Encouragement: Graduating Peter

Hey Guys~

If you're a parent of a child with a disability, I'm sure you are somewhat familiar with the "inclusion" or "mainstreaming" process. I certainly am. As a matter of fact, it's this process that has helped me develop into the person I am today. But not everyone is that lucky. Depending on the severity of a disability, the road towards inclusion can be a difficult one to travel. What makes it so difficult? That's a tough question. Several factors can impact the process, such as setting realistic goals for the child to achieve, the ability to connect with people etc.

In a recent documentary on HBO Family, inclusion issues like these were discussed. The documentary entitled "Graduating Peter" follows the journey of a young boy with Down Syndrome as the makers the transition from middle school through high school and into the real world. Like most parents, Judy just wants the best for her son. This simply means being able to live in the community as independently as possible, to have "a meaningful job" that he enjoys and maintain friendships.

"In order to do that, you need to learn the skills to get along in the community and those things absolutely cannot be taught in a self-contained class.." said Judy.

Besides the education, inclusion provides a foundation where students learn to socialize and interact with others. It also serves as a place to observe and practice appropriate behavior in everyday situations. With down syndrome, social and communication skills often come to play a huge part in a child's development. Unfortunately for Peter, communication is often really difficult. This often results in Peter acting out in the classroom.

"I think part of it too is the loneliness, not being able to talk and tell people what he would like or what he might be thinking," said Chris Vestal, a middle school Special Education Teach

Some inclusion programs, like Peter's focus on more than just academics; depending on one's goals, part of the time may be spent in the workplace developing the necessary skills to hold down a job. These jobs can range from anything to a janitor of a store, cleaning the city bus etc.

"My role is to try and make this gradual change from from school to work as an adult for Pete, so that when he leaves school that there's a worksite in which Pete has been performing at, been trained at that worksite and that he has expressed a real interest in," said Wayne Zellers, the high school Special Education Teacher.

Like most students, the transition from middle school to high school can be a difficult one. Especially for people with disabilities. They just want a place where they can be themselves and still fit in with the crowd. For more information about this documentary, feel free to to go to:http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/graduating_peter/

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Citation for TV program: "Graduating Peter" HBO Family Channel 407, 16 March 2009 (original air date:1/21/03)