News to feed your soul...don't ever let them tell you that you can't

[Noodle]

Madison Essig not only became one of the first students with Down syndrome to receive a regular diploma in DC's school system, she did it with a 3.7 GPA. She will be attending George Mason in the Fall.

On a related note, my son graduated from elementary school a few weeks ago, and will move on to junior high in the Fall. When we entered the high school theater for the ceremony, one of his classmates immediately offered to walk with our son downstairs to where the students were gathering--no prompting, just a kind gesture from a young woman who has become like a second sister to our son as a result of getting to know him in class. After our son walked across the stage, a young man who had waited at the bottom of the stage steps for our son to make sure he made it down OK walked with our son to his seat--no prompting or even a suggestion from any adult, just a kind gesture from a young man who has become like a second big brother to our son.

But, most heartwarming of all was when our son's name was announced and he walked across the stage. I will never forget the cheers that came from his classmates, and seemed to go on forever. It brings tears to my eyes as I type this.

My wife and I have fought constantly to make sure our son reaches his full potential and that he does so as much as possible in the regular classroom. We've pushed and prodded constantly to make certain that he has the same opportunities to attend overnight camp, social outings, and other activities with his typical peers. The school has, at times, been reluctant. And as parents we always worried that our son might interfere with the education and experiences of his classmates.

Meanwhile, those classmates have been trying to tell us all along: "we want Will with us; he's one of us and we will take care of him." All on their own, with no prompting--simply because they were given the opportunity to get to know my son.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...3d30e1-9516-482a-a8db-af1da47634b5_story.html

http://wjla.com/features/spotlight-...-school-after-being-told-she-would-never-read

 

[CO. Hoosier]

Madison Essig not only became one of the first students with Down syndrome to receive a regular diploma in DC's school system, she did it with a 3.7 GPA. She will be attending George Mason in the Fall.

On a related note, my son graduated from elementary school a few weeks ago, and will move on to junior high in the Fall. When we entered the high school theater for the ceremony, one of his classmates immediately offered to walk with our son downstairs to where the students were gathering--no prompting, just a kind gesture from a young woman who has become like a second sister to our son as a result of getting to know him in class. After our son walked across the stage, a young man who had waited at the bottom of the stage steps for our son to make sure he made it down OK walked with our son to his seat--no prompting or even a suggestion from any adult, just a kind gesture from a young man who has become like a second big brother to our son.

But, most heartwarming of all was when our son's name was announced and he walked across the stage. I will never forget the cheers that came from his classmates, and seemed to go on forever. It brings tears to my eyes as I type this.

My wife and I have fought constantly to make sure our son reaches his full potential and that he does so as much as possible in the regular classroom. We've pushed and prodded constantly to make certain that he has the same opportunities to attend overnight camp, social outings, and other activities with his typical peers. The school has, at times, been reluctant. And as parents we always worried that our son might interfere with the education and experiences of his classmates.

Meanwhile, those classmates have been trying to tell us all along: "we want Will with us; he's one of us and we will take care of him." All on their own, with no prompting--simply because they were given the opportunity to get to know my son.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...3d30e1-9516-482a-a8db-af1da47634b5_story.html

http://wjla.com/features/spotlight-...-school-after-being-told-she-would-never-read

Thanks for sharing

It seems like only a year or so ago that Will came into your life and you began posting about him here. I thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with Will through your posts.

Congratulations proud papa.

 

[Noodle]

Thanks for sharing

It seems like only a year or so ago that Will came into your life and you began posting about him here. I thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with Will through your posts.

Congratulations proud papa.

Thank you. It is still amazing to me how much things have changed since you and I were kids. My old grade school made national news ~1976 when they became one of the first schools in the country to integrate children with disabilities into the "regular" school. Of course it was only the children with physical disabilities--kids with developmental disabilities were not allowed to attend that school and instead were bussed to a special school that served the entire city of Toledo. There was not a single kid who had Down syndrome in any of the schools I attended. Today, although most large cities still have schools designed for children with severe developmental disabilities and medical needs, a relatively small percentage that attend have Down syndrome.

A few years ago I was visiting one such school here in Cincinnati, looking at a chronological series of pictures of graduating classes. Not only did the number of students decrease over time, the percentage of children with Down syndrome decreased from >75% to less than 10% over a span of about 25 years.

