Been busy

I have been busy this week sorry for not writing much here is a pic from yesterday 

Proof that Inclusion can work ( a new label)

   Hay  guys  I am  going to start inclusion tag called  Proof that  Inclusion  can work    This is the first  post.   This post will be of successful inclusion stories and video. I am most likely going to  speak on inclusive ed   for  my public speaking class at  my jr college. So I am gathering information  now.    Here is the first link.




   PS if you have an inclusion success story   email me  azchapman1991@gmail.com  you  can be featured on my blog and if  its   soon I might be able to work you into  my speech,

Zoe says

  Lets go  Giants 

More then a job

     

       So there is a new program called I am to  hire.  It's aim  is to encourage employers to hire  people with intellectual disabilities.  The  statistics are stagering about 88 percent of  disabled  adults do not have jobs.  so having jobs is  a good goal but  there needs  to be  more that needs to be said.

Disabled individuals  need more then just a job that they are assigned too by an  agency or school.   Able bodied people get to chose where they want to work  then  they apply.  People with disabilities should be offered  the same choice.  My  work experience was chosen for me  without  my input.  I  really  wanted  to work at  Trader's Joes in  high school, but  I was not given a choice. Instead  I went to Macy's  then to  Barnes and  Noble.  Neither  one of them  were places  that I wanted  to work and  guess  what  I was not motivated to work there.  I  did not complete the job for the whole  year.  The work was really   tedious and  boring.  I  had  to dust the selves and  racks for an hour.  This  was not a pleasant experience and  I had  to miss school

   Disabled individuals  need to make at least  minimum  wage.   It may be legal  but it is not ethical   If people were able to make minimum wage it wouuld cost the goverement  less in SSI.   A nickel an hour  or even a dollor is  not enough for an able bodied so why  is it ok  to pay said ammount  to the disabled.  This does not make senese to me.   The disabled are people first with wants and intrest.  We deserve to be payed at the same rate as our  able bodied counterparts.  It is not  eithical.

  That is  my  two cents for the day.  What are your thoughts?

Week in review

This week Was ok my parents came back safely and I made a mask.I ran up aganst some ableism this week but that is par for the course when you have a visable disability.

Me Too

  Last night I got to see  Yo  Tambien  me too,

 Here is the trailer







  This  is  one of the  best  movies  I have ever seen. The main character  with   DS is portrayed in a great way.  He is  just an ordinary adult  who happens to have DS but  is so similar   to other  young men.      Without giving  too much  way  let me say that this was a movie that tackled ablesim. I will be writing a post on  what ableism means  soon.


  I saw this in  SF  as part of the Reel Abilities film  festival. Might go see another film  tomorrow.

Zoe last night

Have a great weekend

Throwback Thursday Bear Nessecities

Recycled Post: It should not be a fight

  Originally written in 2010 ..  I stand by what I say though 

   I have  seen and heard  Many stories about    parents  who  have to   fight  for there child  to be in   mainstream  and   after  reading such  accounts  I  wonder why  does  it have to be a fight   on there  part    to   let disabled  kids  go to inclusive  school.

My mom  came  to   my  kindergarten  class    when we had our career
  unit I am  sitting on    my  teachers lap   listening to what she does  in the
hospital

I  have always  been  included  since  kindergarten.  It was a no  brainier    for  my  parents  and the  two  school districts  because  I  have   normal    intelligence.      I would not trade      inclusion   for special  education,  (although  I must admit  I  wish  I had  more life skills when I graduated high school ) because I have  met so many wonderful  teachers, students and faculty as well as  being  apart   of   all of my school  communities.  I  have  so  Many great   memories   of     being in the  mainstream  and  going  on  field  trips  and  discovering     new  things.      I  just graduated   from  inclusive  high school  but  have  left behind   a club and lessons  that  others have  learned  from  me.

Ms P  (red)  was my sped teacher  all t
throughout high school here  i am  with her
 halloween 2009

  I have had   help and support   from special  education  teachers and staff  and have  participated in  ST     a  one  to  one aid  and  Work ability   while  being  able  to read    write and  learn  with  people  in my community, people who  live  near  me and     in my city    because  I have  been  in inclusive education

 Field trip  fun.

I   care so much about inclusion  because   Cerebral  Palsy   could  have    caused me  to  have a  intellectual disability  are be     so  disabled  that  the  best  place  for me   would have  been a separate  class  or  a special   needs  school.    I     care because  I  have  friends with   disabilities both online   and in  real life   who are not included . I   see   what  a shame it  is  that  other people will not have the chance  to get to know them.

Art work  2009   the teacher
used  to be a sped  teacher
  I  took  ceramics  during my Senior
year  of high school 

 I have  heard   from a  favorite  teacher of mine that    when  they taught at   another  school the kids with disabilities  were  there  but  they never  got to see  or talk to them.  The kids   missed  out   on getting  to  see   and talk  and  make a connection  with   the  person  who has been  a great   mentor and  friend to me.       The teacher  has been  working as teacher for  a while  but  I  was  their  first    student my   level  of  disability    it was not easy  but    like they  said    at the end of the  year   " Oh  the stories we could  tell"  and     I   am a character in  that story  along with  the  other students.(maybe   mine are the   annoying  and hard stories  but     hopefully there are some great ones of just me and  the whole class) I  have not heard  any  stories  yet from that class  but   I would buy the  book .........I  think.....  lol

 School is not the only  area that  inclusion
  should  apply to but to   all types of  recreation for
  peers of   similar ages. I played  soccer in AYSO    from pre k
 to  8th  grade every fall

 Inclusion     should  not be    so  hard because  unlike a driver's   test which should be  earned because the   result  of     it not  going  badly are deadly     inclusion  dose  not hurt anyone . In fact inclusion  benefits  everyone   involved the students  teacher s and school community.       In    all classes i have been  in  (AP   US history  include)   everyone isn't  at the same level  so why is it that    people  say it is  easier  not  to  have  kids with  intellectual  disabilities   at the  same   classrooms. With   mortifying  assignments    or    simplfilng  the  information     all kids would be able to learn better.  Inculsion   was not  a fight  for me  and should not be a fight for anyone  else.

OCD Awareness week

   I have  OCD.  Those  three  letters  ruined my life. It causes me  a ton of pain and anxiety.  My OCD is also one that isn't  well known.  I have  thoughts that I do not like. It causes me to  have panic attacks and has limited me.  I know  CP  should not prevent me from living independently   I know young adults with CP who have lived  internationally.  For me  i live at home because of OCD.


  To understand what it is like to have  OCD watch Birdy's story.  I was diagnosed with OCD at 15.



I am  geting better at handling it all the time

Unified Golf

             

         The  red ball is   part of  a campaign to get more people involved in Unified Sports. I thought I would share my  reflections from my first Unified golf tournament   Its an event to   encourage people to play unified.



 In August I played in my first Unified golf tourment. It had a  fun time.  I  got to know a fellow female golfer I will  call her Kim.  Kim is actually step mom to a guy  I went  to high school with.  We were even  able to meet up and practice on a  friday night. Which got me out of the house.    I  love  golf a lot.  I  played  golf in high school on the  practice team.

The Unified  golf it self is really  cool. It was the first time I played on the course in a tournament so  it  made it really exciting    I played Ok.  I had some bad shots but Kim was able to help me refocus and play.    We got sliver but I would say that  the other two teams were similarly matched.    I  really  wish  the special olympics  season was a little bit longer.    Our season was only eight weeks  long.  My  goal for next season is to play 9 hole individual  round.    Speaking of next year I really hope that I will be able to  make the trip down to  LA  next year  to watch the opening ceremonies next year.

 Here are some more  pictures

 WE both got medals because we both played hard. 

 On the course selfie

Week in review

Last week was world cp day and i got a good grade on my philosphy test .  

This week was ok my parents left town for a confrence so it is a bit lonely here but I have a ton of stuff to do for school .Can not wait til Wednesday. I went to The Big Wave Harvest festivle yesterday and helped out all day. My favorite part was rideing on 

the back of Coach J's truck. I had fun. 

Instragram

 Please follow meon instragram tune in tomarrow for week in reveiw

 

AZ's Week in Review

 this week i started jr college.My sis came home. I hit a good golf shot and saw Motown the musical the earthquake shook up nor ca but I  slept through that. A ok week.

Az's Week in Review Famila

           Met my cousin last monday but hung out with my mom this weekend. Went to get  golf clothes and helped my mom in her office ended the week at the golf course where I hit some in from the week.

AZ's Week in review

  So today   I am showing you  the second  week of August  week in  review.
  That week  my dad got a weird  app  that repeated back  what he said in a monkey voice.  I played  golf three times.
















 Now   for  those of you that are new   here.  I started playing golf when  I was 15, the summer before sophomore year.  I  was actually on the practice

 team for three years.    Here is a  post  I wrote  back on my old blog.

October 9th 2009

Last Saturday was the Special Olympics play day. I love this day. It is for preschooler with special needs. There is basketball, bowling, dancing, biking, running, arts and crafts, parachutes and golf.

If anyone has not heard today golf became a Olympic sport. Golf is one of my favorite sports. I have played golf for the local Special Olympics and for my high school for the past three years. I love playing golf for my school. GO is really great guy he gets it. He is a former special education teacher who believes in inclusion. GO has let me play on the practice team and although I have never played a match I get to play on the course. He sometimes pushes me hard to do things I do not want to do. (More on this latter)He lets me be on the team. I may not play in the match however I have a uniform and am involved in all the fundraising and it means a lot to me . I love golf I may not be the best but I like it all the same.

So as I watched the little kids with disabilities play mini golf . There is that glimmer of hope for inclusion on a golf team in high school . The kid may only be on the prat ice team like I have been,but the kid will earn a spot through hard work. Like I am trying to do on Tuesday rain or shine. Although sun will be better. No matter if I play or not there will still be hope for the little kids because of GO. It is amazing how one person can give a glimmer of hope.

The rest of the week in Reviews

 this week I played in my first Unified  sports golf  match with tried university and went to a giants  baseball game. An OK week. 

 This was my  birthday week.    I also  got to watch the specials  on  OWN 

 This was an harder week  see  Dear University.   I    relaxed by going to the  beach that Saturday 

this week i attempted to recover from last week walked on the treadmill watched The Roosevelt's  went on a nice walk and farmers market . At the market I learned that i have a lot of people behind me which is a great feeling .

This week I studied for a philosophy test and opened a door for the first time

AZ's Week in Review catch up

  Hay guys    so on my instragram account I have been  doing week in  review  a  photo or  photo  college  to  sum up  my  week.  This is the first pic I started  with  it was  the first week of  August.

  I saw a sj earthquake game and  got my psyc test back.  I  got an 100.  I  ended up  acing that class.

Because it is DS month

    I did not know this but  it is possible to have DS and  CP co  occur at the same time.   Meet Veronika.  She seems amazing.       Meet her  here.

How I Celebrated World CP Day

 I brought cookies to my jc and spoke about CP  it also happend to be  a club fair so they were giving out itsits. I went to dinner and watched the giants win the wild card game.after that  my parents the man and I watched music within.  Its a great movie about a guy  who befriends a guy with CP and in the process changes America.

Music Within

  Last night   I  asked chose  that we end   World  CP  Day with  Music Within. Its a great movie with  even  better   quotes.  My  family ( my  parents and  my brother)    watched it.  I  highly  recommend seeing it.

  Here is the  trailler

World Cerebral Palsy Day 2014

 The Video 

  More Info about CP   

plus tune in this month as I take the 31 for 21 challenge.

