The Butterfly
A Mother’s Story of Her Down's Syndrome Daughter
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On January 25, 2014 a fifty-one year journey ended. It had begun on a cold winter's day in St. Albans, Vermont. The temperature that night was 21 degrees. The ground was covered with snow. The journey ended on a frigid winter day on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Both the beginning and ending took place in rural hospitals.
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About the Book
This is the story of one family’s journey with their daughter who has Down’s syndrome from her birth in 1962 to her death in 2014 at the age of fifty-one. It also chronicles society’s response to persons with disabilities from institutionalization for life to, more recently, living with families or in group homes and, for those who are able, training and employment.
About the Author
Judith A. Dempsey is a retired educator who holds two Masters of Education degrees, one in Early Childhood and a second in School Counseling. When her Down’s Syndrome daughter was born, she and her husband, who had a Doctorate in Public Health determined to have as normal a family life as possible while securing the appropriate and available services for their disabled daughter.