This Kind of Child: The 'Disability' Story

by K. Srilata

A SENSITIVE AND EYE-OPENING ACCOUNT OF THE LIVES OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND THOSE AROUND THEM it. She was a child who made “errors”, “mistakes” that the school system was unforgiving of. We were told by the principal of an alternative school that they could not possibly admit “this kind of child”. My daughter went from being a child to “this kind of child” in that one moment.’ When she started working on the book, it was Srilata’s daughter who was its protagonist. But soon, she realised that there was no way she could stop with her daughter’s story. With each step ahead (or back), she became acutely aware of the larger story of the things we frame as ‘disability’. ‘I have learnt that disability is profoundly political, that it is heartbreakingly social.’ In This Kind of Child experience―its emotional as well as imagined truth, both to the disabled themselves as well as to those closely associated with them. ‘I have learnt that stories are always bigger than they seem at ider and deeper.’ At the heart of this book is inter-being and the What does it mean to love and accept yourself or someone else fully?

336 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2023

Reviews

[K Vimal Raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

very neatly organised and we can see that many researches and interviews were done for the book. . As it is a sensitive topic, it is very much depressing. But we can empathize with the feelings of special persons and difficulty their parents\family and all other working professionals face while helping and growing with them.

[Ashiish V Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being an autism dad I may be a bit biased. But, given that 37.5% of the world is inhabited by people with disabilities [that's more than every 3rd person, especially when you bring in 'invisible' disabilities!], the importance of having more books, more voices, more creators, more people from the community represented cannot be underlined enough. This book is a fabulous step towards that. 'This kind of child' as Srilata mentions in her book is a full-fledged community in itself. Who may not know each other. But are part of the same conversation and question. What does it mean to live in this body/ in this mind and navigate the world?

The section from the point of siblings and children as care givers of persons with disabilities was among my favorites, besides the piece 'Getting the Light Just Right' by Anannya Dasgupta which is simply some of the best writing I have read in a loooong time. Some of pieces towards the end by Srilata from Muniya's pov are a gut punch. The format is a mix of fiction, essays, interviews, clubbed by themes is new and very interesting. Here's to many more of this kind of children. Kudos Srilata!