When I spoke before the Indiana Retarded Children Association, I realized that the members of the audience were mostly parents of retarded children or teachers of retarded children and that they were very sensitive toward the treatment their children receive, so I included this piece of material for them:
“Ladies and gentlemen, over in Michigan we are beginning to integrate retarded children with the regular classes in our schools, and this happened in a newly-integrated sixth grade class recently. It was recess time and one of the students said to the other, “Come on, Theresa let’s go. Don’t bother with Elizabeth, she’s retarded.” And they left, and Elizabeth, who was retarded but not deaf, walk slowly up to the front of the classroom and said to her teacher, “Mrs. Browning, am I retarded?”
And Mrs. Browning smiled a loving smile and took Elizabeth by the hand and said, “Yes, Elizabeth, you are retarded.” She paused for just an instant and then she continued, “And Elizabeth, I am retarded and everyone is retarded, because God didn’t make any perfect people. But, Elizabeth, none are so retarded as those who could, but will not understand.”