Most importantly, not only are children with developmental disabilities achieving far more than most though possible 30+ years ago, their integration into "regular" schools has had a tremendously positive effect on typical kids. It's also led to far greater opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities in their adult lives. Not only can they acquire lifelong friends outside of the disability community, they now have far greater employment opportunities simply because potential employers were fortunate enough to get to know individuals with developmental disabilities during their formative years.

 

[hoosboot]

Thank you. It is still amazing to me how much things have changed since you and I were kids. My old grade school made national news ~1976 when they became one of the first schools in the country to integrate children with disabilities into the "regular" school. Of course it was only the children with physical disabilities--kids with developmental disabilities were not allowed to attend that school and instead were bussed to a special school that served the entire city of Toledo. There was not a single kid who had Down syndrome in any of the schools I attended. Today, although most large cities still have schools designed for children with severe developmental disabilities and medical needs, a relatively small percentage that attend have Down syndrome.

A few years ago I was visiting one such school here in Cincinnati, looking at a chronological series of pictures of graduating classes. Not only did the number of students decrease over time, the percentage of children with Down syndrome decreased from >75% to less than 10% over a span of about 25 years.

Most importantly, not only are children with developmental disabilities achieving far more than most though possible 30+ years ago, their integration into "regular" schools has had a tremendously positive effect on typical kids. It's also led to far greater opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities in their adult lives. Not only can they acquire lifelong friends outside of the disability community, they now have far greater employment opportunities simply because potential employers were fortunate enough to get to know individuals with developmental disabilities during their formative years.

So glad to hear about your son continuing to aspire to great things! I totally echo your point about children with developmental disabilities being an extremely positive impact on typical kids. Two of the most formative aspects of my son's education that I can recall relate to his longtime friendship with an autistic fellow student and his mentoring a much younger student with developmental disabilities. IMHO, "Mainstreaming" has been a huge plus across the board.

 

[Noodle]

So glad to hear about your son continuing to aspire to great things! I totally echo your point about children with developmental disabilities being an extremely positive impact on typical kids. Two of the most formative aspects of my son's education that I can recall relate to his longtime friendship with an autistic fellow student and his mentoring a much younger student with developmental disabilities. IMHO, "Mainstreaming" has been a huge plus across the board.

That is wonderful to hear! Please tell your son that I said thank you.

 

[anon_mlxxvlbug9dpa]

Madison Essig not only became one of the first students with Down syndrome to receive a regular diploma in DC's school system, she did it with a 3.7 GPA. She will be attending George Mason in the Fall.

On a related note, my son graduated from elementary school a few weeks ago, and will move on to junior high in the Fall. When we entered the high school theater for the ceremony, one of his classmates immediately offered to walk with our son downstairs to where the students were gathering--no prompting, just a kind gesture from a young woman who has become like a second sister to our son as a result of getting to know him in class. After our son walked across the stage, a young man who had waited at the bottom of the stage steps for our son to make sure he made it down OK walked with our son to his seat--no prompting or even a suggestion from any adult, just a kind gesture from a young man who has become like a second big brother to our son.

But, most heartwarming of all was when our son's name was announced and he walked across the stage. I will never forget the cheers that came from his classmates, and seemed to go on forever. It brings tears to my eyes as I type this.

My wife and I have fought constantly to make sure our son reaches his full potential and that he does so as much as possible in the regular classroom. We've pushed and prodded constantly to make certain that he has the same opportunities to attend overnight camp, social outings, and other activities with his typical peers. The school has, at times, been reluctant. And as parents we always worried that our son might interfere with the education and experiences of his classmates.

Meanwhile, those classmates have been trying to tell us all along: "we want Will with us; he's one of us and we will take care of him." All on their own, with no prompting--simply because they were given the opportunity to get to know my son.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...3d30e1-9516-482a-a8db-af1da47634b5_story.html

http://wjla.com/features/spotlight-...-school-after-being-told-she-would-never-read

Let this be a lesson for anybody that questions the values of the younger generations. If they don't turn out twice as good as us, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

 

[hoosboot]

That is wonderful to hear! Please tell your son that I said thank you.

Nothing to thank him for. He's the one who's gotten the good end of the deal! Thanks to you though for providing the occasional ray of sunshine in the otherwise bleak news we discuss here.