Raymond's Room: Ending the Segregation of People With Disabilities [Paperback]

Dale DiLeo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2007

Thirty years ago, as a young man working at a facility for children with autism, Dale DiLeo was shown a tiny, hot and smelly bedroom. Reserved for up to four young men with autism, those least trusted by staff, this room was locked--from the outside--all night long. It was named after Raymond, the room's perennial resident. Raymond's Room makes a compelling case that today, people with disabilities are still locked away from the rest of society. They may not be necessarily housed in rooms like Raymond's, but they are placed in facilities and programs run by a public monopoly unwilling to change. "People with disabilities are the last minority group in which legal segregation for housing and employment is still routinely provided," writes DiLeo. "And their lives are controlled by one of the last publicly-funded monopolies in America today." Using research, anecdotes, and heartwarming stories, DiLeo takes aim at the billion-dollar "disability industrial complex" that segregates people with significant disabilities from mainstream life. Calling people with disabilities society's "hidden citizens," he describes a system that prevents people from working and living in our communities, despite new techniques and approaches proven effective in helping even those with the most serious challenges to be employed and to have a home to call their own. DiLeo describes the downsides to current practices in the field and then offers up proven alternatives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

DiLeo encourages a society of more independent living and working choices to enrich the lives of the disabled. Professionals resistant to change may argue they are providing a service that no one wants to do... DiLeo exposes the true face behind the altruistic mask of governmental agencies --Foreword Magazine

Occasionally, a book will come along that actually has the power to change a society. Those are books like Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Carson's Silent Spring, Haley's The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots, Ginsberg's Howl, Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, Galbraith's The Affluent Society and Sinclair's The Jungle. Now let me introduce you to Dale DiLeo's Raymond's Room, an essential work that belongs in the same list...If you never read another book in your entire life, read Raymond's Room. --The Asian Journal

[DiLeo] has thought about these people deeply and compassionately. … a warm, highly readable memoir and guide to unprejudiced vision. ... would interest both the disability professional and the general reader. --St. Augustine Record

From the Author

After 30 years of working in the disability field, I am exasperated at our lack of progress in helping people to have real jobs, homes, and friendships in their communities. Raymond's Room is about my life experiences and lessons learned about the segregation of people with disabilities in the places I have worked, visited and managed - institutions, day facilities, group homes, and more. In my book I speak out about labeling, discrimination, and a service system that struggles despite caring, but underpaid staff. My hope is to educate not just professionals in the field, but families, neighbors and friends about what segregation does to the lives of people they care about.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Training Resource Network, Inc.; 1st edition (February 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883302552
• ISBN-13: 978-1883302559
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a disability advocate working to end the discrimination and segregation that people with disabilities face in everyday life. I do a lot of public speaking and training in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia. I live with my wife and daughter in St. Augustine, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What about the Disability Consultant Complex?, January 11, 2008

By 

J. Halpin - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Raymond's Room: Ending the Segregation of People with Disabilities (Hardcover)

This book has some very good information on the disabilities field and I plan on using it in my introductory course on disibilities. However while the author rails against the Disability Industrial Complex (DIC), he does not stress enough the real problem with servcies to people with disabilities in this country: their de-valued status which results in inadequate funding, low pay for service providers and extremely high turnover. There are too many "experts" in this field who have left management and direct service to become consultants; resulting in what could be called a Disability Consultant Complex (DCC). So while they may fill hotel meeting rooms for their presentations about what is wrong with the system, the reality is over half the people that attend these sessions will leave the field within one year's time. If more consultants stayed in the field to direct services, advocate politically and practice the philosophy, the service system could improve. There are simply too many people "talking the talk" in the disabilties field.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations, March 27, 2007

By 

Cary C. Griffin "cgriffin" (Florence, Montana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Raymond's Room: Ending the Segregation of People with Disabilities (Hardcover)

Raymond's Room points out the terrible truth that in so many communities, people with disabilities, served by the most richly funded disability system in the world, remain victimized by the soft bigotry of low expectations. Dale rightly points out it is time to admit we're stuck and start doing business very differently! This should be required reading in all high schools and colleges across the country!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So what are we going to do about it..., March 19, 2007

By 

Suzanne Hutcheson (Stuart, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Raymond's Room: Ending the Segregation of People With Disabilities (Paperback)

For years, people with disabilities have been invisible in our society--RAYMOND'S ROOM puts the fire in us to make sure this doesn't continue--let's follow the advice given and look at people for their abilities and make sure that everyone has an opportunity to belong in a valued way--Kudos to Dale DiLeo for writing the consummate book on this suject!