Draft:Carol Buck
Caroline "Carol" Grace Buck (May 4, 1920 – September 30, 1992) was the daughter of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author Pearl S. Buck. She was the inspiration for Pearl Buck's memoir, The Child Who Never Grew, one of the first public discussions about raising a child with intellectual disabilities.[1]
Life
[edit]Carol was born on May 4, 1920. As a toddler she was healthy, but by the age of 4, she was showing signs of delayed development. Her mother wrote that "[h]er eyes...were blank when one gazed into their depths. They did not hold or respond."[2] She was non-speaking, had poor coordination, a short attention span, and often displayed a vacant expression.
In order to properly care for her disabilities, Carol was enrolled in the Vineland Training School in New Jersey when she was 9 years old.[1] She lived at Vineland until her passing in 1992 at the age of 72.[3][4]
Phenylketonuria
[edit]Around 1960, Carol's mental disability was confirmed to be caused by untreated phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare genetic disorder that, if left untreated untreated in early life, can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. At the time of Carol's birth, PKU was not well understood. It was not discovered until 1934, and effective treatment only began to be widely accepted in the 1950's.[5] However, Carol's PKU diagnosis was not confirmed until around 1960, after she had developed irreversible symptoms.[6]
Impact
[edit]Carol's condition had a profound impact on her mother, inspiring Pearl S. Buck to make her the subject of her book The Child Who Never Grew (1950), a memoir that was one of the first public discussions about raising a child with intellectual disabilities. The book depicted the struggles of a parent of a mentally disabled child, and helped reduce the stigma surrounding intellectual disabilities and brought awareness to the challenges faced by families of mentally disabled individuals.[7] Because of Carol's disability, her mother became active in the disability movement. And because of Carol's residency at Vineland, the royalties for The Child Who Never Grew were donated to the Vineland school, and a cottage called the "Carol Cottage" was donated by her in Carol's name.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Finger, S; Christ, S (2004), "Pearl S. Buck and Phenylketonuria", Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 13 (1): 44–57, doi:10.1080/09647040490885484, PMID 15370336
- ^ Buck, P (1950), The Child Who Never Grew (2nd ed.), Home Base, New York: Woodbine House, p. 36-37
- ^ "Historical Society Dedicates Carol Buck Gravestone", SNJ Today, vol. 15, no. 10, Cumberland County, NJ, p. 3, April 20, 2022
- ^ Carol Buck at Find a Grave
- ^ Christ, S (2003), "Asbjørn Følling and the Discovery of Phenylketonuria", Journey of the History of the Neurosciences: Basic and Clinical Perspectives, 12 (1): 44–54
- ^ Centerwall, S; Centerwall, W (2000), "The Discovery of Phenylketonuria: The Story of a Young Couple, Two Retarded Children, and a Scientist", Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 105 (89): 89–104, doi:10.1542/peds.105.1.89, PMID 10617710
- ^ "Parallels in Time: A History of Developmental Disabilities". The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities. 2024.