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the families of 12 particular students.
While the Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act the rights of youth with disabilities to participate in public programs including elementary and secondary schooling, it does not hold true past graduation.
Paras Shah, a Huffington Post contributor, says that as a child, he always looked forward to August.
As a legally blind student, the first day of school offered him an opportunity to be like the other children in his class.
However, before the Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District case, the standards and goals established by the public school system for each child with a disability were low.
i. Serving on the other side of the bridge
“We do not live in a world that is divided into a typical world and a disabled world.” –Autism Speaks
Hidden in the hills of Laurel, Maryland, an abandoned institution sits after having housed Washington D.C. residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities for 66 years.
Reporter Martin Austermuhle looked into the history of Forest Haven and uncovered the lawsuit that led to its closure.
After closing its doors in 1991, people with disabilities now live amongst the rest of the community, representing the process of integration from isolation to inclusion.
“You need consistent leadership so that you have someone saying, ‘No, we have to get this done,” says Joe Tulman, the attorney for the plaintiffs of the case.
Similary in another article, Margaret Lee Thompson knew that her son born with Down syndrome had the ability to work after high school, but finding a job for him was hard.
Not accepting the common fate of many young adults with disabilities, Thompson organized a group of parents to raise awareness, eventually pitching a plan to a congressman who secured her son a job with Microsoft.
“Thompson says it gave him a sense of purpose he many not otherwise have had,” says Austermuhle.
Much like Thompson’s son, many young adults with disabilities in Auburn and Opelika were left with nothing to do after high school graduation.
“During the day their parents were trying to piece together things for them to do that would resemble a program that would keep them healthy and well and academically involved and work on life skill development because there was nothing in the Auburn area,” Werner says.
One of the main premises of BCPP is to create a purpose through community service and support.
By doing this, the participants are able to use their skillsets and talents to serve others.
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ii. Building healthy lifestyles
Today, according to Forbes, America spends $200 billion a year on disability benefits.
While many Americans who claim disability are not disabled, Medicare benefits have increased and taxpayers are paying more as a result.
A healthy lifestyle is important for all people, but it is more imperative for those with disabilities due to being susceptive to specific risks including injury, the common cold and obesity, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
To combat this, BCPP incorporates a dynamic health and wellness program into their curriculum that additionally furthers their main goal of inclusion.
Intern Bailey Cofield says that the morning and afternoon walks have led to meeting many new friends and forming new relationships in addition to instilling exercise into the BCPP students’ daily schedules.
“People with disabilities need health care and health programs for the same reasons anyone else does—to stay well, active and a part of the community,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
In a Star Tribune article called “Inclusion Pays Off,” Chris Serres discusses how improvements of health in people with disabilities aid in inclusion, specifically in the workplace.
Vermont leads the nation in workplace inclusion with nearly 40 percent of their citizens with disabilities working alongside other people in the community, Serres says.
The article explains that 90 percent of students who participate in college with developmental disabilities and receive mentoring from fellow students who attend classes with them and connect them with campus activities find jobs in the community upon graduation.
Kate Daly, 29, who has Down syndrome, earned a certificate in business and now works as the front desk manager at a health and wellness studio with the help of a state funded monitor.
“Now, I have a dream job,” she says to Serres.
Since 2005, Vermonters have paid $11.9 million in payroll taxes, but the health and inclusion initiatives have paid off by reducing outlays on Social Security disability and other entitlements by $5.5 million.
“The notion of inclusion appeals to just about everyone, regardless of their political stripes,” says Elizabeth Sightler, executive director of Champlain Community Service in Colchester.
In October, BCPP partnered with the Auburn University Bookstore during Auburn’s Beat Bama Food Drive.
One dressed up as a doctor and another a princess, each participant walked through campus “trick-or-treating.”
However, they were asking the pre-arranged sites for cans rather than candy.
Pulling behind decorated wagons, the participants collected and donated 1600 pounds of food.
Designed to be a mutually beneficial experience for both the participants and the Auburn community, BCPP students wrote individual ‘thank you’ notes to the people who donated the cans, furthering their place and purpose within society.
Similarly at Christmas, the students donated 101 toys to the Auburn fire station for the Toys for Tots holiday drive, which gives the toys to children in foster care in Lee County.
For the teens in foster care and other various organizations in the community, the students donated blankets.
“We as a university have such a heart for service,” Werner says, referencing the portion of the Auburn Unversitycreed that elaborates on the importance of the human touch.
At BCPP, the students, although most have experienced being served by the community, have the opportunity to serve those who have in the past served them.
BCPP Students dress up for Halloween, collecting cans along the way on Auburn's campus. Photo courtesy of BCPP
1600 pounds of food
101 toys
100 blankets
s high school graduation approached, their classmates began to talk about colleges and careers, many looking forward to the day that they would move out of their parents’ homes, but the conversations grew dim amongst
By providing specific snacks throughout the day and serving water instead of high calorie drinks, Leonard has lost almost 40 pounds, says her mother.
“If she were at home, she would eat all day long just because it was available,” says Katy Leonard.
As a group, the students and volunteers take daily walks throughout Auburn University's campus, Magnolia Avenue and South College Street.
