"Many see what is, but we must see what can be"
-Albert Einstein
I doubt that Prof. Einstein was thinking about early childhood development when he expressed his belief, but this one rings true for young children as they develop, and especially for those children who have disabilities. When we see a child who needs help walking, we must not stop our vision there. We must ask ourselves, "What if we tried..." or "What if she could do it this way?" So many innovations that benefit children with disabilities have come from a vision of what might be.
" Part of the problem with the word 'disabilities' is that it immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for granted. But what of the people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find no joy. no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities."
-Fred Rogers
Children's social/emotional development must be regarded with equal, if not greater importance than physical and cognitive accomplishments by those who care for them.
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