as the sibling of a special needs person and to let others know of the tremendous success my hero has achieved.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Giving

John volunteers once a week at the local high school checking IDs at the door. He enjoys being around the kids and is happy to be out in the community, making a contribution and being productive. He learned early about the joys of giving -- my Dad was a very generous man He was one of the first Presidents of MAARC -- Milford Area Association for Retarded Children. We kids helped him with mailings of newsletters, bringing our friends along to assist with the "assembly line". It truly was merrier with more -- the building used was not very well heated, so the extra bodies were appreciated in more ways than one!

I am as proud today as I was as a kid of the courage my Dad demonstrated as a pioneer in the movement to keep children with intellectual disabilities at home with their families. Life takes many unexpected turns. When my parents decided to keep John at home, they could not possibly have known that he would 30 years hence be the glue that held our family together.
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