How to Cope with a Mentally Handicapped Sibling

If you have been to the Third Street Marsh supermarket in Logansport Indiana in the last 6 years you have probably met him. He was probably the guy bagging your groceries. He is around 5'4 and weighs about 225lbs, and he is one of your best friends, even if you just met him. He is my older brother Kenny and he is mentally retarded.

Kenny was born in Logansport Indiana at Memorial Hospital on October 19 1968. For the first few years of his life nobody knew that there was anything different about Kenny. For all intents and purposes he seemed to be a healthy, happy, and bouncing baby boy.

When he was around 3 years old our mother noticed that Kenny wasn't making words yet. He was talking it just wasn't anything understandable. After a visit with the doctor my mother still did not know there was anything unusual about her son. The doctor told her that some children just developed the ability to speak later than others.

By the time Kenny was 4 our mother knew something was different about her oldest son. Kenny still could not speak clearly, did not know his numbers or the letters of the alphabet. Another trip to the doctor confirmed her suspicions. Kenny was special he was mentally retarded. He does not have Downs Syndrome it is a different birth defect altogether.

The specialist my mother went to tried to convince her that Kenny should be institutionalized. They tried to convince her that her son would never be a happy productive citizen. They had no clue. When Kenny was 6 he did start school in a special education class at Fairview Elementary.

When Kenny was 7 I was adopted into the family, he thought having a baby brother was great. He was always very careful with me I have been told. One of my first memories is of Kenny and I sharing a birthday cake. It looked like the Cookie Monster and we were wearing most of it. By the time I was 5 Kenny and I were about the same age mentally and we drove my mother absolutely nuts.