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People with disabilities want to be treated like everyone else
July 20th, 2010
Children are children, and all children like to have fun. That’s the message that organizations that serve the disabled want the public to know. Their goal is that no child feels left out because he or she has a physical or developmental disability. Seventeen-year-old Zachary Zerone is impressive on baseball field, and he knows it.
“Got two trophies, swing hard, hit hard, and I run as fast as I can,” Zachary said.
Zachary is part of Biloxi’s Challenger League. The program is open to people of all ages with mental and physical disabilities free of charge. The city also offers soccer, basketball, a summer camp and more.
Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Cheryl Bell said, “I’ve always had the concept that I think they need to be involved like anybody else. The only difference is their disability.”
That message is important to Bell as the parent of a disabled child.
Bell said, “They want you out there everyday playing, everyday. They enjoy this.”
Shirley Lovelace is a team coach and a life skills teacher for special needs students at St. Martin High School.
“I think services are wonderful at this point,” Lovelace said. “I’ve been teaching special needs for 31 years, so I’ve seen it come full circle. From total exclusion to now moving toward total inclusion. It’s come the full circle.”
Janie O’Keefe remembers what disabled children faced just a few decades ago. When her daughter Kelly was born 1978, doctors weren’t optimistic about her quality of life.
“They actually gave me the diagnosis to take her home and love her. There’s nothing you can do,” said O’Keefe. ”Even the doctors were not encouraging an active life with her, so it was depressing.”
O’Keefe’s frustration finding recreational and educational activities for her daughter eventually led to the creation of Disability Connection. The non-profit organization has a board and is made up of two dozen organization that serve the disabled.
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