Disability inclusion

Three Tennessee high school graduates with disabilities required to sit in audience at commencement

As a high school graduate myself, the thought of missing out on the opportunity to walk the stage and receive my diploma with my classmates is unfathomable. Graduation is a momentous occasion, a culmination of years of hard work and dedication, and it is a time for celebration and recognition. So, when I came across the news of three Tennessee high school graduates with disabilities who were required to sit in the audience at their commencement ceremony, my heart sank.

These students, who had worked just as hard as their peers to reach this milestone, were denied the chance to fully participate in their graduation.… Continue reading

Lake Worth-area private school cancels Autism Awareness Week after pastor calls it ‘demonic’

As a parent of an autistic child, it is extremely disheartening to hear about the recent incident at a Lake Worth-area private school where Autism Awareness Week was canceled after a pastor deemed it ‘demonic’. The level of ignorance and discrimination displayed in the pastor’s email is truly shocking and unacceptable. The pastor’s statements about Autism Awareness Week being idolatrous and demonic because it supposedly takes away from Jesus are not only misguided but also harmful.

The pastor’s narrow-minded view that anything that teaches children to have their identity in anything other than Christ is demonic is not only a dangerous mindset but also a form of religious extremism.… Continue reading