Disabled have rights

Speaker says government support needed

Becky Gabriel / staff photographer Connie Garner expressed concern that many teachers don't know how to educate students with disabilities during her speech in Taylor Hall Thursday.

In recognition of Disability Awareness Week, the Council for Exceptional Children sponsored a speaker from the Legislation for Disabilities in Washington, D.C. in Taylor Hall Thursday.

"No one in this country ever expects it to happen to them,," said Connie Garner, advocate for disabilites awareness under Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy. "I have seen too many mothers expect to give birth to the Gerber baby only to find out their child has a disability."

According to Garner, who has college degrees in nursing, pediatrics and psychology, there are too many special education children in the United States that don't get the schooling they need to succeed in life.

"The United States mandates hospitals to resuscitate and keep mentally retarded and disabled children alive by any means necessary, but where is the government and state when these kids are 7, 8 and 9 years old?" Garner said.

Freshman Heather Huran said of Garner, "She's amazing. She saw something she wanted changed and did it."

Garner said she built her way up from being a happy "soccer mom" of seven children to working beside Kennedy and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Garner said, "Hillary is as tough as nails. She is bright, strong and sharp." Garner said of her work on Clinton's Health Care Plan as part of the children's task force, "Out of all my experiences, this was one I will never forget."

Garner not only fights for "special" children, she is also the mother of one. Her daughter, Ashley, is 15 years old and was born mildly retarded. "It's a very emotional issue," Garner said. It was after the birth of her daughter and working as a nurse that Garner decided to go back to school and pursue public policy while working full time.

Freshman Jenn Cicia said, "It is interesting for me as a SPED (Special Education) major. My cousin is mentally retarded, so I was able to relate to what she was saying."

According to Garner, many teachers in both private and public schools systems are not trained to handle children with mental retardation and so these kids are forced out. "SPED children need to be and feel like part of their neighborhood, not separated," if they are ever going to progress, according to Garner.

There have been incidents in Mississippi where teachers were caught on video duct taping mentally retarded children to chairs because they were not educated on how to discipline and work with these students, Garner said.

One of the latest Health Care bills Garner worked to pass, under the direction of Kennedy, addressed this issue. It has helped 2.3 million disabled people obtain jobs since 2000 and funded proper training courses for teachers, according to Garner.

She advised students in the SPED field to intern and get as much personal experience as possible. "There's a whole world out there, and you can be what you want to be. You can make a difference. We need good people out there."