The Boy From Baby House 10

The Boy From Baby House 10

Adult biography
If you are a parent like me you probably have fond memories of
your children's baby days. I bet you took great pleasure in rocking,
cuddling, and singing to your little ones. Developmental milestones
large and small were occasions for celebration. No one had to tell
you these interactions and their dailiness gave your babieso essential
skills and the confidence to learn and explore.
Now try to imagine a child's life without all the special
touches a loving parent adds:
*books and toys chosen carefully for learning and fun;
*carefully prepared meals and snacks;
*trips outside;
*even gestures of affection, songs, and conversation.
Imagine a twilight existence that would make Oliver Twist's orphanage
experience look good in contrast. Envision one low paid, not really
qualified person in charge of a dozen infants or children, mandated to
only feed and diaper her charges who languish in cribs and immobilized
walkers.
Could even the most gifted and talented child (or adult for that
matter) survive in such a toxic venue? Well there's a little boy
named Vanya, the real life protagonist of Alan Philps and John
Lahutsky's The Boy From Baby House 10. He was institutionized really
early on when medical people diagnosed him with cerebral palsy and
retardation, given up by a mother told it was his only hope. When you
meet him he's a kind, observant, and verbal child...the kind of kid
people notice and want to fight for.
Fight they must. They're up against a bureaucracy with a firm
belief that kids with disabilities have no future and need only be
warehoused as long as they live and breathe and take up space.
They're David going up against a really formidable Goliath. Their
steadfast belief in one little boy's potential and his right to
fulfill it makes for pretty amazing reading.
On a personal note, back in the day when my grad school teaching
assistantship involved teaching in a nursery school I encountered a
child who was at the age of three totally nonverbal. I got it in my
head that by the end of the school year she would be talking. I
arranged it that the other teachers would handle the rest of the class
and I would immerse her in language. I talked about everything she
was seeing and doing. I remember looking her in the eye and saying
"coat" as she stroked her sleeve. Well by the end of the school year
she had caught up with her peers much to the amazement of her
parents. For some reason when she was born they thought she was
severely developmentally delayed. So the first years of her life she
was tended to with no human speech. When her mom and dad saw her as
bright and capable they gave her the enriched environment that helped
her continue to thrive.
A great big shout out goes out to all children who must persist in the
face of enormous obstacles.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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