Many days they average between two and three miles, usually at a 22-minute pace.
With the walks, the students participate in the everyday bustle of the community, add exercise into their daily routine and serve as a reminder of inclusion for the people that they interact with.
iii. Bridging the divide with inclusion
“For me, inclusion is about a community where everyone is recognized for their differences and everyone is recognized as belonging—not only in our schools, but in our communities,” says doctor Joseph Petner on the Autism Speaks inclusion document.
Sitting at her computer after Donald Trump’s inauguration, New York Times reporter Melissa Blake stares at the blank screen that was once the disability page on the presidential website.
Today, the website is being updated and references visitors to an “Obama Archive,” but Blake describes her feelings in that moment as a “tiny voice” that rehearsed the thought, “you don’t matter.”
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In her article “Disabled, Shunned and Silenced,” Blake discusses this feeling of unworthiness that she has faced her whole life as a person with a disability.
“It’s the one that has made me question my worth and my place in society,” she says. “You’re not a person.”
During campaigning, Blake believes that Americans with disabilities were not one of Trump's concerns, referencing the instance in which he mocked a disabled reporter.
As a reporter in a wheelchair, she can relate.
In another New York Times article, Jay Ruckelshaus, a reporter with disabilities, elaborates on the idea that denouncing Trump will not help disability rights.
He believes that the issue is pro-disabled political general agreement with its logic rooted in aversion of disability rather than a deep belief in the equal worth of all citizens.
“This is related to the charity impulse that has always surrounded disability—and has constrained liberation efforts by assuming that inequalities are unfortunate but natural realities to be mitigated through compassion, rather than politically structured injustices,” Ruckelshaus says.
Rather than waiting for the political climate to change with new policies and activity, organizations such as BCPP have taken it upon themselves to provide an inclusive environment for people with disabilities.
volunteers for a specific amount of time.
“We’re constantly looking for sponsors, because part of our goal goes with the Auburn University mission to increase diversity and inclusion and truly become an inclusive environment,” Werner tells the Plainsman.
Student athletes from Auburn’s Women’s Soccer team provided volunteers though the sponsorship.
“They were all so excited to see us every Wednesday morning even though we were only there for about 45 minutes,” soccer player Samantha Solaru says.
Each week, a group of seven or eight players would bring a bag of soccer balls and a couple of pop up goals, she says.
“The first week everyone was pretty shy, but by our last week, everyone participated and looked forward to our mornings together,” says Solaru.
The students quickly became friends with the players, even calling them by first name. Solaru says that she often sees some of the students in downtown Auburn, and they catch up.
“I just think it’s a great program for integrating students and the Braveheart kids,” she says. “And introducing sports is fun in any situation, I think.”
“I have accepted a job in Birmingham as a job coach at a non-profit for people with disabilities,” Bridges says.
Equipped now with her experience at BCPP, Bridges will be able to help connect people with disabilities to services in their community, empowering them to live full and meaningful lives, according their mission statement.
Additionally, BCPP is continually looking for more sectors for inclusion. For instance, they hosts events like art exhibits that feature the students’ work and monthly movie events.
Once a month, or twice on some occasions, the students host their own movie theatre that is free to the general public.
In the First Presbyterian Church of Auburn, the BCPP students act as the cashiers, ticket distributors and collectors, as well as concession workers.
Similarly, in Salt Lake City, Utah, reporter Don Hudson describes a pilot program that helps teens with disabilities through vocational training.
“They are learning how to appropriately dress for an interview. They are learning about things like paychecks,” Nicole Fraedrich of the Utah Division of Rehabilitation Services tells Hudson.
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On the flier that showcases the BCPP students’ poster for their last movie, including individual photos with each student in movie theatre attendant attire, it reads, “Our Place to Belong.”
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CPP’s community inclusion program allows Auburn University students to provide “sponsorships,” which allow organizations to commit
purpose among the students with disabilities through internships.
Intern Samantha Bridges is a veteran around the 12 BCPP students.
At age 15, she became a camp counselor at a summer camp most of the students attended.
After participating in BCPP’s sister program, Expressions of a Braveheart, Bridges knew that she wanted to be an intern in “a place that was fun and energetic.”
Her role at BCPP is to plan fun and exciting events for the students to do in the community and on campus.
“My personal goal was to get BCPP on the map,” she says. “I wanted people to know who we are and what we do.”
Several things that she has planned include a Jordan-Hare Stadium tour, an Auburn campus tour, a theater tour and a trip to University Donut Company.
“I have had to go out of comfort zone and learn how to better communicate with people to achieve my goal of getting the word out about BCPP,” Bridges says.
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dditionally, BCPP creates an atmosphere for Auburn students to find their own place and
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ot only has participation with BCPP allowed her to benefit the students, but she has also found her purpose within the program.
Just as the Utah program and BCPP bridge the divide through preparation and skill learning, the newly chosen Miss Auburn promotes inclusion on Auburn’s campus.
Ashley Moates attributes her desire for an inclusive campus to her sister Anna, who has Down syndrome.
