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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Print: 2576-0556 Downloads: 1360468 Total View: 9182666
Frequency: monthly ISSN Online: 2576-0548 CODEN: JHASAY
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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2023.04.003

“When to Call a Windmill a Windmill”—The Story of a Young Man with Down Syndrome

Katerina Couroucli-Robertson

Department of Dramatherapy, The Herma Institute of Dramatherapy and Playtherapy, Athens, Greece.

*Corresponding author: Katerina Couroucli-Robertson

Published: June 13,2023

Abstract

To what extent should one indulge a dream that cannot be fulfilled? Nikolas, who has Down syndrome, believed that he was going to marry Maria; he had chosen the church and made the wedding list. Most people encouraged him to build his castles in Spain. His sisters, however, did not support his fantasies. I felt that a compromise could be achieved. Given that the date of the fulfillment of his desires was undefined, his fantasy was on-going, a permanent dream, which only others knew could never be realized. Based on my experience with Nikolas who participated in my theatrical group for people with learning difficulties, I will discuss the extent to which a therapist should encourage the fantasies of a client. Is a therapist in a position to judge whether a fantasy is realizable? Does he or she have the right to shatter a fantasy which keeps a client buoyant?

Keywords

Down syndrome, quality of life, fantasy, daydream and truth-telling

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How to cite this paper

“When to Call a Windmill a Windmill”—The Story of a Young Man with Down Syndrome

How to cite this paper: Katerina Couroucli-Robertson. (2023) “When to Call a Windmill a Windmill”—The Story of a Young Man with Down Syndrome. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science7(4), 653-659.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2023.04.003