The John Effect

What hope can Harvard and the University of Chicago generate in a person with schizophrenia? For me, it’s the years 2003 and 2006, when I attended my daughter’s graduation from Harvard and attended my son’s graduation from the University of Chicago.

Our children, whether graduating from college, graduate school, community college, high school or a company training program show that we, can gain many skills from those of us with a mental health condition. We may be prevented, as I was when I became disabled, from returning to jobs, but society rarely discriminates against our healthy children.

A former college adviser of mine once told me that I shouldn’t mention the accomplishments of my children when looking for a job. I responded that if they were instead dealing drugs that I would hear the refrain once again that people with mental illness should not have children. Without a recent employment history, interviewers had to understand that the success of my children demonstrated that I too had skills.

Even while working as a minister and taking medication, I would, with their mother who deserves the most credit for their success, attend parent teacher conferences.

When children invite their parents who have a mental illness to a graduation, even from elementary school, it is a permanent testament that infuses our whole being. Nurturing our children and helping them grow with our insights and knowledge, grants us membership in the human family. It was truly a celebration to see my children graduate and continue to excel in their lives. Seeing them graduate affirmed in me that I—and other people with mental illness—can play an important role in our children’s lives.