Retarded Isn't Stupid, Mom! Revised Edition / Edition 1

by Sandra Kaufman

Overview

Nicole is 2 years old, and her family, after months of worrying, has just learned she has mental retardation. In a fast-paced, engaging story, mother Sandra Kaufman frankly reveals the feelings of denial, guilt, frustration, and eventual acceptance that result in a determination to help her child live an independent life.

This edition, revised on the 10th anniversary of the book's original publication, adds a "progress report" that updates readers on Nicole's adult years and reflects on the revolutionary changes in society's attitudes toward people with disabilities since Nicole's birth.

Retarded Isn't Stupid, Mom! remains a celebration of all that a child can grow to be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557663788
Publisher:	Brookes Publishing
Publication date:	01/01/1999
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

After 20 years of full-time mothering, Sandra Z. Kaufman returned to school and earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology (1977) and a master's degree in research methods and evaluation (1981), both from the University of California-Los Angeles. From 1979 to 1991, she was a Staff Research Associate in the university's Socio-Behavioral Research Group. During that time, she had articles published in professional journals and contributed chapters to two books. Retarded Isn't Stupid, Mom! was first published in 1988. Based on 21 ½ years of ethnographic study, Ms. Kaufman recounted what her daughter had taught her about being a young woman trying to make her way in the community. Ten years later, the revised edition continues to be relevant to the concerns of parents and families of people with mental retardation. Since 1991, Ms. Kaufman and her husband have been enjoying retired life in Southern California. Their three children live and work nearby.

Read an Excerpt

https://brookespublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/RetardedIsntStupidMomRevisedEditionExcerpt.pdf

Table of Contents

Prologue: Nicole at Two

1. No! No! No!
2. Is Mommy tired?
3. Everyone is yelling at me!
4. I am capable.
5. Mom, I know I'm retarded, but I'm not stupid.
6. Can't do nuthin' on the amount I make.
7. I don't know if anyone loves me.
8. Seems like I'm learning to live alone the hard way
9. Do you know how I could prove I'm handicapped?

A Mother's Epilogue: 1988
Progress Report: 1998
An Afterword, by Robert B. Edgerton
Resources

Editorial Reviews

This is a moving, direct account of a mother's and daughter's struggle for mutual independence. Nicole's retardation is obviously a center issue, but the trials of growing up, making mistakes, learning how to function in a complex world, and forging an identity independent of one's family are processes every adolescent faces.

Marty Wyngaarden Krauss

What a wonderfully honest and moving book. . . . I recommend this book not only to any mother or father of a retarded or disabled individual, but to anyone caught up in the never-ending tugs and demands of parenthood.

Josh Greenfeld

"Wonderfully honest and moving . . . I recommend this book . . . to anyone caught up in the never-ending tugs and demands of parenthood."

-Josh Greenfeld, author, A Child Called Noah

"A riveting panorama of struggles for independence that occur within families. Full of wisdom and warmth, this book is among the best in teaching us all about people with disabilities. It should be on the reading list for students, direct care support staff, managers, and policy makers-we all have much to learn from this remarkable family."

-Marty Wyngaarden Krauss, Ph.D., Brandeis University

"A warm story of love with respect . . . I would recommend this book not only to other parents of individuals who are mentally retarded but to those in the helping professions . . . ."

-Senator Bob Dole

"A lively, uninhibitedly honest story of the headaches and frustrations of raising a child with numerous limitations and a zany personality. Many of the happenings are hilarious (since it's not the reader's child!), some are harrowing, most are challenging . . . ."

-Down Syndrome News

From the Publisher

Parent Sandra Kaufman frankly reveals feelings of denial, guilt, and frustration surrounding the diagnosis of her daughter Nicole's mental retardation, and describes her eventual acceptance of her daughter's condition and her determination to help Nicole live an independent life. She and the rest of the family learn never to underestimate Nicole's persistence and resourcefulness. This edition, revised on the 10th anniversary of the book's original publication, updates readers on Nicole's adult years and reflects on changes in society's attitudes toward people with disabilities. Lacks a subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews