My child is not a label

We received this from our friend Becky. I wanted to share it with each of you. I hope that you enjoy it like I did.


My child is not a label

By Denise Ulman, denise@springmeade.com
June 1999

My child is not a label
My child is a person in their own right.
My child is a breathing, thinking, loving human being.
I have accepted that you need to assign labels, but only
because the labels may help to explain my child's differences.
That does not make my child that label, and that label makes
my child no less a person than any other person on this earth.
Do not look at that label first, look at my child first.
Do not try to understand my child by only that label.
Look further to understand my child by gazing into my
child's eyes and listening to what my child has to say,
no matter what form my child's communication may take.
My child may not communicate in a way that you understand,
but that does not mean that my child can not communicate.
It may not always be easy to understand what my child
has to say, but if you persevere you will find the effort
well worth the reward of getting to know my child.
Forget the label and let my child teach you who he/she is.

Denise Ullman and friends