The mother of a retarded child tells of some of the battles, frustrations and the rewards of caring for her retarded son.

It is hoped that contributions such as this one from Margaret Hydon will become a regular feature of the Journal.

My husband was elated to hear at long last that our son Andrew had arrived, but at the time little did he realize the full implications of the trauma of the birth which was then closely followed by septicaemia and bronchial pneumonia.