Love, attention, care, and highest expectations

Read this after Brian originally posted it (where I thanked him -- heh) and have passed it around to everyone I know since then. Well worth the greater attention given to it here. I just looked at the Blaze post again, and made the mistake of reading the comments -- many very nice ones, many ugly trolls. Gave me respect once again for what the moderators here must go through. When I read it to Mrs. Webworker, she said, now people will say Sarah Palin thinks she's God!

We have a dear friend we got to watch grow up dealing with autism, his mom working hard, after Dad ran away, to get him all he needed, and his progress was great to watch. Another dear relative was born with all kinds of problems; "they" kept telling her she'd never be anything like normal, but her mom (again, Dad ran off) fought tooth and nail and the girl graduated with the mainstream class from high school and I enjoy talking with her every week. Another relative with severe brain problems really will never be an adult, barring divine intervention, but her parents and siblings sacrificed so much to raise her. Alas, at high school age, one of her very helpful meds got switched from brand-name to generic by the insurance company against doctor's orders and undid years of progress; she was made practically vegetative. (Prayers welcome -- for all these and their special ilk.)

There is a classic story -- wish I had a quick link handy -- of the IQ results of an "advanced" class and a "slow learner" class getting switched. The teachers scratched their heads, but began "teaching" accordingly. The smart class? Dumbed down. The dumb class? They suddenly began advancing, most remarkably. Expectations define how folks get treated, and the treatment determines the results. Love, attention, care, and highest expectations can't be beat.