By Kathleen Stauffer, For The Bulletin

Dawn remembers the bad old days.

Her son Jaime, now an adult working as The Arc Eastern Connecticuts professional advocate, had just entered first grade. I was not prepared for the school not to educate him, she says. They accepted him. They all thought he was adorable. He got away with anything. They treated him and others in his class like babies.

I have to say, I know these people meant well, she says. But the philosophy was very different then. They had kids with IDD, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, sit on the floor and sing songs, and I wanted my son to get an education. He could hold a pencil and write his name. At a meeting with school administrators, Dawn insisted that Jaime receive proper schooling, but she didnt feel heard. So, I got up and walked out.

It is very different now. Parents have more of a voice. And I know some pretty strong parents. I was at the Special Olympics talent show rehearsal last night. And I just stood there and looked around and saw all those parents who have worked so hard to get their kids up there on stage.

There was a time, about 70 years ago, that public schools turned children with IDD away. Ignorance led many educators to conclude that people with IDD couldnt learn.

Angered and fully aware that their children could learn, parents all over the country founded educational programs for their children with IDD. The movement took off when country and western star Dale Evans wrote a book called Angel Unaware about her daughter, Robin Elizabeth, who had Down syndrome. Evans donated all book royalties to this new national parents organization, The Arc of the United States.

Like Dawn and other Arc parents, Evans changed lives forever by speaking on behalf of children with IDD and encouraging parents to demand equal treatment for their children.

Dawn says parents and people with IDD must be tenacious. Dont give up, she says. Dont ever give up!

Note: The Special Olympics talent show at Killingly High School slated for April has been canceled.

Kathleen Stauffer is chief executive officer of The Arc Eastern Connecticut. For more information on The Arcs microbusinesses, go to http://www.TheArcECT.org. For more articles by this author, visit http://www.kathleenstauffer.com

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Healthy Living: Mother unprepared for first encounter with special education - Norwich Bulletin