Six Myths About the Handicapped

Can you sense the feeling of isolation in the comment of this parent of a young woman with schizophrenia: “Families who have children who become mentally ill lead a lonely life. Mental illness is common, yet the subject is ignored, neglected, and treated with disdain. It has such a horrible, overwhelming stigma against it.”

A Young Women leader in a Special Mutual remarked enthusiastically, “Every young man and woman can worship the Lord now—not waiting for the Millennium or the Resurrection—but now, in his or her own way.

Like the Samaritan, we can help if we want to. All we really need is the awareness and the desire. Try to think of individuals with disabilities as exactly that—individuals who happen to have disabilities. They have the same needs as the rest of us; they want to be loved and recognized, to participate, to experience the same joys we experience.