Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Disabilities Unlimited

When I was in school, I spent twelve years without ever seeing a disabled student anywhere, in any school, in any classes. Nobody in a wheelchair, nobody mentally disabled, or mentally "retarded".This was 1961-1973. I believe special education was created by federal law in the mid nineteen seventies, but in any event, by the nineteen eighties disabled kids, at long last, were included in public schools.

Where had they been before? At home? In institutions and special schools for the disabled? All I know is, in my time, they were segregated.

When I reentered high school in the late nineteen eighties as a substitute teacher, I remember being impressed by the treatment of disabled kids. When a job came open for a special ed assistant, I was offered it, and I gladly accepted. I was given charge of two fine young gentlemen, Burke and Andy, both with cerebral palsy, both confined to wheelchairs, and essentially non verbal. But smart...

Burke needed to be fed by hand, and he needed help using the restroom. So did Andy, but he was considerably lighter than Burke.  Burke had a self propelled wheelchair, while Andy had to be wheeled by brute human labor, which I did.

After a time, it became apparent to me that Andy was perfectly capable of turning his own wheels, but too spoiled and lazy to do it. Someone had always done it for him. It frustrated me. Finally one day I said to Andy "yesterday they ran the Boston marathon, and the winner was a guy in a wheelchair".  (which was no big deal. every year the wheelchair athletes beat the runners, so they have a separate category. you'd be surprised how fast a wheelchair can go)

Andy thought about this for a moment, and then, I swear, he put his hands on his wheels, and got going...




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