Although Mrs. and Mr. Minaudo were completely
dumbfounded to learn, from a visiting nurse that Loreena had
Cerebral Palsy, they decided to raise her like a normal child.
If these medical professionals had told, 'Mrs. Minaudo, you
should institutionalize your daughter and have another child.'
perhaps, ÜA Cry for EducationÜ would not have been written.
Family Life
Loreena received a lot of love and emotional support from all
of her family members. There were plenty of times when she
needed family guidance. For example, Peter, a brother, taught
her how to drink with a straw by saying, "Loreena, kiss the
straw; go on, kiss it"(Minaudo, 1991, p. 29). Encouraging her
to kiss instead of suck the straw successfully worked.
Demonstrating that one can achieve his goals, regardless of
his physical limitations, was clearly proven in the next
following example: Since Loreena was very shy, her speech
therapist had difficulties teaching her to speak. Moreover,
Loreena's mother became motivated to inspire her talk by
saying,
"Go on and cry. ... But you aren't going to get any water until you say it! Say ... 'Wat-er or Waawa'"(Minaudo, 1991, p. 33)!
Loreena concluded that goaning was not an effective way to
communicate; furthermore, she began to say,
"Waaaaaaaawaaa!"(Minaudo, 1991, p. 33). If Loreena did not
have this kind of family support, she may not have not learned
to speak.
Special Education
Since the Mainstreaming Act did not exist, Loreena was not
able to attend her local public school. Furthermore, she
received physical, occupational, and speech therapy by
attending three private schools (Detroit Orthopedic Clinic,
Chippendale School, and Marjorie F. Carlson School) that were
specifically designed to educate physically disabled children.
Attending the Detroit Orthopedic Clinic and Chippendale School
to receive free appropriate human services helped Loreena to
physically improve tremendously. Learning how to walk, speak,
feed and dress herself, and type on an electric typewriter
were essential living skills that enabled her to function
independently. This was terrific because before Loreena
benefited from therapy, she had to depend on her parents to
care of her physical needs.
... I was pretty much like a complete vegetable. I had a bright mind in a useless body. My body was so impaired that I could not yet crawl, feed myself, nor do any other functions that any "normal" healthy three-and-a-half year old child would do. In other words, I was still being taken care of just like an infant (Minaudo, 1991, p. 24-25)
Also, the Detroit Orthopedic Clinic and Chippendale School taught Loreena to never give up fighting the good fight. In other words, her teachers demonstrated that even though it may take you longer to leap over tremendous obstacles to successfully accomplish your goals, it is worth the effort. Also, you can never fail unless you suddenly give up. For instance, Loreena successfully learned to crawl at the clinic, which was an extremely difficult goal to accomplish. Loreena's physical therapist inspired her to keep attempting to master the art of crawling by exercising her body daily (Minaudo, 1991). Slowly, Loreena learned how to crawl; however, she could not walk until she went to Chippendale School. She felt very fortunate that these facilities were able to provide the appropriate treatment.
The next time I attended the occupational room, Mrs. Lefkofsky [therapist] placed in front of me a sticky placemat where she set a plate and spoon upon it. The purpose of the sticky placemat was to keep the plate from moving. I watched closely as she opened a can of pudding and placed a few spoonfuls out onto the plate. She then put a bib on me, put the spoon in my right hand, and she patiently and repeatedly guided my hand with hers down to the plate and up to my mouth. After ten minutes, she released her hand from mine so that I could try independently, and tried I did. Flying pudding droppings went everywhere, on the floor, in my hair, nose, etc. Everywhere but my mouth! But, even as young as I was, I did not become discouraged, for I had so much determination in me, and I tried again and again. Yet, that occupational therapy and my attempts to feed myself were unsuccessful. For days and weeks, repeats of it continued! Then, one day, it happened! I fed a spoonful of pudding into my mouth and smiled (Minaudo, 1991, p. 27-28).
Sincerely trying to help me adjust to my new surroundings, Mr. C (teacher) ... was overzealous in his promises to me. I felt overjoyed when he told me that he planned to confer with me, review with me, and discuss with me each chapter I would be studying ... It wasn't until I had received my books and workbooks, that I found that Mr. C did not give me any direction, correction, nor guidance with them. He accepted all of my typewritten papers and completed worksheets, but never returned them with corrections or comment (Minaudo, 1991, p. 75).
Where were all of Loreena's classroom and homework
assignments? "... I happened to pass Mr. C's desk and I
noticed that the drawer was wide open. ... These lessons
which I, and some of my classmates, had labored for hours on
end to accomplish. They were all unchecked, scattered in the
drawer" (Minaudo, 1991, p. 76-77). Loreena was outraged and
completely dumbfounded to discover that all of her efforts to
receive a terrific education was just a waste of time. The
worst part was that she never earned the proper grades. In
other words, Mr. C asked her what grades she wanted to
receive instead of trying to grade her work.
Finding the Courage to Attend College
After graduating Marjorie F. Carlson, Loreena could not seek
any more human service programs appropriate for her needs.
Moreover, she decided to attend Macomb Community College and
received her Associates Degree because Loreena had a strong
desire to become a journalist. It was difficult enrolling in
college for she did not have confidence about competing with
normal students (Minaudo, 1991).