Читать книгу It’s Hard Not To Stare - Tim Huff - Страница 3

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR…

to parents, teachers and caregivers

When I was 16 years old, I naively volunteered to serve at a unique camp for deaf and disabled children—The Bob Rumball Camp of the Deaf. The impact of this decision was extraordinary and set me on an unpredictable life journey filled with profound meaning, adventure and mystery. And while I have striven to serve well throughout my life and full-time career among people who have so often felt categorized, stigmatized and marginalized, I am overwhelmingly humbled by how I have been continuously blessed in their midst. Even as this book is released, I am extremely sensitive to the fact that words and definitions—socially, culturally and professionally—change so rapidly. A great many of the words and definitions at the centre of my own formal developmental service worker education long ago and within the various agencies that I’ve been associated with over the years are now considered nothing shy of “wrong.” Even as this book is released using the word “disabilities,” I wonder how long that moniker will be considered socially or politically correct. Yet my prayer is that the heartbeat and tenor of this book will sustain its value in the years to come, regardless of the ever-changing language.

Ultimately, I believe that when we nurture compassion in a child for one area of life, the potential is great that this goodness will spill over into all other areas. Teaching, modelling and discussing the principles and values of understanding, compassion and service, can and will, impact the social framework of generations to come. And what our children reveal in the process, teaching us in return, is most often extraordinary.