Quiet Hands

By Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor, MSW, PhD, is a Professor and Chair in Social Work at CSU East Bay, a parent of a child with a disability, and an active member of the Open Mind School community. If you like this article, be sure to check out Sarah's other work.

Today, while cleaning out a cluttered corner of our living room, I found a large, laminated card that someone made for our son when he was very young, maybe four or five years old. The card shows a pair of hands with one resting on top of the other, and the words, “Quiet Hands".

I immediately felt a pang of guilt and regret for allowing so many educators, speech, physical, and occupational therapists, behaviorists, babysitters, and others over the years to tell my now 14-year-old son to have “Quiet Hands” and “Quiet Body.” I have said those words myself but am learning not to. I still slip up sometimes.

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