Hi, Bill! Sounds like you have your hands full, and your forearms all scratched up, with you new kitty. Was he wild before you took him in?
I think you are talking about the 60 Minutes segment on "idiot savants"--people who are retarded but have some very special talent in one area. I would agree that we all need to view every person as an individual with something special to offer, including people we tend to label as retarded. However, only a tiny percentage of mentally retarded people are idiot savants.
When I was a child I volunteered at a state hospital. Back then, Down syndrome children were institutionalized, along with really seriously retarded children who were also physically helpless and could not move around. The Down syndrome children were physically active, loving and really charming, and it seemed strange to me that they were in a state hospital. It is really a step forward now that they usually stay with their families, go to school, and have jobs when they grow up.
I think we are headed in the direction you are advocating, but it might be taking longer than it should. There is also a real debate about putting children with special needs in special classes, or mainstreaming them. Public education in America already has so many problems, that there is an argument to be made for doing whatever we can to make sure there are not even more distractions, and teaching to the top of the class instead of the bottom. I'm not sure what the answer is. |
