January Lecture

“Child Disability and Acceptance – - What can I do?”

This month we were privileged to hear from Tina Taylor Dyches, an associate professor from BYU’s department of counseling psychology and special education. Professor Dyches has received many teaching awards and has published numerous articles on topics including special education, autism and parenting.

Ms. Dyches covered the Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as UNICEF’s commitment to children with disabilities. Half way through the meeting, Ms. Dyches broke the group up into teams of four. She asked each member of the group to explain to the other members why they joined UNICEF, except they could not use the letter “r”. It was a small example that helped many to understand the difficulties and stigmatism’s that a child, with a disability, may face. 

In closing Ms. Dyches shared a very special quote from Cory Moore,  a parent and special educator in testimony before the U.S. Congress. 

“My middle child carries a number of labels; ‘mentally retarded,’ physically handicapped,’ ’speech impaired,’ developmentally disabled.’ At our house, we call her Leslie.”

Thank you Ms. Dyches for your commitment to children, and for helping us become more prepared to see the person first, and not the disability.