Dreams Die Hard

There are thousands of parents who have children with developmental disabilities and nowhere to turn for help. Now, Dreams Die Hard: Family Histories of Adults with Developmental Disabilities as Told by Family and Caregivers is here. In Dreams, parents, family members, teachers and program managers share their experiences with children from birth to middle age. The children have crippling speech problems, Down's syndrome, epilepsy, strokes, palsy, encephalitis, meningitis or other developmental problems. Dreams is an unvarnished look at how parents and siblings coped with sibling rivalry, doctors, schools, sex, dating, religion, divorce, insensitive people, death, fears, and their impact on the entire family. Talking anonymously, parents related their pains, frustrations and fears; they spoke honestly about their marriages and friends. Some of the parents made things happen by starting schools, and creating various programs. Dreams is about hope. Many children whose doctors predicted they would be in an institution now live independently or semi-independently. Many work in the community or in a sheltered workshop, have a social life, go to camp, and travel. Some have married and have children of their own.