In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Even if you have a terminal illness, don’t sit down and mope. Enjoy life and challenge the illness you have.” However, due to discrimination, less services and programs, and less awareness, intellectually disabled people can not enjoy life and challenge their illness. More government officials need to back bills which help disabled Americans live life the way it is supposed to be lived.
Public awareness for disabilities is one way intellectually disabled people can gain the same rights as everyone else. In the short story, Flowers for Algernon, the main character, Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old that is mentally challenged, living in the 1960’s. (Keyes 285) Charlie is made fun of, laughed at and bullied by his co-workers and his peers. (Keyes 289) This is still the case for many intellectually disabled Americans. Public awareness can combat stereotypes and help communities band together and help stop …show more content…
Services like vocational programs and special education can help Americans with intellectual disabilities transition into real life. A study conducted by Council for Exceptional Children in 2013 reveals budget cuts made by Congress have hit special education hard. Over 600 million dollars from federal programs had been cut. As debt increases, so will cuts in major areas affecting special education. Without support for more services and less cuts, many intellectually disabled Americans will not have access to imperative learning curriculum and accommodations. Charlie Gordon from Flowers for Algernon relied on special education and programs like Ms. Kinnian adult night school and the intelligence increasing operation to excel him into real life. Many Americans live like this, reliant on federal, state and local programs to help them live their daily lives. If you support education budget cuts, you are affecting the lives of people across the
Public awareness for disabilities is one way intellectually disabled people can gain the same rights as everyone else. In the short story, Flowers for Algernon, the main character, Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old that is mentally challenged, living in the 1960’s. (Keyes 285) Charlie is made fun of, laughed at and bullied by his co-workers and his peers. (Keyes 289) This is still the case for many intellectually disabled Americans. Public awareness can combat stereotypes and help communities band together and help stop …show more content…
Services like vocational programs and special education can help Americans with intellectual disabilities transition into real life. A study conducted by Council for Exceptional Children in 2013 reveals budget cuts made by Congress have hit special education hard. Over 600 million dollars from federal programs had been cut. As debt increases, so will cuts in major areas affecting special education. Without support for more services and less cuts, many intellectually disabled Americans will not have access to imperative learning curriculum and accommodations. Charlie Gordon from Flowers for Algernon relied on special education and programs like Ms. Kinnian adult night school and the intelligence increasing operation to excel him into real life. Many Americans live like this, reliant on federal, state and local programs to help them live their daily lives. If you support education budget cuts, you are affecting the lives of people across the