Monday, August 4, 2008

Books for Dessert: A Book Club for Intellectually Disabled is catching on

What intellectual stimulation do intellectually disabled adults have to look forward to after high school? Now, starting at a Long Island library, such clubs are spreading like wildfire.
When Jamie Comer graduated from high school at age 21, gone were the in-depth assignments and hours of homework that had long challenged him.As Comer, who has Down syndrome, began to gradually lose critical thinking skills without the aid of vigorous schoolwork, his mother struggled to find opportunities to keep him mentally sharp."People have always assumed that people like Jamie don't really have opinions on anything remotely complex," said his mother, Nancy Comer, 64, of Port Washington. "They're just expected to work and be happy."
And, in true parent advocate style, Nancy started a book club for her son.
Well done, Nancy!
I hope that by the time my kindergartener is old enough that such clubs are in every library.
Read the entire article here.
HT Newsday

1 comment:

Elizabeth Kathryn Gerold-Miller said...

How about a poetry club for the intellectually disabled? I know of one young lady with a learning disability who was runner up for a pro-life poetry contest in our parish. I think it made her year - and her mom's heart was so proud.