The Guild for Exceptional Children is a nonprofit organization in Brooklyn which offers schooling and other services for children and adults with a disability. It identifies itself as a "provider of direct and indirect services for developmentally delayed or disabled persons, from infancy through old age, and their families."
The title of the agency is somewhat misleading – though it was originally founded by families that needed extra support for their special needs children, it now provides services for all ages, including a growing number of senior citizens who have been receiving services from the agency for decades. Some of the developmentally disabled adults have even advocated for an agency name change to better reflect who they are and create more distance from the idea that they are "child-like". People attending Guild programs may become members of a "self-advocacy" group where they discuss their rights and recommend changes within the agency.
Read more about Guild For Exceptional Children: History
Famous quotes containing the words exceptional and/or children:
“I have learned to keep to myself how exceptional I am.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“PLAYING SHOULD BE FUN! In our great eagerness to teach our children we studiously look for “educational” toys, games with built-in lessons, books with a “message.” Often these “tools” are less interesting and stimulating than the child’s natural curiosity and playfulness. Play is by its very nature educational. And it should be pleasurable. When the fun goes out of play, most often so does the learning.”
—Joanne E. Oppenheim (20th century)