In the picture book "Small Messengers of Love," parents of children with Down syndrome, brought together in 1991 by a group coordinated by Francesca Corneli from the team at La Nostra Famiglia in Vedano Olona, share their journey from the shock of birth through the gradual, unexpected discovery of this different child — so easy to love and so generous in his own giving of love.
But how did this book come to be? Nearly all the parents who spoke within the group pointed to two especially difficult moments: the profound crisis that followed the diagnosis, and the immediate, persistent anxiety about being able to somehow imagine the future of such a disorienting event — a desire they could only satisfy by meeting families who had already walked this path.
In the climate of friendship and sharing that grew among group members, the idea for this picture book was born — made up of honest stories and beautiful photographs. It was created to give healthcare workers material they could turn to in the delicate work of informing and supporting families, and to offer other parents direct contact that might help them see their child beyond the diagnostic label, moving past the "stereotypical and sometimes diminished image of the grown-up with Down syndrome shaped by outdated social and rehabilitation settings."
The Fonos Sereni Horizons Foundation (FONOS), an outgrowth of LA NOSTRA FAMIGLIA dedicated to addressing the challenges facing disabled adults, championed this book and now spreads it as an "act of friendship and hope" from many parents who want to tell others walking the same road: never lose courage or hope, not even in your hardest moments.
Separation is a profound creative process that allows the child (and the adult) to experience an alternating play of dependence and independence, in which the richness of learning to do things alone takes root in the deep inner confidence of not being abandoned, of being welcomed back whenever the child wishes to be with the other again.
Cristina Pesci - Psychotherapist, 2002
