Photo Gallery Parenting a 'Different' Child
Jason Kingsley, who appeared on "Sesame Street" in the 1970s, was the first person with Down syndrome to become a public figure. His mother provided him with constant stimulation, covering his room in bright colors and even giving him a bath in Jell-O. "There were no models for how to bring up such a child," says Solomon.
Writer Emily Kingsley compares having a disabled child to planning a trip to Italy, and ending up in Holland. "It has many things that are deeply satisfying if you allow yourself to be awake to them," says Solomon. Here, customers and employees at the X21 coffee shop in Pristina, Kosovo, which is run by employees with Down syndrome.
Unlike with deafness, there is no way to cure or repair autism, and while some children may emerge from their autism later in life, many do not. For Solomon, not being able to communicate with one's child would be one of the most terrifying experiences one could have as a parent. Here, a child and teacher do exercises in the autistic group of a special school in Batonyterenye, northeast of Budapest.
"I always thought not being able to hear would be a tragedy. But then I went to the Deaf theater. I went to Deaf clubs, I went to the Miss Deaf America contest in Nashville. And I found out about the wonderful world of sign language," says Solomon. Pictured: Children from the Deaf Biblical Ministry in Dimapur, India, perform an action song on World Deaf Day.
Solomon recounts: "One of the mothers I interviewed described being in an hospital elevator with her daughter, who is a dwarf, and someone else got onto the elevator who had a child with Down syndrome. She said, she was looking at this woman thinking: 'I can deal with mine. But I could never deal with yours.' And then she looked up and saw that that was exactly how the other mother was thinking about her." Here, two athletes hug during the swimming competition at the World Dwarf Games.
Over the course of several years, Solomon spent 30 to 40 days with the parents of Dylan Klebold, one of the shooters at the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, shown here, right. "I would have been perfectly happy to have those people as my parents. In the end I thought: If these people could have a child who did this thing, then this could happen to any of us," says Solomon.
Life can also be difficult for parents of prodigies. Drew Peterson, shown here, is a succesful pianist, but growing up with Drew wasn't easy for his brother. "What's decisive is the fact of difference, rather than whether the difference is a positive or a negative one," says Solomon. "Families with prodigies are faced with a child they don't really understand."
