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 am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of exceptional gifts.”
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)
“Before I had my first child, I never really looked forward in anticipation to the future. As I watched my son grow and learn, I began to imagine the world this generation of children would live in. I thought of the children they would have, and of their children. I felt connected to life both before my time and beyond it. Children are our link to future generations that we will never see.”
—Louise Hart (20th century)