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Remembering Dr. Harold Michal-Smith
December 28, 2011
Staff, people with disabilities and friends of the YAI Network are saddened by the recent passing of Dr. Harold Michal-Smith, who dedicated his life to people with developmental disabilities.
A pioneer in the field, he was a longtime friend of our organization, having contributed his expertise to the Boards of the New York League for Early Learning, Premier HealthCare and the Rockland County Association for Learning Disabilities, members of the YAI Network. He played a key role in guiding the direction and growth of the YAI Network.
Dr. Michal-Smith served on the Review Panel which made recommendations leading to the deinstitutionalization of individuals with developmental disabilities from the Willowbrook State School. His work enhanced the lives of thousands of New Yorkers with developmental disabilities.
He served as President of the American Association of Mental Retardation, now the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, from 1986-1987.
The YAI Network dedicated a residence on East 35th St. in Manhattan in honor of Dr. Michal-Smith and in memory of his longtime partner Dr. Murry Morgenstern in 2003. The residence provides care to elderly and medically frail individuals with developmental disabilities.
A Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at New York Medical College; Associate Director of its Mental Retardation Institute, he was also an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Fordham, Adelphi and Long Island universities. Dr. Michal-Smith wrote books and numerous articles about the field.
In a 1973 article in the Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, Dr. Michal-Smith wrote: "For the thinking public, (people with mental retardation) . . . whether child or adult, (have the) same feelings, urges, needs illnesses, anxieties and frustrations as his peers. He wants to live, work and love; like his fellows, he looks for evidence of friendly interest, approval and affection. In other words, he is like you or me, no longer a statistic on the lower end of the continuum or an object secured behind a high wall or an inaccessible room."
His words resonate decades later.
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