An Introduction

It's been forty two years since I first started officially fighting for the rights of children with various issues. In some ways my fight today remains the same. I have learned much, of course, over such a span of time. Yet today I had a phone conversation that was almost identical to one that I had with a parent in 1971. It was the discussion of the right of a child with Down Syndrome to get a regular education in a public school. It's funny how times haven't really changed. It's sad how much has stayed the same. The game is played differently now but the outcomes are so very similar. So many children are not given a chance. So many children are labeled and discarded.

I thought that I had so much to do that there really wasn't time to write this but I think that I'll just take the time. So I will use this space to describe this journey as it happens now and as it has happened before now. It is my journey working with hundreds and hundreds of children who are not the same because of many reasons. Some were born with something extra or something missing. Some were injured during birth or before. Some were injured after and some just have parts that don't work right. Some got in trouble and some were neglected. What they have in common is that they are children in need of a champion. I'm not a stereotypical champion by any means but I am a firm believer in the potential of every child to be someone we've wished for, someone we need and someone who is valuable.

I hope you'll join me and I'll introduce you to these children and the fights that they are up against day in and day out.

I am Ellen Doman. I am a director of Education for the National Association for Child Development. I have been a principal, a teacher, a therapist, a counselor, a behavioral specialist, a treatment coordinator, a social worker, a neurodevelopmentalist, a residential counselor at a girls' reform school.

I remember being a child. Do you? I remember that it was sometimes tough. When I started working, I was sure that kids who were having a tough time would relate well to me. Initially I had no idea really how tough life can be for kids. I was a pollyanna compared to many of them. What they had to teach me I am still learning today.