Book Review: Justice for Laughing Boy
| Author | Iain Dickie |
| Published date | 01 June 2018 |
| Date | 01 June 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0264550518771467a |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Book reviews
225
Justice for Laughing Boy
Sara Ryan
Jessica Kingsley; 2017; pp. 272; £12.99; pbk
ISBN: 978-1785923487
Reviewed by: Iain Dickie, Researcher, University of Cumbria
Sara Ryan’s Justice for Laughing Boy is a deeply touching and personal account of
the life and untimely death of Connor Sparrowhawk, who drowned in a bath while
in the care of an NHS learning disability specific support unit, Slade House. Ryan, a
social scientist and mother of Connor, offers readers an intimate perspective on her
relationship with Connor throughout his life and her frustrations of trying to ensure
that Connor had support appropriately tailored to his individual needs. Ryan
highlights through Connor’s experiences at Slade House and the subsequent ‘Justice
for Laughing Boy’ campaign that an important imbalance exists in health and social
care delivery between individuals with and without additional needs in the UK.
Justice for Laughing Boy is divided into five sections, with each section being
further broken into individual chapters; the first section offers a highly personal
account from Ryan of Connor’s formative years. The opening chapter, entitled
‘What a Wonderful World’, introduces Connor to readers as a unique, exciting and
vibrant character; in Ryan’s words, ‘Connor is, who Connor is’. Ryan’s account of
her and the rest of the family’s relationship with Connor reminds readers of the
human tragedy of the untimely death of anyone, whether or not they have an
accompanying disability.
At points throughout the book Ryan raises the perception of autism, disability and
additional needs as having a negative or pejorative label attached to it by health
and social care professionals: ‘I’ve long raged against the lack of recognition of the
value and sometimes brilliance that Connor and so many others bring to society.
The “learning disability goggles” often worn by health and social care services
erase anything other than the learning disability label’ (p. 110). Ryan raises an
important issue...
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