THE OPENING DOORS

by Lois Henderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 1954

Being ""My Child's First Eight Years Without Sight"", this is an affecting account of the upswing from heartbreak to hope- and pride- as the Hendersons learned, with their boy David, to widen the world of a blind youngster. From the first few days after his birth when David did not open his eyes, and the uneasy suspicion that he might have inherited her defective vision (Mrs. Henderson had lost the sight of one eye), to the established fact some months later that he would never see, there was the hard won acceptance of the finality of his blindness and the immunity to the constraint it caused in them and in others. The decision not to have another child of their own led to the adoption of Mary Sue; the difficulties of teaching David were eased by help from a friend at the Association for the Blind; the move to Pittsburgh enabled them to send David to a special school. But there were many problems for the Hendersons to handle; his initial difficulties in learning to walk and talk; his social diffidence and exacerbated fears and extreme dependence; his slow adjustments to other children- save for one friend--- until now they know that the hardest years are behind them..... A frank and feeling account of the physical and emotional adaptation to a special situation, this has its practical value for others who face this problem- as well as a sympathetic appeal.

Pub Date: Aug. 26, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: John Day

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION