We Want a Seat Inside the Park (Socialization not Isolation)

Editors Note: This is post dedicated to all special needs children isolated from their non disabled peers.

Let’s be blunt some more.

I am content with my family who knows me so well, yet, for many of you the jury is out. I see your perplexed looks when you fleetingly think that you have no clue as to what to do with me if you were in charge of my care.

I am pretty sure that those perplexed looks harbor the seeds of special educational policy that affect children such as I and my classmates

So, let me say again: “Hello, I am in here and I am one of the worlds greatest fans of life. So why I ask, if I am locked up inside my head with only my family and a handful of very special teachers to read my mind, am I confined to a separate class and separate building?

Is it because I will never be a player in the game of life.  Let me clue you in, I already am, but I need your help in opening more doors for me. Part of the game of life is being a fan of those that do it well. I want to be there with them every day cheering them on.

Why do you separate me and my classmates from my non disabled peers and their teachers, do you think we have nothing to teach them about life and we don’t understand the game of life already?

And do you not realize that putting us in our own building shutting off from the normal flow of general education we are even isolated from the normal sights and sounds of normal general education activities.

We want to play the game inside the park, not the parking lot, interrupted with an occasional peek when you play the national anthem or give us a salute on our way out into the world or an occasional invite to dinner. We want to come early and watch the whole game, inside the park.

As far as I am concerned your primary function is to include us so we can teach you where we wish to belong and teach our peers how to read our minds. Our basic need is socialization not isolation.