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September 23, 2005
What happened to Henry?
"The creative process is a beautiful therapeutic thing," Scott McGuire tells me, pointing me to the website he is slowly putting up. And the page he's done is beautiful as well, certainly in a visual sense but also in its text.
It will be awhile before he gets more up there, though, he tells me, as he and Henry's mother spend too much time struggling to get Henry what they "believe to be a free and appropriate education." Scott isn't too keen on what passes for "free and appropriate."
"At this very moment, Henry's school district is explaining ... why [they believe] Henry is receiving 'a free and appropriate education,' " Scott tells me.
Look at Henry's photo again, he suggests. I see a young child covered with cuts, scabs, bruises and blood.
Do I find what happened to Henry "appropriate?" Scott asks me.
Do you think Henry's resulting medical care was -- or will be -- free?I've talked to advocacy organizations, parents and attorneys that had nothing, in my opinion, of substance to offer regarding this situation. Yes, they all mentioned similar stories and suggested different strategies for seeking resolution. ... A short segment regarding Henry's incident at school ran on a local news station as well as a brief article in a newspaper located some 60 miles or so north of Champaign where the injuries occurred.
The information came and went with hardly a notice, as expected.
As the parent of a disabled child, my experience leads me to believe the civil rights movement for disabled people has hardly begun. As extreme as it may sound, my stomach turns when I see a "handicapped" icon. It's as if the symbol screams, "Cripples served here." How very nice for them.
Imagine if it were the other way around. Imagine if these icons were removed and non-accessible facilities posted signs: "No cripples allowed." Oh, but I'm looking at it all wrong, I suppose. After all, there is a difference between bigotry and good intentions merely lacking funds, right?
Or am I simply looking at it the way disabled people always have?
COMMENT-AUTHOR:The Angry Gimp
COMMENT-DATE:9/25/2005
COMMENT-BODY:"As extreme as it may sound, my stomach turns when I see a "handicapped" icon. It's as if the symbol screams, "Cripples served here." How very nice for them.
Imagine if it were the other way around."
That's an interesting way of looking at it. Personally, I am thrilled when I see that symbol, because it means I have hope of getting the access that I need. It is sad that I have been conditioned to set the bar so low.
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Posted by mjohnson at September 23, 2005 10:54 AM