HBO's graduating Peter
laroze
The beginning got me down a bit when I saw how difficult things were with Peter. I keep hoping things will get easier as the kids grow but ..... After the Dr's finally correctly diagnosed him with depression and gave him the proper medication WOW what a difference. It was like a different child. My heart was soooo sad when I saw how mean Peter was to the other kids and so the kids stayed away from him. He seemed so alone and sad. The thought of my baby going through that hurt.
Is that behavior common with depression? Is depression common in adolescents with Ds? If so do they know why?
Sandra
mom to Krystin 2 3/4y
" I want the whole world to see, not the difference,
but the sameness of children with disabilities.
Thank you for seeing children through the eyes of acceptance."
CYNTHIA KIDDER
Pat Van Der Veer
interaction he had with other students. When he did
finally (when the high school teacher organized the club
for both students with and without disabilities), his face
just lit up in smiles. I for one saw too little of those
smiles during the whole film.
He also seemed to have far too little input into his own
life. Everyone just carried on for him, and really didn't
always seem to give him enough time to respond, or even any
opportunity. I know -- it's an edited film and it's hard to
know the reality. But still...
I also saw very little humor being used. It made me think
of how often I can use humor and silliness to get
Christopher out of a rut of opposition and moving forward.
I thought that, in the scene in the high school laundry
where he was grinning and turning off the light and
grabbing things, he just needed some kidding and joking
around. It was boring to sit there and wait for the
clothes to dry! His face was alive while he was being
mischievous. I wanted to see more.
Sorry for the rant...I'm tired.
Pat in CA, mom to Christopher, age 7
--- laroze <lar...@SBCGLOBAL.NET> wrote:
> Has anyone seen this special on HBO yet? I was hoping to
> get some =
> reactions. I only got to see about half of it (up to 8th
> grade) since =
> the kids had other ideas for me this evening.=20
> The beginning got me down a bit when I saw how difficult
> things were =
> with Peter. I keep hoping things will get easier as the
> kids grow but =
> ..... After the Dr's finally correctly diagnosed him with
> depression and =
> gave him the proper medication WOW what a difference. It
> was like a =
> different child. My heart was soooo sad when I saw how
> mean Peter was to =
> the other kids and so the kids stayed away from him. He
> seemed so alone =
> and sad. The thought of my baby going through that hurt.
> Is that behavior common with depression? Is depression
> common in =
> adolescents with Ds? If so do they know why?
> Sandra
> mom to Krystin 2 3/4y
> " I want the whole world to see, not the difference,=20
> but the sameness of children with disabilities.
> Thank you for seeing children through the eyes of
> acceptance."
> CYNTHIA KIDDER
__________________________________________________
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Amy D
much because I was thinking, "Is that the future for my child?", but more
because I echo what Pat said in her post about Peter not having enough input
into his life.
Watching it, I felt like I got to see life through Peter's eyes. The job in
the laundry, the classes at school, teaching him to dance in his life skills
class... It just seemed like he was going through the motions, not really
understanding much of what was going on. It just made me sad.
Pat was right, there were very few smiles, only when he was allowed to be
'playful'. It just seemed like there was a lot of stuff put on that kid,
and it was fairly clear that he would not be able to live a fully indepent
life, so what's the harm in letting him have some fun? But like Pat said,
there was a lot of editing, maybe they edited out all the fun?!
Sandra Dodd
night after watching it!!
>It was depressing to see how lonely he was and how little
>interaction he had with other students. When he did
>finally (when the high school teacher organized the club
>for both students with and without disabilities), his face
>just lit up in smiles. I for one saw too little of those
>smiles during the whole film.
i completely agree. it broke my heart that he had no "friends" - rather
just people who worked around him. it did not seem to me that the teachers
even "cared" - i mean genuinely cared. that was not the message i got. i
can't even say i had the impression that the kids "accepted" him - although
maybe much was edited...
