In his book, An Uncomplicated Life: A Father’s Memoir of his Exceptional Daughter, Paul Daugherty recounts how his daughter, Jillian, has impacted his life, and the lives of everyone around her. He begins by explaining that his book is not about Jillian’s disability, but “about how her disability has enabled more fully her life and the lives of others,” including his own. Jillian was born with Down syndrome, a diagnosis that shocked Paul and his wife, Kerry, and forever changed their lives. Paul, a sports columnist, was far from prepared to care for and raise a child with a disability, but throughout the book, he explains his own transformation as the result of having Jillian. Kerry, on the other hand, accepted the challenge head on, and together, they set the goal of “building a better Jillian.” What happened in turn was that they were impacted beyond what they could fathom, and Jillian ended up moving those around her to “extraordinary goodness.” …show more content…
Daugherty takes the reader on a tumultuous journey throughout Jillian’s life, from the day she was born to the day her and her fiancé walked down the isle.
One of the Daugherty family’s mantras was “Expect. Don’t accept.” Paul explained that once they put Jillian’s limitations behind them, they were able to expect better and more from her, and from themselves; “Jillian’s potential would not be tethered to anyone’s preconceptions.” This was one of the most powerful themes maintained throughout the book, and is demonstrated through the Daugherty’s persistent determination and high expectations for Jillian. The Daugherty’s first response to Jillian was rarely “no” and they challenged Jillian, and vice versa, to take chances and define themselves. Jillian rode a bike, Jillian managed the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team, and Jillian married her “best boy,” Ryan Mavriplis. Jillian defined herself, and consequently, taught everyone around her that every person is capable of loving and being
loved. An Uncomplicated Life is an inspirational story of a positive and constructive lifestyle for families with a member who has a disability. In the beginning, many of the health challenges that accompany Down syndrome were explored and conquered. The Daugherty family experienced a health scare only five weeks after Jillian was born, which resulted in a 12-day hospital stay due to bronchiolitis (a common ailment of infants with Down syndrome due to underdeveloped lungs). Daugherty also examines the stereotypes and predispositions that are associated with Down syndrome that his family encountered repeatedly throughout their lives. For a large portion of An Uncomplicated Life, Daugherty covers their experience with the school system in Loveland, Cincinnati. The administration and teachers were quick to shorthand, judge, and deny Jillian her free and public education, which had a huge impact on her. She was enrolled in the general population, and her family faced many struggles to get her needs met and accommodations fulfilled. An Uncomplicated Life provides a firsthand glance into the lives of families with children with disabilities and the challenges they may face in many realms of their lives. The book is extremely enlightening to me as a prospective special education teacher, and provides a perspective that is not always acknowledged and valued: the perspective of parents. This memoir is an extremely valuable resource for anyone entering the field of LD at any level, and provides relevant insight into the trials, tribulations, and successes of those impacted by a child with a disability. Since I have known that I wanted to teach in the field of special education since I was in third grade, I have read many books about individuals with various disabilities. An Uncomplicated Life was recommended to me by a friend who has a sister with a disability, who described the memoir as “one of the best books ever.” I found An Uncomplicated Life to be more than just the story of Jillian and her family. There were many life lessons that I learned from the book that I have been able to apply to myself, even with the absence of a disability. The way in which Paul and Kerry raised Jillian and their son, Kelly, was progressive, optimistic, and inspirational, and their story is encouraging for individuals who are not allowing their disabilities to define them. I found the chapters on their struggles with the public school system to be frustrating, but enlightening at the same time, and I was able to put some of the information I have learned about special education laws into context. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an inspirational story about a family overcoming a disability, and embracing their daughter for the wonderful human being that she is. An Uncomplicated Life impacted my perspective and the way that I not only look and individuals with disabilities and their families, but also myself as a future special education professional.
All these and more evidences used in the book support Peterson’s thesis and purpose—all of them discuss how having a disability made Peterson and others in her situation a part of the “other”. Her personal experience on media and
In her article “Unspeakable Conversations” author Harriet McBryde Johnson took time to inform and familiarize her readers with the details and limitations placed upon her by her disability. In her article she walked her readers through her morning routine. She told them about the assistance she needs in the morning from transferring from bed to wheelchair, to morning stretches, to bathing, to dressing, to braiding her hair. She does this not to evoke pity but to give her readers a glimpse into her world. She wants her readers to know that the quality of a disabled person’s life relies solely on another’s willingness to assist. Because those with disabilities need assistance they are often viewed as burdens. Therefore, they see themselves as
What comes into one’s mind when they are asked to consider physical disabilities? Pity and embarrassment, or hope and encouragement? Perhaps a mix between the two contrasting emotions? The average, able-bodied person must have a different perspective than a handicapped person, on the quality of life of a physically disabled person. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson are three authors who shared their experiences as physically handicapped adults. Although the three authors wrote different pieces, all three essays demonstrate the frustrations, struggles, contemplations, and triumphs from a disabled person’s point of view and are aimed at a reader with no physical disability.
