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Horrifying Parents is more like it

I don't think I've ever been so appalled as I was this morning when I saw this on NBC. To think there are people out there who believe that differences should be hidden away!?!?!?! Apparently there are some morons out there who need to be re-educated.



http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29391313/

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 5:59 p.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 25, 2009

When the BBC hired a pretty young actress to co-host a daily program for toddlers, it never expected viewers to complain that the young woman might give their children nightmares.

“I didn't want to let my children watch the filler bits on the bedtime hour last night because I know it would have played on my eldest daughter's mind and possibly caused sleep problems,” wrote one viewer in an e-mail to the British television network after seeing Cerrie Burnell play games and read children’s stories.

The viewer’s problem? Burnell was born with an incomplete right arm that ends in a stump below her elbow.

According to a BBC report, most viewers have been supportive of Burnell, who took over a daily slot on the BBC’s children’s network, CBeebies, at the beginning of February with Alex Winters. But a handful have written to the station complaining about her disability. Some say she may frighten the children. Others accuse the network of going overboard in the interests of diversity. Some say they don’t want to have to address such issues with very young children.

Burnell, who has a 4-month-old daughter, seems unfazed by the controversy. “Children come up to me in the street every day and say 'What's that?' I wouldn't say they're frightened but certainly they're inquisitive,” she told BBC magazine. "I would always take the time to explain to a child. All they want is an explanation. They want to know 'What's that?' and 'What's happened?' and 'Why are you different?' And then they will move on."

Barbara Otto, the executive director of Health & Disability Advocates, a national American organization that lobbies, said in a phone interview that she would be surprised if a person like Burnell caused a similar reaction in the United States.

The Americans with Disabilities Education Act has mainstreamed as many disabled children as possible into regular schools. “We have community inclusion of people with disabilities,” she said. “Kids are going to school with people with different abilities. In the United States, this would be unheard of.”

In England, experts have noted that small children do not normally have difficulty dealing with people who are different. Where adults may turn their heads away from someone in a wheelchair, toddlers will walk right up to them and ask them about their chair. They don’t ask what’s wrong, but rather what is.

“They acknowledge it, they don’t look away,” Otto said of small children. “They ask what happened, not out of horror or disgust or fear. The want to know what happened. A responsible adult tells them: ‘Here’s what the situation is.’”

Are adults the problem?
England has non-discrimination laws similar to those in America. The problem isn’t with kids but with adults, Sir Bert Massie of Great Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission told the BBC.

"I think what's happening is a number of adults do have prejudices, do have very negative views about disabled people, and instead of admitting the views are their own, they're projecting them on to their children and saying the children are doing this,” he is quoted as saying.

Otto agreed. “It’s the adults,” she said, noting that Baby Boomers were raised in an era when the disabled were excluded from mainstream society. “People with disabilities were ‘the others.’ They were went away to live in institutions. A lot of that changed starting in the 1970s and 80s. It’s an old-fashioned notion.”

Otto said the reaction to Burnell is symptomatic of a larger issue some parents today are trying to cope with.

“This situation really speaks to an issue we’re seeing in parenting today,” Otto said. “Given the challenges of being a parent and the inability to control what our kids are exposed to, some parents are having a real drastic reaction. Maybe this is a part of it. Some people strive to shelter their children as long as they can. I suppose you see that everywhere. You see people home-school their kids because they don’t want them in an environment where they can’t control what they’re doing every minute of the day.”

Although the target of complaints, Burnell did not attempt to tell parents how to raise their children. “I'd never comment on anyone's parenting or the time for them to have a discussion with their child about disabilities,” she told the BBC. "It's a totally personal thing and people have to do it when they feel comfortable to do it. But I would just hope that, I guess, me being on CBeebies would present an opportunity for them to do that in the comfort of their own home."

I finally got it

I have tried and tried and waited and finally got it. I tried with Ashtyn and failed and she got too big and it was too late. Then Taylor was born and I figured I'd try again to recreate the pose of 28 years ago. I stuffed little Taylor into my baby dress and here it is......Its not perfect but I've finally got it.