>I thought that, in the scene in the high school laundry
>where he was grinning and turning off the light and
>grabbing things, he just needed some kidding and joking
>around. It was boring to sit there and wait for the
>clothes to dry! His face was alive while he was being
>mischievous. I wanted to see more.
this scene really aggravated me! i wanted to shoot the aide!!! especially
when he gave peter ISS and reported upstairs to the teacher that he
had "warned peter 5 or 6 times" to behave or he would get ISS...on the
film, he told him 2x and then took him upstairs. the aide showed no sense
of humor, sense of caring, or patience. who in their right mind wants to
1) fold other students gym clothes while their aide sits on the table
directing him and 2) sit quiet and still on a table while they wait for
the clothes to dry and their work to begin???
peter had the right idea, he wanted to horse around a little to kill time.
i saw nothing wrong with that.
by the way, why so many different aides? some seemed better than
others...the "laundry room aide" was not my favorite!
i did like the guys on the soccer team most of all. they at least seemed
to genuinely care about having him around. it broke my heart to see how
depressed peter was and he seemed to not have any friends. they also did
not show any social life other than the trip to busch gardens which was a
carefully planned outing rather than a group of peers enjoying spending
time together.
i was left wondering what did peter get out of those years - and at what
expense?
forgive me if i sound harsh...i could be convinced to see this a different
way, but i don't right now.
sandy
p.s. the doctor did not impress me either - let's hope the best part of
that visit was left on the editing floor!
laroze
reaction to expect. My daughter is only going on 3yrs old and I am horrified
at the thought of her jr high and high school years being like that.
Maybe this film is from years ago before things changed. I don't want to
send Krystin to high school to be "trained" to work. High school is supposed
to be fun years, how fun is training for your job you'll be doing
forever????? I really didn't like that either. I understand Peter needed to
get work as an adult but when they had him sweeping the bus he had to have
been 15y (freshman). He looked totally bored, uninterested & humiliated. He
looked just like my 13y old does when I make her clean her bathroom.
I thought I was over reacting, and that show made me think I am expecting
WAY too much from my daughter. This show kinda showed my worst fears of
Krystins teen years.
I don't think I will try to watch the whole show. Maybe my kids did me a
huge favor pulling me away from it. I was VERY depressed with what I saw. I
doesn't sound like it got much better.
Sandra
Bruce Harper
wrote:
> Pat was right, there were very few smiles, only when he was allowed to be
> 'playful'. It just seemed like there was a lot of stuff put on that kid,
> and it was fairly clear that he would not be able to live a fully indepent
> life, so what's the harm in letting him have some fun? But like Pat said,
> there was a lot of editing, maybe they edited out all the fun?!
Well, there was a specific message to the film, so yes, a lot of fun was
edited out.
We watched "Graduating Peter" with great interest since my oldest son
was in Martha Ann Stalling's third grade class when "Educating Peter"
was filmed. My wife (a special ed teacher by training) taught (and still
is teaching) fifth grade at Gilbert Linkous Elementary School.
Blacksburg is a small town, so staying in contact with Peter and his
family is pretty easy. My middle son is a soccer player, so he also
had direct contact with Peter through the Blacksburg High School
soccer team.
It was sad watching the film last night, especially knowing more of
the story than was being shown. Peter had a group of kids from
GLE from third, fourth, and fifth grade who knew how to deal with
him and be friends with him. Unfortunately, this group was not
kept as together as it could have been when they all moved to
middle school. Despite Peter's success at GLE, there were (and
still are) folks in Montgomery County who have resisted inclusion.
Had Judy not been as proactive as she was, her son probably wouldn't
have made it as far as he did.
The comment about a lot being done for Peter also is true (at least as
it was shown in the film). That was one thing my wife noticed right
away, that in a lot of instances no one waited for Peter to answer when
he was asked a question -- a lot of times the person asking the question
or prompting for info would go ahead and provide the answer.
The aides Peter had also made a difference. The one who probably
was the best and who did the most (mainly because he talked to
and not at Peter and made him respond) was Chris, his eighth
grade aide. It has never been clear why Chris didn't continue with
Peter into high school (Chris wanted to), but it might have made things
a little different.
It is too bad that the film didn't allow time to show more activities
outside school. Peter was in the Boy Scouts and active in the
troop through middle school. He participated in troop meetings
and some of the activities (he and his mom came canoing on a
two-day trip down the James River and he did fine).
It would have been nice to see more of the interaction with the
soccer team, too. Peter's older brother was a star player for
Blacksburg High School (and was killed in a car accident in Florida
just before the Academy Award announcement for "Educating
Peter"). The family has stayed connected with the soccer program
(Frank is the PA announcer for all the home games). Since Peter
is not in school full-time now, he is no longer the manager of the team
and will be missed by the boys who had a chance to interact with him.
He truly was a part of the team and was right in the middle of the
celebration last spring when Blacksburg won its seventh state
championship.
The soccer players all treated Peter with dignity and respect. They
occasionally would get frustrated with him when his mischevious
side came out. Peter would latch onto stray pieces of equipment
that were laying around, so if a boy put down his shin guards to
warm up, he might have to search for them if Peter spotted them.
Some of the scenes in the middle school showed some of the kids
who were in Mrs. Stalling's class, but it was disappointing that they
were not included more in the wrap-up, commenting on what had
happened and what had changed since that year. Those kids
are sophomores in college now; "Educating Peter" had a big
impact on their lives (although quite a bit of that is probably
buried in their psyche and they couldn't put a finger on it). The
graduation scene in the film didn't do justice to the event, Burruss
Auditorium on the Virginia Tech campus filled to its 3,000-seat
capacity and everyone cheering when Peter's name was announced.
The timing of editing and release probably didn't leave room for
one last follow-up mention, but the Roanoke Times has a positive
article about where Peter is now -- living away from home and
working in Blacksburg. See the article from Jan. 19 at
http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story143140.html
(but look quick, since they drop into a for-pay archive after
two weeks).
Bruce in Blacksburg
--
Bruce Harper
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg Virginia
bharper at vt.edu
Misty Brown
the documentary synopsis, Peter's mom talks about the good and the bad Peter
went through, the people that liked him or disrespected him, the hardships
of being different, but the main thing is showing how all kids with
disabilities can be included and how important it is to have good people
there to help when parents can't be there. The director says when Peter got
to middle school and High school, he went through all the emotions and
challenges that a regular kid went through. This was through his eyes. By
middle school he knew he was different, and it was a difficult time, but by
the time he went to High school his world was opening up and he was
included in anything he chose to be. We know as parents that our kids lives
will include some of what we saw, disability or not. I appreciated the film,
and what the message says. Today Peter is living on his own, and is still
changing and growing. At least he got to experience the very same things
that his brothers and sisters did, and that's what his parents really wanted
for him.
Sandra Dodd
old is peter now? is he really living on his own?
sandy
Misty Brown
Educating Peter and Graduating Peter. It was a small short film, but then
the director returned when he went to 6th grade and filmed him on through
his graduation.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandra Dodd" <sd...@TELCORDIA.COM>
To: <DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 11:12 AM
Subject: Re: HBO's graduating Peter
Sandra Dodd
well.
>Well, there was a specific message to the film, so yes, a lot of fun was
>edited out.
i'm not sure i can understand what the specific message was! what would
you say it was?
>It was sad watching the film last night, especially knowing more of
>the story than was being shown. Peter had a group of kids from
>GLE from third, fourth, and fifth grade who knew how to deal with
>him and be friends with him.
it was sad for me, too. and i was left thinking if the message was more
clear maybe i could feel differently. i truly had a hard time forming my
own opinion if it was "worth it" or if it could have or should have been
done differently - they didn't show us enough of the right stuff for me to
feel settled.
>Despite Peter's success at GLE, there were (and
>still are) folks in Montgomery County who have resisted inclusion.
>Had Judy not been as proactive as she was, her son probably wouldn't
>have made it as far as he did.
i felt judy had put much effort into making these arrangements - and i
wondered how much of the meetings they had to edit out! the film did not
capture her struggles with administration, policies, decisions, etc. - do
you know how difficult this area was for her?
>The aides Peter had also made a difference. The one who probably
>was the best and who did the most (mainly because he talked to
>and not at Peter and made him respond) was Chris, his eighth
>grade aide. It has never been clear why Chris didn't continue with
>Peter into high school (Chris wanted to), but it might have made things
>a little different.
i liked this aide the best too, based on what they showed. sounds like
more of a story if chris had wanted to continue with peter but did
not...the aide can make or break a situation, as many of us know.
>Peter's older brother was a star player for
>Blacksburg High School (and was killed in a car accident in Florida
>just before the Academy Award announcement for "Educating
>Peter").
where was this tragedy in relation to peter's depression, etc.? (i was
wondering if his depression may have been due to his school situation at
least in part, but now hearing of the loss of his brother sheds more light
on things.) - how sad.
>Some of the scenes in the middle school showed some of the kids
>who were in Mrs. Stalling's class, but it was disappointing that they
>were not included more in the wrap-up, commenting on what had
>happened and what had changed since that year.
i think it would have helped *me* come to some conclusions about the film!
i was left wondering "how did they feel?" - they didn't seem to care one
way or another if peter was around.
>The
>graduation scene in the film didn't do justice to the event, Burruss
>Auditorium on the Virginia Tech campus filled to its 3,000-seat
>capacity and everyone cheering when Peter's name was announced.
it sounds like a very touching moment...thanks for sharing all this with us.
sandy
Kathy Mackey
vtwe...@HOTMAIL.COM writes:
<< See the article from Jan. 19 at
http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story143140.html
(but look quick, since they drop into a for-pay archive after
two weeks). >>
Thanks Bruce. I feel much better after reading your post and the newspaper
article.
Kathy, Liam's mom (4 1/2)
Bruce Harper
sd...@TELCORDIA.COM (Sandra Dodd) wrote:
> thank you bruce for lots of info - i just read the newspaper article as
> well.
>
> >Well, there was a specific message to the film, so yes, a lot of fun was
> >edited out.
>
> i'm not sure i can understand what the specific message was! what would
> you say it was?
I think the way things were set up with shot selections, conversations
with Judy, and some of the meetings, the message was about the
trials of dealing with "the system" as a parent and the problems
Peter was having in the transition to/through middle school.
I'm not sure about other places, but Blacksburg Middle School is
sort of a "black hole" here. There is just something about the place,
in combination with that age child, that makes it a downer. A lot of
parents are just glad to get their kids through those three years and
moved into the high school. We had our share of frustrations with
two boys who survived their sentence there; it will be interesting
next year when son #3 enters sixth grade.
> i felt judy had put much effort into making these arrangements - and i
> wondered how much of the meetings they had to edit out! the film did not
> capture her struggles with administration, policies, decisions, etc. - do
> you know how difficult this area was for her?
Not personally, but the film did show some of the problems.
> >Peter's older brother was a star player for
> >Blacksburg High School (and was killed in a car accident in Florida
> >just before the Academy Award announcement for "Educating
> >Peter").
>
> where was this tragedy in relation to peter's depression, etc.? (i was
> wondering if his depression may have been due to his school situation at
> least in part, but now hearing of the loss of his brother sheds more light
> on things.) - how sad.
His brother was struck by a car and killed when Peter was in fourth
grade, just before the Oscar award was announced. It was a tough
time for those involved, knowing that the Gwazdauskas family was
dealing with the loss of one child at the same time there was great
excitement about the Oscar and the imminent release of "Educating
Peter."
> >Some of the scenes in the middle school showed some of the kids
> >who were in Mrs. Stalling's class, but it was disappointing that they
> >were not included more in the wrap-up, commenting on what had
> >happened and what had changed since that year.
>
> i think it would have helped *me* come to some conclusions about the film!
> i was left wondering "how did they feel?" - they didn't seem to care one
> way or another if peter was around.
Blacksburg Middle School operates on the team concept -- two or four
teachers form a team and a class-size group of students is assigned
to each teacher. That team is then together for all subjects except
specialties like PE. For whatever reason, when the teams are formed
there doesn't seem to be much rational to how kids are placed. Four
(now five) elementary schools feed into BMS and team placement
seems to be a directed randomness. Instead of keeping kids from the
same elementary school somewhat together so there is some familiarity
in a new situation, there seems to be an effort to really mix up groups.
Despite having 24,000 college students at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg is
still pretty much a small town and enforced mixed isn't something that
needs to be done. But like I said before, BMS is kind of a black hole.
Had more of the kids from GLE been kept with Peter, it might have been
different. But the only time teams mixed was at lunch, and kids pretty
much stayed within their own groups.
> >The
> >graduation scene in the film didn't do justice to the event, Burruss
> >Auditorium on the Virginia Tech campus filled to its 3,000-seat
> >capacity and everyone cheering when Peter's name was announced.
>
> it sounds like a very touching moment...thanks for sharing all this with us.
Going though high school graduation for the first time is an experience;
knowing that a special time with a child is in for a major change while
at the same time bursting with pride at the accomplishment of a
milestone. Knowing what Peter had gone though to reach the milestone
of walking across the stage with the kids he started with in third grade
really struck everyone and the cheering reflects that.