 PS  I had to update the video the other one will be  deleted but this one will stay up  for ever

Dear University : An Open to letter to all institutions of higher education regarding the inclusion of students with disabilities

   Dear  University,

  I want to tell you a story  about   a once highly motivated student  who is now the poller opposite.
   This student  grew up in a family that valued higher education.  The student was from a home where bed time stories were  a natural occurrence and  the path to college was  discussed at length    The parents paid students grades in junior high  and high school.  During  a middle school graduation the student friends parent  told   the student that  they only had four years of college left.  Without  missing a beat the student said. " No. I have  eight more  years, the student was  graduati
ng from 8th grade,  I am  going to college.   The  student's  path was set. They wanted to get a BA.

    The spring  of the students freshman  year, they  developed OCD.  It was  really  hard and made the student  regress. Also with the demands on social  in high school  the student was  behind and had trouble making friends due to  Non verbal  learning disorder.  In her junior year of  high school a  job coach told the student and their mother that  the student would probably work in the back room of Safeway. This and  OCD  made the student fear  high school graduation.  Nonetheless she  graduated.  Although the student had a rough start, they ended up excelling  in school.  Th
ey   graduated with an AA in social scince   with honors.  But they  were not done. They wanted  to get a BA and  go into the education field.

    Last year they went to a University  highly motivated to  finish.  But then  they  ran up against ableism.  The campus  was complete  inaccessible     There was no way for the student to   self serve in the lunch room.  The  room that housed  classes  lacked an elevator.

   One Professor  told the class " That all students   lean language  without ever being taught."   The  student  held their tongue at  first but was visibility upset because she  a speech impairment due to Cerebral  Palsy and had a  hard time learning to speak.   When they the student did say something  the professor  replied , " Well all  normal children do. "  That really  hurt the student.   What was  worse  is that the  professor  overly  praised the student when they  got the seconded highest grade then  admitted to the student that they  " were surprised that [the student]  did so well."    When an able bodied  student who got higher then said student was given the  test.  The student received no fan faire despite getting a hundred percent.

 Another teacher tesed a student's hat.   When the student had long hair and due to Cerebral  Palsy could not  do  their  hair  so they needed a  hat.  The same history  professor asked the  class " If  anyone had a rope." when said student had too many questions.  The student was   part African American  and the teacher  taught United States history.   They  could have  ment  lynching.
  This  remark was complete out of line.

    The last teacher  compared  student  to a  child  in front of the class.  The  teacher later apologized for this  remark.   Making her the only teacher to apologize 


  The administration  refused to let  the  student return  to school  for personal reasons    The  student   returned to school Fall 2014 under a contract.     The contract  stated  among other  things that   the student could only  take  two classes and  had to behave.  In the event that she  did not  behave, she was blamed for reacting to teachers   remarks, she  was to see  the  Disability  person, how  can  one person be in charge of all students with disabilities on a college campus.   On thursday  the student got  a message from a conduct  person.     Which violated the contract.     What made it worse  was that the student  went to advisor asking what the meeting was about. The consular said "  I do not want to speculate.    The student  then met with the conduct person  who said the consular  was    the one to report the incident.   The  student had  went into  a class  asking  to  switch the classes that she    wanted  because everyone   who  took it was fun.    The    advisor  said the student broke the conduct code.   Another student said the  student  had   followed  procedure and  had not broken the conduct  code.

 The student  is already  behind because they  do not feel wanted.    They do not  trust  anyone at  the university.   They feel betrayed  by the consular.  They  had  problems   committing to two  classes.  Although the professors were decent this  semester  the administration  has  been  hard to deal   with.


   So what  happend  to the student.  Well,  they  are currently recovering  l  from a major  bout of depression  brought on by this  stressed.  They  recovered not by  the  promise of  a college education but   with   I  pad  games, The  now   scan   the community for  entry  level  jobs and  are having a hard  time focusing on  education.  They   are   hesitant  to   try another  school.   The  student is  writing  this  to  teach you a few things.

