Different Hopes, Different Dreams: Stories About the Impact of Children with Mental Disabilities on Family Life. Rev. ed.

Susanne Day is a retired education specialist with physically disabled,
blind, and speech-impaired children.

This book, a collection of true-life accounts of families that include a
mentally handicapped child, is hard to put down. The birth of an eagerly
awaited child who turns out to have a handicap, or the subsequent
disabling of a much-loved one, must be one of the cruellest blows
parents may bear. Yet these accounts aren’t totally negative. There
are stories of children who died, but there are also beautiful stories
of those who triumphed despite the odds.

For all of us—those in the helping professions, in the labor force,
and in the neighborhood—this book will remind us that special people
have special needs, but they also have special gifts and talents to
share if only we let them. For parents reeling under the diagnosis of
mental disability, the stories in this book, mostly written by parents,
will reassure them that they are not alone. Accounts that have a happy
ending will provide hope. The many avenues of help that the book
mentions will guide them in obtaining suitable care, training, and
education for their own special child.

The stories are lovingly and honestly written, and, although tears may
at times blur the words, the book is easily read. The illustrations,
also very well done, show the world the beautiful children whose stories
these are. The parents who have shared their lives with us deserve our
thanks. May their struggles and their search for support, education, and
aid lead to more and better help for similar special people.