If you go to the HBO web site (http://www.hbo.com) and follow the links
to Documentaries, then to the "Graduating Peter" site, you will find a
video showing him moving into his new home, an interview with Gerry
(the producer) and other information that presents a little bit more of
an upbeat picture than what the film showed.
High school soccer season will be starting soon and Blacksburg will be
looking for a repeat of its state championship. Frank Gwazdauskas will
be in the booth, announcing the lineups and pushing the goodies in the
concession stand. Although he isn't team manager this year, I expect
that Peter will be at the games, hanging with his friends on the team.
It would be hard to imagine a soccer season without him around.
Sandra Dodd
>to Documentaries, then to the "Graduating Peter" site, you will find a
>video showing him moving into his new home, an interview with Gerry
>(the producer) and other information that presents a little bit more of
>an upbeat picture than what the film showed.
>
teachers who are taking a class on inclusion. they watched educating peter
earlier this week in class, and will watch graduating peter soon. they are
very interested and i am sure they will value the extra information you
pointed me to.
they are working hard to make inclusion work for erick - its a new
situation for all involved - and we are looking forward to chatting about
the two "peter" stories soon!
sandy
Lori
My son, Evan, just turned 15 this week. His life is definately full of
laughter and fun! There are hard times also, but the joy is what gets
him and us through it all. He goes to our church school and has a good
group of friends. We do find, however, that we need to help them
connect with Evan (and vice-versa). This is getting better though as
time goes on.
Evan is being trained in job skills now and finds a real sense of
accomplishment in this area. He cleans the meal area at our church
daycare after the kids have lunch. He has done better than we thought
he would at this! He also helps in our school cafeteria. He is such a
people person that he really looks forward to the work. Of course, he
does have his stubborn moments but usually does a great job.
We have discovered long ago that the key to motivating Evan was to
keep him around people. If separated from them, he just doesn't do as
well. He works better at anything, studies, work skills, etc. if he is
around people. Working alone or just in a room with an aide (no matter
how good the aide is) just depresses him.
At times we do have to remind Evan's teachers and aides to make sure
he feels included and is not isolated from his peers. At the moment,
we are in the process of re-arranging some of what Evan is doing at
school, as he has been experiencing some anger and frustration. I
think some of this is raging hormones and we are having to help him
adjust to adolesence. We are fortunate to work with people and a
school that is more flexible than most so that is a huge plus. A lot
of schools want to just put our kids in a box, literally and
figuratively, and not adjust to help them.
I too am hoping that the "fun" was edited out for whatever bizarre
reason. Just remember to keep laughter and joy in your family and it
will help no matter what happens. When Ev was 3, I never thought his
life would be as good as it is now, even though that doesn't mean it
is smooth as silk or perfect! But overall, he is usually happy and is
always the joy of our life.
Lori
lar...@SBCGLOBAL.NET (laroze) wrote in message news:<000801c2c226$ca2abee0$3c0e9a40@SandraLaRose>...
Jessica Powell
a negative impact on your daughter. I am from Canada and I know that the
schools here focus on curriculum as well as life skills. I am almost done
school now and I am going to be a teacher's assistant. I have worked with
many children who have Down Syndrome. The capabilities of these children are
endless. The children have a great time at school. Infact they hate to go
home. They get such a kick out of coming to school and having a good time
that at the end of the day all they can talk about is coming back to school
tomorrow. Fridays the children get really upset because they don't get to
see their friends until Monday. We have the children in an inclusive setting
so that they are hanging out with children their own age and feeling very
much included. I hope that there are schools out there in your area that
will offer this type of program. I look forward to hearing more of your
stories and I hope that all goes well.
Jessica (student) Ontario, Canada
>From: Lori <lfo...@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
>Reply-To: Down Syndrome <DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
>To: DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU
>Subject: Re: HBO's graduating Peter
_________________________________________________________________
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Amy D
Just curious....what were the ages of the children that you worked with?
Were these young kids that loved school so much, or older, high school kids?
I'm just so pleased to hear about such positive experiences...
Amy
Jessica Powell
High School children seemed to have appreciated it much more . They loved
hanging out with eachother and hated to go home. The other girl that I
worked with is in grade five. She seems to connect more with her Educational
Assistant rather than the other children. Once the other students reach High
School they are more accepting of Down Syndrome. It seems that the younger
students shy away a bit. The girl that I worked with that was in grade five
does have a couple of friends she plays with on the playground. I am
extremely hopeful that the Boards of Education will continue to become more
knowledgeable and will hopefully have more integration in the future.
