This is from Donna Euler, a program supervisor at the Idaho Youth Ranch.

"While attending the University of Idaho in 1970, I enrolled in a class entitled Mental Retardation. The professor was Robert Otness, PhD, who was a strong advocate for those with mental and physical challenges. Dr. Otness had traveled all over the world visiting institutions for the mentally disabled. As part of the class, he displayed items made by the residents of the institutions he had visited. The class members were amazed by the quality of the crafts and it helped us see this population of people in a different light.

"In 1975, I visited Dr.Otness to tell him I was now working at a state facility for the developmentally delayed and how much his class had impacted me. I was surprised when, at the end of our visit, Dr. Otness presented me with a book from his personal library complete with a hand written inscription.

"Dr. Otness is gone now but I continue to treasure the book and the gift of knowledge that he gave me."

---

---