 1 Make   campuses  accessible.   Every  lecture hall  should have  an  elevator.
2  Treat every student like a person  not a trained seal.  Not  a   half  person  not   a miracle.     
3   Dont  joke  about disabled students.    Make  them  feel  included.
4     Follow the  Golden  Rule.

5   If the  student  is on contract  follow  it. 


6   If the student  has   social  problems  do not criminalize them.   Use it a  teachable  moment .   Be  patient  everyone  make  mistakes.
7  Honesty
 8   Admit that you do not know everything.  Ask the student  to  teach you  about their  background.  Be willing to listen  about  what it is like  to be them.
9  Be  Patient
 10   Have training  for all  staff  on  ability  awareness.  Take  the   R  word  pledge.   Learn what Ableism  is.  

 ***  You  may not be able to do all of these  things  due to lack of  funding, yet  all  staff can  have  heart and show a little loving kindness  for all  students.  Especailly   minority  students.


    
   All the students  that  I have  met in  university  have  rallied around me.   I  have  enjoyed   talking to you guys. Thanks  for treating me  kindly   when  the  staff  has  not.  The   Center  for spirituality and the  director  of student  retention  have  been awesome  too.  You  guys   rock.

A Midsummer nightmare

       So today  I  had class at my  beloved  jr college.   I  needed a text book  for philosophy which  my  dad  came  to the bookstore to get,but  we  ended up not  getting the book.  " Why  did  we not get  the book?"


   When  my  dad came to bookstore  he traded places with me so I could  rest my feet and look on my iphone.  I looked on Facebook that was fine, but then I  got an email from  my old university  The  plan was I  would  take classes at both  the jr college and the university  since  I can only take two classes at the  university.     The same university  that I   talked about here.

   Apparently not  much has changed in terms of inclusiveness  towards   those  with disabilities. Ableism  rules  supreme  and  the term  has not began.  How  do  I know this.

  The  email I  got  was play invite  to all the students   to try out for  Shakespeare's  A  mid summer nights  dream.   I  kinda  like  that play and  have always wanted  to be in at least one play  my school career so  I  was interested  in  trying out .  Until  I  read the following,

"This play requires clarity of speech and a passionate desire to communicate one’s point of view."


   This is clear ableism. Why  I  have  speech issues.  I  can  barely  say my own name.  I have  been in  speech  therapy   since I was   three.  The  speech  issues are  due to CP. Futhermore   this  was sent out  to all  the students.   This  was not broadway its a school play,  something that I  always wanted  to do.   Did  they  think about this?No.    


  I am  leaning  towards not going back to school and  school starts a  week from now. 

This could change my life

 
      ***** Authors note :  I  do not mean  in any  way shape or form to  be disrespectful  to  people with intellectual disabilities or  those that love them.  If I  did  I  apologize.  I am  just  sharing my  story. 



   So yesterday at around  5:00  I was talking to my psychology   teacher.   We  were   talking about my  inability  to communicate clearly and how  people  often assume that I am  intellectually  disabled.   It happens   right away.    The movement I open my  mouth  to a new person   bam   they assume that I  do not comprehend anything  which is   untrue.    It has  happend to me when  I attend university . Lets  think about this for a second.    I had to apply   and  got in but still a professor was  really  surprised  when I aced  a test.

  How I felt when the professor  was surprised about my  A . 

         Not even 24 hours  later I am  reading Love that  Max  that mentions Talkitt.         Its an app that translates  unclear speech into  speech  that others can understand.  This  has  to be the greatest thing ever invented.    Now this does not change ignorant minds,but   it allows for my message  to be expressed in  real time which   takes off the frustration from me and  the listeners.  And perhaps if they do not have to disappear what I am saying  just  maybe   they will be able to  see my  cognitive ability.


 Talkit  needs your help  it is  seeking funding to  make  this into a reality.  If  I could  I would donate all the money but I  can not but if any of my readers  would  I'd appreciate it.     This has the potentialr  to  change the world for  people with speech  impairments.  It would  make my life a little easier.   Go here  to donate and  watch a video of it in action.



