Today’s edition of All Things Considered features an interview with Dan Habib, the creator of a documentary about his son Samuel, who has cerebral palsy. I blogged about Samuel a few weeks ago. The host followed up that story with another piece discussing the inclusion of kids with disabilities in our public schools. To summarize the facts from the story, only half of all kids with disabilities are fully included in “regular” classrooms and only eleven percent of kids with intellectual disabilities are included in regular classrooms. As with so many aspects of a kid’s life with a disability, geography plays a critical role. Some states and school districts do a substantially better job of promoting inclusion than others. And yes, I was a beneficiary of the inclusion philosophy during most of my years in school.
We blog-readers are lucky you could benefit from that philosophy. Although I would think you’d also have shaped your mind, your interests, your academic skills on your own.
I wonder why people with SMA have “more than average intellectual abilities”. Is it because they spend more time on “academic” matters?