As this year’s high school seniors prepare for their next exciting adventure in life, many young people with developmental disabilities are being forced out of school into a barren wasteland of increasingly scarce opportunities and resources. Educational services end at age 21, regardless of one’s capacity for independent living.
Yes, there are government programs to support people with developmental disabilities, but these are poorly funded and far too complex for many families to effectively navigate. A huge percentage of individuals theoretically eligible for these services are unable to access them, thus condemning them to unproductive, disconnected and depressing existences sitting at home (if they are lucky enough to have one) in front of a television.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Educational programs have enabled many of these individuals to live rich, productive, connected and happy lives. They have been part of nurturing and growth-producing communities. What sense does it make to take this away from them simply because they turn 21?
John Dewey described education as a process of living, a way of life, and not just a preparation for future living. For students with developmental disabilities, education is about present quality of life. And quality of life does not cease to be important after the age of 21.
Why not make our Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) a subsidiary of our Department of Education to create a seamless transition to life after 21 for these young people? Funding could shift toward federal sources at that age, and no one would drop through the cracks and wind up consigned to the dustbin of society.
Jim Strickland
Teacher, Life Skills Program
Marysville Pilchuck High School
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