Celebrating a special education!

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Act which was signed into law by President Ford in 1975 and as of the law's 30th anniversary in 2005, December 2nd was declared Special Education Day. The IDEA is meant to help ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to education. I've directly benefited from this law and I think I was able to achieve more academic success because of it. 

Although I was never placed in a physical special education class, I did receive services throughout my education. In high school for example, I met once a week with a woman named Mrs. Raad who was a great help to me. Even though she was there to teach me things, the time I spent with her was like spending time with a good friend since as much as we did work, we also laughed and talked a bit too which made my meetings with her a lot of fun. With Mrs. Raad's help I was able to keep my grades up and do well. My experience in special education showed me that as long as I was willing to put forth the effort, there really was no limit to what I could do if I wanted to learn something. I think I'll always have a soft spot for special ed because education and knowledge should be available for everyone and since special education helps make education even more accessible, to me that's something worth celebrating!