How the Lilies Grow - Considering the Needs of a Developmentally Disabled Child (Paperback)

How Lilies Grow, Considering the Needs of a Developmentally Disabled Child by Barbara Munster, Published in 2005 While earning degrees in social psychology and public administration, and simultaneously rearing three children, Barbara became an advocate of vocational training for the mentally disabled. In the 1980s her model was featured on national television and in sixteen magazines, including People. By 1989, the National Restaurant Association had honored her landmark ?Outstanding Training Program for the Disabled, ? the first of many awards to follow. Since that time, her powerful message of hope has spread widely to family members and communities as well as the mental health community. Barbara's gripping journey through crushing circumstances as she traveled through the dark landscape of the 1960s-era behavioral healthcare led her through guilt, anger, exhaustion, and despair toward a faith that could free her, and her child, to embrace life. Her practical experience encourages families and community to: Love and value each child as unique; Teach appropriate social behaviors in the home and community; Assign daily tasks to each child; Teach work behaviors in the school to prepare for adult life; Provide a loving structured living environment; and Encourage the disabled to participate in all of community life. This is an inspiring story of her emerging vision of equipping communities by changing perspectives and practices nation wide in order to both give to, and receive from, disabled community members like her daughter.