The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD), the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) have come together again to plan a campaign for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month 2018! The goal for this month is to create awareness about developmental disabilities, teach the importance of inclusion within every aspect of life, and to share the stories of individuals with a disability to show that a successful life is possible!
For March 1-9, the focus is Education - "See Me As Your Classmate"
The following story is written by De'onte Brown, IDEAL student at GSU.
My name is De'onte Brown, and I am part of the IDEAL program at Georgia State University. Before this, I was in the special education program. When I was in high school, I wanted to go to a “regular” math class, so I begged my teacher constantly to let me go. She finally let me go, and she was so impressed with what I was doing in that class that she put me in a higher class. She was not expecting me to do that well in this class, but I surprised her and did very well. I was doing so well that other students in the class came to me for help, and I was tutoring them. I want people to know that, although you may be in a special education program and some people may judge you for it, you may end up surprising people when they give you a chance. It even shocked me when my teachers told me that I had the highest grade point average in the class.