Three families. Three different paths. Same commitment.
Each is raising a son or daughter with a profound
intellectual disability.
There were times that were filled with joy for all of these
parents.
Relief washed over Dawn DeMatteo of East Haven when she
found the right weekday activity program for her son Anthony, 22.
With the certainty of someone born into the role, Sue
Bastien of Cheshire has adopted four boys from four institutions since the
1970s, and has illuminated their lives with a mother's love.
Heddy and Bob Castelano's daughter Jessica, 42, had such a
spark as a child that gestures she made to adults 35 years ago are still
remembered with a smile and a tear.
But this is a story about pain, shared pain, pain from a
broken promise that has clouded the lives of DeMatteo, Bastien, the Castelanos
and thousands of other Connecticut parents.
There is a part of the $1 billion developmental disability
system that looms larger for these families than any other piece of
bureaucracy.
It is called the waiting list.
To read more on this story, click here: For Parents of Developmentally Disabled Adults, The Wait For Help Never Ends
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