The World of a Disabled Child: The Story of Joe

Abstract

I first heard about Joe when his mother called me at the disability counselling service to discuss her concern about her disabled child. She was looking for someone who understood disability to help Joe improve his behaviour at school. She had been relieved to find an agency that offered counselling and psychotherapy to people affected by disability. I explained that the agency was mainly geared to working with adults, which meant that we did not have suitable premises for working with children, nor did we specialise in that area. Nonetheless she felt that our involvement and familiarity with disability would provide the missing element needed for Joe’s development. After negotiating with Joe’s school we agreed that I would see Joe at school for an initial session with a view to assessing his suitability for regular therapy.