--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Parents’ early responses to and…" description: "\"“Parents’ early responses to and interactions with a child determine how that child comes to view himself. These parents are also profoundly changed by..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/andrew-solomon-1140_children_parents-early-responses-to-and-interacti_2423647.jpg" --- # Parents’ early responses to and interactions with a child… ![“Parents’ early responses to and interactions with a child determine how that child comes to view himself. These parents are also profoundly changed by their experiences. If you have a child with a disability, you are forever the parent of a disabled child; it is one of the primary facts about you…” quote by Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/andrew-solomon-1140_children_parents-early-responses-to-and-interacti_2423647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/andrew-solomon-1140_children_parents-early-responses-to-and-interacti_2423647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/andrew-solomon-1140_children_parents-early-responses-to-and-interacti_2423647.jpg) > ““Parents’ early responses to and interactions with a child determine how that child comes to view himself. These parents are also profoundly changed by their experiences. If you have a child with a disability, you are forever the parent of a disabled child; it is one of the primary facts about you, fundamental to the way other people perceive and decipher you. Such parents tend to view aberrance as illness until habituation and love enable them to cope with their odd new reality—often by introducing the language of identity. Intimacy with difference fosters its accommodation.”” [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early parental reactions shape a child's self‑view; parents of disabled children also transform, learning to see difference as identity rather than illness. **In simple terms:** Parents shape child self‑view; they also change. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture identity in difference. Themes parenting disability identity growth Mood empathetic thoughtful Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - raising a child with disability - support groups - family counseling - education planning Key Concepts self‑concept social perception Questions to Reflect On - How can parents shift from seeing disability as illness to identity? - What practices foster love and accommodation? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on illness can limit acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Disability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disability/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [It's important for the children's point of view. 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In the same period, 3.3 million Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/consider-this-the-us-economy-created-2-4-million-jobs-in-the-three/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [“She would prove to everyone she could do everything. She wouldn’t let her disability be an excuse, wouldn’t give anyone reason to pity her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-grace-davis/she-would-prove-to-everyone-she-could-do-everything-she-wouldn-t-let/) [Liz Grace Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-grace-davis/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) ## More by Andrew Solomon > [“If you banish the dragons, you banish the heroes...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-you-banish-the-dragons-you-banish-the-heroes/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I started traveling out of curiosity, but I have come to believe in travel's political importance, that encouraging a nation's citizenry to travel may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-started-traveling-out-of-curiosity-but-i-have-come-to-believe-in/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [When I was born, the wisdom was that homosexuality was an illness; that it was caused largely by somebody's mother, and a distorted relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/when-i-was-born-the-wisdom-was-that-homosexuality-was-an-illness-that/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [A lot of people are very political when they are young, and then they outgrow it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/a-lot-of-people-are-very-political-when-they-are-young-and-then-they/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Having always imagined myself in a fairly slim minority, I suddenly saw that I was in a vast company. 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You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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