Got image of  elsa  from 
 http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2a/e1/e4/2ae1e45ff8e863aabc312bfe8212fd85.jpg

World CP photo montage Call for Pictures

      Its that time of year people  time  to   start  sending in photos of you  or your child with CP.    October  is world CP Day .  So  send in  one photo   to azchapman1991@gmail.com and tune in   October first   to see this great  montage.

 Wanta know what it will look  like here are some videos,



 2012

2013

I am not sorry because I am not broken

           Hay  guys   sorry its  been a while things  are  good  here just been  busy  with summer school  at my   old  jc.   I am  breaking the silence  because     something has been on my mind  that I want to  talk about.

            Back when  I started   my  jc  one of  my first college  professors   apologized  when I  told her that I  had Cerebral  Palsy.

               When  I  introduced  myslef   to  my  Psychology   teacher this  summer and told him  I have  CP,  He did  the same thing

            Now  before  I  move on  I want to say that  both
of these  people were  well intentioned. The first professor and I are now  friends   on  fb and she  has helped me out a lot     this  past year.     I  also  am  enjoying my    summer  class and the professor  is  very nice and understanding of my  recent  history.

        But to get back to    my topic.  When  people   apologize  for   my disability  it  does not  feel good.   Imagine    if   someone  said  sorry    for   a characteristic  about  you.    Having Cerebral Palsy  is a part of me.  Its  been around  for    long as I can  remember.  It  has been  with me  and has  given  me  more  reasons  to  celebrate.    Because  some things  come harder then the average person,   I  get   to have more celebration  when  I achieve  them.     I  do not  mourn  CP  because  its a part of  me.   Does  CP   make  my life hard at times  yeah.  Are there  times  I  desire  normalcy?   Yeah  but  happly   the feeling  does not   last  long .   I am  not  broken.  I  do not think  that we  need to invest money  in trying to  prevent  others  like  me.  I  am  amazing.   I  bring   joy   and laughter   to   those  around  me.   I have a  unique  perspective  of the world because  of  my disabilities  and  experiences. note the  quote  below  is   my own  about disabilities particulary    CP and  NVLD.   *****OCD  is    different   as the  condition  itself  causes   me  unwanted  stress.  *****

I have  hope   but am  not  mourning   CP.

=

   The   hardest part about being disabled  is not the disability itself.   It   is much  harder  to live in a world  that   does not see  your life as  having  value.  It is much harder to deal with ableism   and  discrimination that  comes  with  disabilities.    AZ 

A Gap in my knowledge

      There is a show on  Fox and  National  Geographic   called  Cosmos.  I really  love this show.   The show   talks about    science.

       Ever since  I  have been watching this show, I  can not help  but  moran  for    a chance to be in middle school again.  In   middle  school  kids in  resource  only  took three core classes.   Everyone was  required  to  take   English,   then referred  to as Language  Arts, and  Mathematics. In terms of history and scince   at my middle school  you  were supposed  to  chose  between  the two.  All three  years of  middle school  the school and my parents  chose  history.  This  really  paid  off because  now I am  a  self  proclaimed history buff  and   passed  my  AP  test my junior year of high school in  American  History.   But   all three  years I
missed out  on  science.

  In high school   when  I  finally took  science ,  I struggled  in science  a lot.  In  biology  I was able to  work with the teacher who  was able  to help me  on test.   In   Chemistry  it was   really  hard  because I was  lazy  probably  in part  because I  had never  had  science  in  middle school.  In  college   I did well in Biology , but when  it came time to  take   the Solar System,  I was   lost  because  I   did not  know the order of the planets . I had  to work really  hard and  I  passed.

    Instead  of   learning science  in  middle school I  had   resource  room  where  I was bullied a lot   from other students  while the teachers did not  do anything.

