Disability In Suzanne Kamata's 'Love You To Pieces'

Disability diagnoses can cause parents emotional stress about what is to come in their child's future life. They may have doubts and fears about the upcoming struggles for their child, especially since disability usually has a negative stereotype in our society. Every family and parent has a different perspective on their child's life and the feelings that come along with it. The profound love shared by a parent and child has the power to shatter stigmatizing societal assumptions about disability, revealing the inherent beauty of their relationship. In Suzanne Kamata’s Love You to Pieces, Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs: “Normal”, “Living with Lilia”, and “Great Expectations” are three parent narratives that show how

Everything was a spiritual problem.” (Fadiman, 2007, p.95) Disability was viewed more positively by the Hmong people because of their culture. Lia Lee's family witnessed how she was able to experience the world in a way that no one else could, and it acknowledges disability as a blessing. Culture isn't always negative, but it can block some views of disability in ways that can be harmful in the future. As for Lia Lee, since her family did not believe in medical help due to culture, they thought she could be healed in a spiritual way. Additionally, the doctors' cultural views prevented them from understanding the reasons behind the Lees' deeply held beliefs. Lia Lee suffered in the end because the medical staff and family did not respect her culture. Great Expectations Micheal Bérubé’s memoir talks about the experiences of raising his child Jamie, who has Down syndrome, and reflects on the societal expectations and stereotypes associated with his disabilities. In the beginning of the memoir, I think Michael started off by having a perspective on the medical model regarding his son's disability. He felt that his son wouldn't be capable of doing things in life

In “Living With Lilia,” Suzane embodies the social model and the concept of inclusion in all aspects of life. She focuses on providing an environment to meet her child's needs rather than changing the child and their actions. However, in “Normal”and “Great Expectations”, at least in the beginning of the memoirs, both parents either think their child’s disability is all that they have to them as a person or are unsure about what their children can accomplish with a disability. In “Normal” Lee thinks that her son having both autism and cancer is “unlucky.” She continued thinking that her son’s disability along with all the other people’s disabilities at Happy Trails was all they had to them. It took her a little bit to get past this and realize that a person is not just a disability. She eventually begins to stop thinking of disability before her child and realizes that nothing is really “normal” and everyone goes about life in different ways, disability or not. In “Great Expectations,” Michael underestimates Jamie’s ability to memorize songs and facts about the Beatles. He believes a child with Down syndrome doesn't have the intellectual capacity to understand all of it. Eventually, his perspective changes and he realizes that he was wrong and that his son is capable of more than he can imagine. The words “Great Expectations” and