Thursday, January 20, 2011

Unfathomable

My daughter Katelyn and I were having a conversation when she said to me, "I just don't get it. Why is it so hard for some people to talk to a person with disabilities? It's easy for me. I just treat them like I would anyone else." I pointed out that it is second nature to her because she grew up having an older brother with disabilities in the home. I also mentioned to Katelyn that when I was young (which really isn't that long ago), people with disabilities were not included in public schools; they were institutionalized. This opened up a great discussion about the importance of inclusion and how it benefits kids with and without disabilities. For the most part, Katelyn's generation is more comfortable around individuals that have special needs because they have been included in society. I wonder if our children and our children's children won't look back on segregation of kids with disabilities like our generation looks back on segregation of race...unfathomable.

4 comments:

tekeal said...

great post... & thank you for your comment at BLOOM, I appreciate it. I look forward to visiting your blog. tekeal

carolinaheartstrings said...

We sure have come a long way and still have a long way to go. When the day finally arrives when everyone is treated the same, no matter what, we will have ARRIVED! Maybe our kids kids will be those people. I sure hope so.

Lora said...

When I was younger, in school, there were no disabled individuals either and therefore it was hard for me to talk to them before Griffin came along. I had no idea how to talk to anyone who was different. I wonder too if it will be different, as you say, in the future.

Lynn said...

My high school and college age nieces are so much more accepting of everything...race, sexual orientation, as well as disabilities. I think that they are completely baffled by our generation..which is a good thing.

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