“She has taught me so much about love, patience and determination through how she lives her daily life,” Moates says. “She has inspired not only my career in wanting to become a Speech Language Pathologist so I can help others like Anna gain the ability to better communicate, but how I live daily in my attempts to always be inclusive and welcoming to others who may have different challenges than me.”
During her campaign for Miss Auburn, her platform was “Dream Big With Ashley,” which provides opportunities for dreams to come true on Auburn’s campus for people with disabilities.
In the Foy ballroom, participants took to the stage to showcase their talents during the Amazing Auburn program.
“It was held not only to give our participants more opportunities on Auburn’s campus, but also to help increase interactions students have with people with disabilities on Auburn’s campus,” she says.
The program’s goal was to show Auburn students that disabilities do not define people through a spirit portion, featuring Auburn’s mascot Aubie, talent portion and evening wear portion.
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nclusion teaches everyone in the classroom to accept students with disabilities and value their contributions, adapt to challenges and celebrate strengths,” says Maureen Rich Wallace, a mother to a son with Down syndrome.
In her article for Bright Reads, she describes the importance of inclusive classrooms for students with disabilities.
However, her theory goes hand-in-hand with BCPP’s goal of inclusion as a belief, not an action.
Cofield, a BCPP intern, says that her favorite way to watch Auburn provide an inclusive environment is through their daily wellness walks.
“My focus was to become a better leader,” she says.
Cofield credits Burque for her success, specifically allowing her to be able to infuse her own interests while developing activities for the students.
While BCPP is not college, it serves as a place for the 12 students to continue their education and further their social skills.
Many of the students have been with each other in the public school system, and BCPP allows them a place to stay connected.
Additionally, BCPP provides an opportunity for the students to continue practicing their basic living skills, such as talking about the weather and date, reading and writing, working on their fine motor skills and participating in activities like counting money.
While many of the life challenges faced by the students will enable them from participation in the adult community, BCPP serves as a place for them to follow an “almost typical” step in their stage of life, giving them a purpose and providing them a place in the Auburn Family.
BCPP serves as a place for them to follow an "almost typical" step in their stage of life, giving them a purpose and including them in the auburn family.
Ashley Moates and her sister, Anna, as well as the Amazing Auburn Program
BCPP students and volunteers sit in front of Samford Hall.
Students and a volunteer link together on their daily walk.
2.92 miles
BCPP students try on gear at the Auburn Fire Station.
Auburn Women's Soccer players teach the BCPP students how to play the game.
"My personal goal was to get BCPP on the map," Bridges says. "I wanted people to know who we are and what we do."
BCPP's movie theatre poster
Want to help Bridge the divide?
Brave heart
With a
bridging the divide
by Ann Marie Leonard
The parents of Endrew, a student with autism, brought the case to court after not seeing significant changes in their son’s educational plan from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade.
They pushed for children with disabilities to “have the opportunity to meet challenging goals.”
“Their efforts paid off,” says Shah, who is now in his first year of law school at UC Irvine. “For Endrew, myself, and the millions of school children with disabilities who qualify for services under the law, it means that we can no longer be ignored.”
While this case creates a more inclusive and specialized learning environment within the classroom, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in Alabama, students with disabilities are only allowed to benefit from the public school system until the age of 21 or graduation, the latter usually coming first.
Each of the 12 adults faded out of the school system, leaving their caretakers with the financial and emotional responsibilities of finding additional care for them.
Unlike the majority of 20-something-year-olds, these young adults will live with and be financially dependent on their family members for the majority of their lives.
“Hey, that’s my college,” says Kathleen Leonard as she runs her fingers over her new embossed Auburn University yearbook.
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Leonard, 20, is one of the young adults who aged out of the Opelika public school system.
In February 2016, the Auburn University Social Work Program and First Presbyterian Church of Auburn partnered to create a program for adults like Leonard who would otherwise be excluded from full participation in the adult community.
“Our new program, Braveheart Center for Place and Purpose (BCPP), is a health and wellness program for young adults who have moderate to severe life challenges,” says Danilea Werner, BraveHearts director and associate professor of social work, to the Plainsman.
As college students came back to school from summer break, BCPP opened its doors to its first participants in fall of 2016.
“Their parents have to work, so they were watching five movies a day and had no interaction,” says Werner. “Now we see them out and making friendships, and their families have such relief to have a place where their young adult can go.”
BCPP is devoted to providing its students a safe atmosphere, as well as giving them a sense of belonging by creating a place and a purpose in the community.
“The idea is to keep these young adults engaged and keep them in the community and included in the University community,” Werner says.
However, the inclusion is not limited to the participants of the program. Interns, volunteers and the campus community are exposed to intensive diversity and inclusion training.
Through this program, Auburn students have the opportunity to interact with and create their own welcoming environment for people their own age that they would not usually interact with otherwise.
“We build a more inclusive community by providing what our students need, which is a safe place, assistance in translating their languages and also finding ways to engage the communities,” says Angie Burque, a professor in social work and field coordinator.
Rather than seeing the diagnosis, the community begins to see people who merely have a diagnosis, says Burque.
BCPP bridges the divide between adults with disabilities and the outside community through three areas of emphasis.