If you're squeemish.....don't look

So yesterday I was a moron! Ashtyn decided it was necessary to play on the table on my porch. It has 4 "windows" in the table which are obviously glass and she has already broke one....we assume it was her anyway. So I see her and knock on the door that goes from my living room to the porch to get her attention.....It basically went, "knock, knock, oh f$#@%!" I manged to smash out the window, slice a 1 1/2 inch long chunk of my hand open all the way down to the veins and whatever else I was staring at. I knew it was bad when I saw blue veins. All I could think of was chicken skin. And then, somehow very calmly and rationally, "Hey Ashtyn honey I need you to get your shoes on now. Mommy's got a boo-boo and needs to go get stitches." I then packed up Taylor, grabbed Ashtyn and ran out the door, loaded the baby, re-strapped in Ashtyn's car seat and I drove 20 miles away to the ER trying to keep my cool as I got stuck behind moron after moron going 20 under the speed limit. But we got there and I got some more stitches to add to my list of accomplishments. Luckily Jeremy's father had just shown up to visit from Oklahoma, so he attempted (which is all you can do with Ashtyn) to help entertain the kiddos.

Aahhhh! The joys of nap time

Five minutes finally :) So alot of people (somehow) have missed some important things in the goings-on of our family. So I figured I'd inform and clarify. Ashtyn has now been out of diapers for 7 months now. I decided if I shared the news back in July when it all went down I would be jinxing it and she would revert back into diapers so I just never said anything. I've just kind of assumed people figured it out a while ago but I recently have had a few people asked me "when are you going to potty train her?" So now it is clarified.... no more diapers for Ashtyn :) She has also finally hit 36 inches!!! So now my little monkey can go on all the rides at the fair and Storyland!!! Also.....Ashtyn is turning 3 in April, not 4 or 5 like some seem to believe.......don't rush it. I know the terrible two stuff SUCKS but I don't want to see her off to school yet....Little Taylor has hit 13 pounds now and is about to be introduced to the world of yucky baby cereal. Her first tooth/teeth should be through any day now.....they are driving her crazy.....poor kiddo. Her hip issue.... I've been doing the ROM exercises with her since November when we first heard there could be an issue and they've helped but she's still limited. I have a physical therapist and some other specialists coming to evaluate her this week and depending on their findings, they might be doing home visits (yay!) to do some OT/PT with her and we're going to Dartmouth to get her x-rays done in a couple weeks which will pretty much clear up any questions of whether or not there is anything to worry about besides tight muscles or whatever. Jeremy has almost finished his "student" period of engineering the train. He will have his engineer license soon and driving the train all on his own. Hopefully he also gets a raise :) The only kind-of downside to that is he's one step closer to taking that position up North and making me pack all my junk again to move up there. And along with the move....sell this house and build one up there!!!! AHHHHHH! I'm torn about that idea. I'm not done fixing this house and after all the thousands of hours of excruciating labor, I don't know if I want to get rid of this house. But its beyond gorgeous up there. 80 Acres of trees, grass, deer, moose and all the other woodland critters. No more route 12 traffic along my property threatening to enter my yard or home.....the sweet sound of silence..... and the threat of Jeremy building a house....YIKES! I love him but he's no carpenter. Oh well time will tell. Still no news on the Ryan situation..... we'll all know when the answers come...... and we're all praying for the best. My 5 minutes are apparently up.......

Happy 1st Anniversary Julie and Ryan

She likes it

She's not very fond of the silicone sleeve that holds it on, but Taylor is liking her new prosthetic. I can't get over how quickly she's figuring it out. The silicone sleeve seems to be a bit constrictive so I'm working on figuring out a better method for her to keep it on since right now her little "smiley" won't hold it on that well. But over all its going really well.

The wait is over

Taylor got her first prosthetic today!!!! Thank you Shriners.