Unfortunately, a lot of parents may have a difficult time accepting their child, and coping with their needs and the responsibilities. From the book “The Elephant in the Playroom,” some families dealt with depression and physical and mental deterioration of their health. These struggles were shown in the story by Laura Cichoracki. Laura’s son’s name was Patrick. Patrick was a 6-years-old boy with autism. “I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t showering regularly, I wasn’t sleeping well” (Brodey, p. 64). I also read the story told by Susan Marrash-Minnerly, which highlighted emotions that parents face. Susan also shed light on how wonderful children with special needs can be to a family, such as her ten-year-old third grader who had autism. Susan talked about how it was normal to feel angry at times, especially with the ups and downs a child’s disability may come with. “When I look back, I want to tell other parents that a child’s future is worth grieving over – but it’s not the end of the world” (Brodey, p. 75). After reading these stories, it became apparent to me that families who are raising kids with special needs, need support, kindness, and available resources. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by other moms who understood my pain…who could be supportive and emphatic.” (Brodey, p. 67). Overall, educators can use this kind of information that was shared in “The Elephant in the Playroom” about family systems and risk/resiliency by creating lines of open communication between families. This is to connect parents together that share similar struggles. By creating open communication is can allows for the teacher and parents to be on the same page when it comes to the issues affecting special needs students and
“The Father” by Carolyn Osborn is a story about Darwin and Casey, a couple who meet and begin a whirlwind love affair. This love affair leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Casey, the mother, leaves when the baby is just one month old only to return when the child is three years old. Soon, Darwin is caught in a court battle for custody of a son. Two days before the court date, Darwin discovers he is not the biological father of the child. This makes no difference to Darwin as he has loved and cared for the child since he was born. The central idea of this story is that sometimes the best parent isn’t always the biological parent.
Patricia Bauer was a former Washington post reporter and one of the founders of the UCLA, a school for young adults with intellectual disabilities, although she gains most of her knowledge on the topic from raising a daughter with Down Syndrome. This article was originally published in The Washington Post, one of the most circulates newspapers in America. When this article came out in August of 2008, two major things were happening concerning mental disabled people. The first was a movie that came out
Disability is a ‘complex issue’ (Alperstein, M., Atkins, S., Bately, K., Coetzee, D., Duncan, M., Ferguson, G., Geiger, M. Hewett, G., et al.., 2009: 239) which affects a large percentage of the world’s population. Due to it being complex, one can say that disability depends on one’s perspective (Alperstein et al., 2009: 239). In this essay, I will draw on Dylan Alcott’s disability and use his story to further explain the four models of disability being The Traditional Model, The Medical Model, The Social Model and The Integrated Model of Disability. Through this, I will reflect on my thoughts and feelings in response to Dylan’s story as well as to draw on this task and my new found knowledge of disability in aiding me to become
In” Disabling Imagery in the media “Barnes asserts,“Disabled people are rarely shown as integral and productive members of the community; as students, as teachers, as part of the work-force or as parents. “(11). Popular culture excludes women with disabilities because they are different. Through Joanne’s character, Nussbaum demonstrates how women with disabilities operate in their daily lives.Nussbaum description of Joanne’s daily routine shows that women with Nussbaum 's character Joanne also demonstrates how women with disabilities are not burdens on
Dan and Betsy go through their emotions on hearing about Samuel condition of cerebral palsy. The roll coaster of emotion they felt. As a parent I could relate to their emotion of having a child with disabilities. I would love my child regards of condition but the emotion I would feel would be fear. Dan and Betsy both went through fear; asking themselves what about his education, and interaction with others. I would have those same question; as
...r tended to her activities of daily living – feeding her, grooming her. However, her mother had no insight on her condition and how to help her take care of herself. I, personally took her to school and talked to teachers who advised to have her join a school for the disabled, she was falling behind in classes and it was affecting her mentally and emotionally. She was visually impaired and no one in the family knew until she took a vision test catered to her. She is now 22 years old, and it amazes me to see how she has flourished. A young girl who used to be glued to the television, watching cartoons and the likes, she is now on her iPad watching videos on YouTube, face-timing with friends and family. When our grandmother passed away a few years ago, she took it upon herself to console everyone. Had her growth been hindered, she wouldn’t be the person she is now.
The moment in time when I realized that I was never going to have a Father like the rest of my friends changed the course of my life. As a young boy it was difficult coming home after a baseball game where each of my friends dads were there to cheer them on. I was left with the Father that was incapable of working or even getting himself out of bed. My fathers illness showed me to never take life for granted because one day your life can be normal and another day you're best days have already past.
"Never forget the past…because it may haunt you forever. Regret all the bad things…cherish the good things. Look ahead always…but don't let the bad things from the past get in your mind." As a young child, there were so many incidents in my life that made me become the person I am today. There were rough times as well as good times. If I were to tell you all of them, I would remember half of them. I think some of my incidents really had some impact, and some were just simple ways of life. To tell you the truth, the incident that had the most impact on me has to be when my real father left me at the age of three. I never knew my father. I mean being a baby, you really have no experience or recognition of somebody else.
From the minute I was born, dad was the first person to hold me in his bare arms. Dad has always been there for me, through the rough and tough times. When I cry in pain, he comes running, and I feel that pain inside of him. I can never explain how much passion and love I have for Dad. He is a person no one on this planet can replace because of the great dad he is. I remember him telling a story, and the split second when he finished the beginning of it, tears starting to roll down my cheeks, like the never-ending Niagara Falls. Dad never had a superb life growing up.
One person that I care for very deeply is my dad. He is The reasons he means so much to me is because he helps me whenever I need help, plays sports with me, and he is just like one of my friends.