"Butterfly - Opening the Future", a work published by the Association for the Protection of Mental Health "Lotos" from Zenica, and whose authors are: Aiša Smailbegović - Hadžihalilović, Emina Hadžihalilović - Muračević, Nisveta Kozlić, Boško Kukolj and Ivana Vasić, is a story about children with disabilities, children born without limbs or those children who had to undergo amputations because they were victims of various accidents. 

It is a story about different understandings of the spectrum of human abilities. There are countless reasons for physical impairments in children, whether they are genetically conditioned due to infections during pregnancy, drug and medication use, or acquired, caused in play, by electric shock or in traffic accidents, as well as in war, etc.

"Butterfly", whose name this book bears, tells of a story in which there was a butterfly who lived with many other butterflies in a meadow, and who was the best student, noble, generous, good and intelligent, but also sad because he was different, namely he did not grow wings.

That butterfly symbolically represents these children. But the story of the butterfly also tells of the selfless support of the other butterflies who came up with a way to help him and made a flying carpet out of a blade of grass so that their friend could cross the river with them to play together, thus bringing him great joy and making him happy. 

These are testimonies about their maturation, professional training, lack of understanding and understanding and support from their environment, the traces left in their lives by doctors, educators, teachers, parents and others.  

Special attention in this book is also given to programs of various types of support and training during which these children are introduced as much as possible to real situations that they are likely to encounter during their lives, where it is pointed out that it is desirable that such children are not under excessive protection because maturity is achieved only through learning and experience.

As very useful knowledge for all people who are involved in any way in supporting children with disabilities, the differences in approaches to children born without limbs or with underdeveloped limbs are described, where such children should be encouraged to use them as they can and, of course, help them whenever necessary, including children with amputated limbs.

Special importance is also given to working with parents, as there is often a fear that their children without disabilities will receive less attention and will learn less at school because everyone will adapt only to the child with disabilities. This requires explanation and provision of appropriate information so that good cooperation can be achieved in the process of pedagogical observation and habilitation of students with disabilities, while applying all general pedagogical principles and respecting certain specificities of the population of these children.

There are many examples, life destinies of children and young people without limbs, who with the unconditional support of their parents and the environment managed to overcome all obstacles and barriers and successfully get an education and live the life they deserve, but also those less beautiful examples of children left by their parents, who went through a thorny path and today they all live a life without limitations.

It is an interesting case when two children were born without arms, a boy and a girl, in one night in Belgrade. During the same night, both mothers escaped from the maternity hospital through the window, and the children were left in the care of the state and placed in the Institute for Rehabilitation.

After they were seven years old, two families adopted them. People from the surrounding area were very surprised at their act, and the families replied that fate could be such that they too could have such a child. This beautiful example restores faith in humanity, humanity, the human race and that, despite all prejudices, there is still an undisturbed system of human values.

The monograph specifically presents the life of a boy named Ismail, who was born without arms and who perfectly learned to use his legs and do everything he needed his arms for. Ismail was very well received by the children at the "Sindibad" kindergarten in Zenica, and they even tried to do some things with their legs at home, which is a very good act that shows the intelligence of children and their attempt to gain new experiences.

However, the harsh reality is that we live in a world where, unfortunately, there are also prejudices and discrimination of "different" people is a daily occurrence. Thus, one parent couple announced their decision not to allow their child to meet a child without arms, even though their child had a number of developmental problems.

The attitude of these parents was shocking and surprising, especially since it is ironic that it also requires interdisciplinary treatment and preparation for regular schooling. Particularly impressive are the inspiring descriptions of the experiences of the boy Ismail through the various experiences he experienced, such as the daily questions of the other children where his hands are and his confrontation and anger, anger and reactions, then the first visit to the cinema, the theater, the first performance and various activities where his desire, will and persistence came to the fore, which always left everyone around him speechless. 

Through the book, the reader, through strong empathy, can easily identify with a wide range of strong feelings of the parents themselves and the five stages they go through, from the initial shock and refusal to accept the truth about their child's disability, anger and looking for the culprit with remorse and anger, trying to make a deal with life: "If my child gets better, I will...", then depression and finally, the inevitable acceptance of the facts, the beginning of the struggle and the continuation of life.

The emotional confrontations of the children themselves with the realization that they have some kind of disability were also described, such as when, for example, Ismail asked his mother for the first time where his hands were.

After various clumsy attempts to give him an answer, she finally simply replied at his insistence that he was “born like that.” After he had long asked his mother or sister to give him their hands in his innocent, childish way, he eventually learned to live without them and developed motor skills with his legs and head.

The monograph "Butterfly" sends us a clear message that children with physical disabilities live in our environment, that their lives are not easy at all, but that they still have the strength to fight and win, and that we all have a responsibility and obligation to be with them in that fight, with every form of support we can provide.

Ismail, along with the other children, taught us that above all we should be human beings, grateful for all the gifts that God has given us, as well as how to deal with fate with a lot of effort and will in life, learn to be a fighter, persistent and persevering and break all the shackles that life has faced us with, because then nothing is impossible.

And as an old folk wisdom says, which should be a guide for all people through life:

Instead of complaining about something you don't have,

be thankful for what you have..