Inclusion works!

By Joisy Sarao

When you think of your kid’s future, the last thing you want is for the road to be difficult, not only for your kids, but for yourself too. However, being a parent of a child with a disability, chances are things will get difficult at times. For our family the special education class option was hard to accept when the time for school finally arrived, and we were willing to support Violeta as much as we could for her to succeed, and we have big dreams for her. After being part of support groups, trainings, and the NWDSA, we thought we were ready. But the first day of school came and Violeta was assigned to a special education classroom, since the school district we belong to didn’t have an inclusive program for her. At first, we were a little devastated. We thought we were not doing enough to advocate for her so she could be part of an inclusive program. We wanted her school life to begin in an inclusive setting, but it wasn’t like that. So we put all our efforts to make the change and make sure there was an inclusive option for her. Thanks to the support of NWDSA/ABI, and to our vision for her to belong and be part of inclusion this new school year, Violeta is part of one of the first inclusive programs in our district. It wasn’t easy, but thanks to all the support from other parents in our community and our vision for her success, we’ve made it happen and it has been so beneficial for her and her classmates.