 Lets think about what  my day would have looked like  if  my school   practiced  best practices  My   teachers  would have  came into the class  and   help me  inside   my  general education  classes.    Maybe  I would get pulled out   in a small group  once a week  for  pre-teaching  and  study  skills  development  in  areas  that I   needed help  with.      Since it was  a small  group   and  it was   with a purpose   perhaps   the other students would have been busy and  not   teased  me.    I  would  have  taken  Science and   History .      I wouldn't  have gaps  in my knowledge    Perhaps in  high school  I would  have   had an  easier  time  in  my science  classes.     I  might  have had the   foundation  I needed  to  take  an  AP  science course.  In  short   I  might have  had  a  educational career  similar to   my  peers  who did  not have a disability.

  All  schools  should   practice  best   practices   All  students  need to  learn   in  inclusive classes just like  they  would have  if  they did not have a disability.  We  are  Worthy!

60 years later

 Over the weekend,   Brown  v  Board of  ed turned 60 years  old. This court  case  turned  over Plessy  vs Feguson  which said  Seprate but equal  was not acceptable.

  All the news stories     that I have heard   only talk about race.     Race is  important  I  totally  agree.   It is still an  important problem  that    society  has not worked out.

   But  there is another  issue   in the fight  for  equality in the schools

           Disabled  students


   Disabled students everywhere  are  learning in segregated classrooms.  Segregated  classrooms.  Children are missing out  on the opportunity  to learn  grade level class work  and   meet the kids  in their neighborhood   All studies have   shown that   special education  classes produce   bad outcomes for kids.   The  unemployment  level  for people with  disabilities is high.

  The  next  time you talk about diversity  remember that there  are students  who  look, move,  roll different  too.    In a  country as rich  as ours  we should  find the  resources to   allow all  students  to  learn  together.  There are  no excuses.

60 years later.
 We have a lot of  work to do.

Blogging against disability day 2014: Don't put words in my mouth

 Too many orginzations that serve  people with disabilites,   the most famous one being Autism Speaks Do not  listen  to people with  developmental disabiltes


      Why is this  a problem you  might ask?

 Let  me take you  back to   history  class more specifically  American  History class.

   Your in fifth grade and   its  time to learn about colonazation.  In it you  learn about the British forced the  colonist to pay taxes.  The  colonist pay  taxes  on  things in which they have no say over  stamps   papper  goods .  Then they  foce  you to only drink  tea from the East India tea company.     People  do not like  it and a little thing    oh what is the word for  it  o h  yeah the American Revoultion happends.   Americans are taught that   British  were the bad  guys  because they forced  there agenda on   the colonost, later  the Americans.

  Now  can you igmane what would happend if instead of  money  people  told you that you are an epidemic. That  medince  needs  to heal  you. That you  have to wear smelly uniforms.    The last straw for American people  was when  activist  had to house soliders,   You know  what   those all called to us  Yanks   the intolerable  acts.

   Then  fast forward to the mid  20th centruy.    We learn that seprate is not equal and  everyone deserve a  vote.   So many  fellow  men and women of color  gave there lives  for  freedom. People  were  hosed  and  had dog attacking.  

Why  isn't   the  same liberaty offered  to those with disabilities.    Why is it that people  time and time again  disregard  us in making descins. Why do you  refuse to ignore  our wants and desires.  Give us  a vote. Bring us to the table  and  show us where the money is going.   Ask us what we hope for.  Ask us if  we want to be in the world or a community.  Asks  us if  we want jobs.  Asks us what our dream job is.   Then  listen  to what we have  to say.   Listen  like you would to our able bodied counterpart.   Listen to us.   We know best.    We  know   what it feels like to be isolated. We know how it feels  to  be talked down too.  WE  know   whats it like  to  work hard in theaphy. WE have experinced  frustration.  WE experinced the laughter and  taunts  go unoticed .  We know  the  pain of  people   dreading   a birth of  someone like us.    We know how it feels  when  people tell us our  experinced isn't valid because we are not  normal.



 Nothing about us without us.