If you did not see the special showing of “Head of the Class” this week on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, you missed one of the finest presentations about education and disability awareness I have ever seen. Based on an actual person’s experiences, the drama revolved around a young boy now an adult who has Tourette’s Syndrome and the agonizing struggles that he and his entire family experienced.
His troubles began at age six when he developed symptoms of Tourette’s, a neurological disorder in his brain, as he often described it, that caused him to make strange noises and have severe facial and body tics. And, most important, he could not control them. Tourette’s syndrome is a permanent disability with no known cure – as yet.
Disability advocates, especially parents, have always recognized the negative effects of harassment, teasing, name-calling and other anti-social behavior toward children with disabilities and the lifelong impact such behavior has on their psyches, on their self-images. The entire family is affected by a child’s disability – as this play clearly demonstrates; both parents and siblings not only feel the pain of the child victim, but often are victimized themselves by this negative behavior.
And so, I am making a suggestion and a request: If you have the opportunity to view this play, please do. And please, do anything you can to help erase this anti-social behavior toward people with disabilities. It is the right thing to do.
How do you treat a person with a disability? “Like a person”, according to an old ad campaign. Or as the child in the play said, “Like everybody else.”
(Photo: Jon Farmer / CBS)
Print
E-mail
jo holzer
Having grown up in the South before desegregation, I was exposed to acts of discrimination for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I could easily understand the depth of emotions of both parties -- it was unmistakable. I was taught the traditional Southern subtleties as a matter of course -- the reasons for "keeping him in his place" and what his place was, for example. More
Comments
I will most definitley watch this. Thanks for the Heads Up. And, as an adult with a disability, I agree that "Just like everyone else is the correct response".
We watched it and loved it. When it comes to people with disabilities, if you find yourself thinking, "he or she can't," why not ask, "how can you?"
you rock mom! thanks for the link :)
nice post and great information thank you very much.
Just wanted to stop in and say thank you for the great post and reminder of how we need to treat everyone with more human kindness.
Just wanted to stop in and say thank you for the great post and reminder of how we need to treat everyone with more human kindness.
Post new comment