Not a pretty picture

Work in progress

I've now received  parental consents to photograph and draw portraits of nine children in C.'s school (plus one sibling with Downs of a student). I've photographed eight of them and begun drawing the first.

I decided to start with the boy whose face is disfigured. He's the one whom I've found - twice - was utterly ignored and neglected by his aides.

On the second such  occasion, this boy was seated in his wheelchair in the sports room while all the other children had been placed in the equipment. He was sucking away at his hand as he'd been the first time I met him  I just couldn't bite my tongue hard enough so his aide copped a brief but sharp rebuke from me. (Something along the lines of "Why is this boy always left sitting unoccupied and unstimulated?")

The aide muttered something incomprehensible to me and I didn't bother to ask him to repeat it. After all, there simply is no justification for his conduct.

This boy's plight is evidence of  a sad, cold reality of which I'm sure you're well aware: unattractive children with profound disabilities suffer more discrimination and neglect their attractive classmates.

It would probably be hard to find professionals who'd 'fess up to this injustice. But we know it's the truth.