The following is an excerpt from a recent article in Ottawa Parenting Times Magazine, which highlights the Carolyn Phillips Fund, a fund at the Ottawa Community Foundation.
When Carolyn Phillips was born with Down syndrome in 1948, her first-time parents had few options to help her.
Her father, Ray Phillips was a naval officer and constant moving was part of family life — difficult for Carolyn, who thrived in a stable and familiar environment. So at age two, Carolyn entered an institution in Orillia where the lack of care resulted in a confrontation between her mother, Beryl Phillips, and the head doctor. It was only after Carolyn was transferred to a facility in Smiths Falls that the importance of physical contact for the young girl was acknowledged and embraced, her mother says.
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