>From: Amy D <aj5...@YAHOO.COM>
>Reply-To: Down Syndrome <DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
>To: DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU
>Subject: Re: HBO's graduating Peter
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Denise
Kathy Mackey
jessicap...@MSN.COM writes:
<< . Once the other students reach High
School they are more accepting of Down Syndrome. It seems that the younger
students shy away a bit. >>
Forgive me for repeating myself to the rest of the list, but my favorite
inclusion story is about my niece Caitlin. When Liam was born she was 8
years old. When she heard he had DS, she said, "Oh, Down syndrome. He can
come to my school. Some of the kids in my class have it." Then she went
back to her coloring. No big deal for her. So sometimes younger kids are
just fine with it, if they start off learning alongside other kids. Now at
13, she doesn't remember saying it, but I always will.
Amy D
Here's a link to the HBO page that lists the show times for Graduating
Peter. If the link doesn't work for you, just go to hbo.com, click on
'documentaries', then 'recent', and you will see the Graduating Peter show
times. Hope this helps.
http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&ID=551
89
Mark & Lisa Neely
can go to hbo.com and they should have a listing of times.
Lisa
Wildwards
> School they are more accepting of Down Syndrome. It seems that the younger
> students shy away a bit. >>
OUr experience (my daughter is 20) was that in elementary kids were great,
middle school the worse, and high school great.
Cheryl in VA
Caleb Hostetter
lot of criticism and putting down of each other. Anyway you look at
it--it's wrong, but I believe at that age the kids are struggling to figure
what's going on within themselves. It does get better in high school.
My 14 yo with ds is happy in middle school and he is well accepted in the
classes in which he is included in regular ed. Those classes are P.E.,
Music, Leadership, Art, and Computers. The P. E. teacher (who hadn't had ds
kids in class before) told me that she was amazed how well the kids included
Josiah in the games, made allowances for him, and always cheered for him to
score, etc.
Have a blessed day!
Shirley
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wildwards" <wild...@AOL.COM>
To: <DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 5:11 AM
Subject: Re: HBO's graduating Peter
Anna Baglaneas
school system has been since kindergarten. It still amazes everyday how
incredible the kids are to him, he has never been made fun of, the kids
support and help him to an amazing degree. He attends regular classes with
an aide in addition to art, gym, technology etc and though functions well
below grade level the kids are always entusiatic about helping him out, he
attends the middle school dances and has a blast. he never sits alone at
lunch, he never sits on the sidelines wondering if he'll be included he
knows that the kids will include him because he has never known anything but
kindness and caring from them. At the suggestion of his gym teacher he
played intramural indoor soccer this past fall - I would have signed him up
but I thought the kids might get annoyed to have him on their team becaseu
he can't play very well - it's just the opposite they love having him there
and if he gets in their way they just go around him - no big deal to them.
Last year on Field day he did a karaoke number with the gym teacher and his
science teacher - the audience (made up of middle schoolers) went crazy
chanting his name he felt like a superstar, later that day the gym teacher
put him on the Staff team against the 6th gradeers in basketball he made 3
baskets the entire gym was stomping their feet cheering his name - a
secreatry from the school called me in tears to tell me - she was so moved
by all of it. I feel treuly blessed to live in this community. I'm so glad
we went for all out inclusion for our son.
Anna
Donna Duffey
so is your community for having your son give them such a wonderful
gift!! This is a perfect example of how when inclusion works,
everyone becomes the better for it. Thanks for sharing.
Donna
the audience (made up of middle schoolers) went
> crazychanting his name he felt like a superstar, later that day
Jessica Powell
>From: Wildwards <wild...@AOL.COM>
>Reply-To: Down Syndrome <DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
>To: DOWN...@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU
>Subject: Re: HBO's graduating Peter
>Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 11:11:02 GMT
>
> ><< . Once the other students reach High
> > School they are more accepting of Down Syndrome. It seems that the
>younger
> > students shy away a bit. >>
>
>OUr experience (my daughter is 20) was that in elementary kids were great,
>middle school the worse, and high school great.
>Cheryl in VA
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