Susan Senator

Why does all the support slow down and become suck city when a special needs person reaches 22? What’s magical about 22? Why not 32? Why not for as long as he is alive?

Oh, Welfare State, some of you are no doubt thinking. Crazy-liberal-Social Contract-Big Government types! Spend, spend, spend!

Yes, spend. Spend on social programs. Create supports so that people can get the help they need to live decent lives, so that they can fulfill their potential. We can only benefit from such a plan. And you know what else? Our government is big whether you know it or not. It just depends on what you want to be big. You may want a very large military operation. You may want highways maintained with government funds.

You may want every single person in the country to have an education, regardless of ability to pay. You may want to see every single person working, playing, and living as fruitfully and as healthily as they can, above all else.

I want that for Nat. The education that Nat is getting right now should extend into his adult life. I want to see the progress he has made continue. I want Nat to be able to work, because he clearly gets joy from being gainfully employed. I want him to continue to learn how to converse, and how to take care of himself by learning social skills, cooking, cleaning, medical self-care, community safety skills.

I have seen what the years and years of publicly-funded schooling has done for Nat. He has gone from being a child with almost no words, no play skills, no desire to interact with others, no ability to follow directions or to get what he needed, to someone who has all of that, and more. The more he is taught, the more he learns. He will not need to have constant care and attention in an institution, the way people did decades ago. He will not feel the need to explode with frustration because he has been taught how to express himself to others. He will form relationships and contribute to the general happiness around him.

These accomplishments have value, from financial to emotional to social to communal. Yes, it cost a lot to bring Nat to this point. But I think it was worth every cent. He took every bit of energy teachers devoted towards him and he pushed himself to learn, to compensate for his differences. And in turn, he has taught those around him a lot about different perception, about God, empathy, and unconditional love. Nat has returned society’s gifts in equal or better tender.

So, I’m sure, will all of your kids, if given the opportunity.

I want them all to have an IEP for life. I want it for them, and for Nat. I want to see what else Nat can do. I want him to experience the world unfolding, the wonder of understanding, the beauty of other minds, the joy of connecting and achieving. If he has staff around him as an adult the way he does as a teen — people who patiently and gently provide structure, modeling, prompting, praise, and repetition as needed — I can only imagine the strides he could make.

Isn’t that every bit as important as building a better highway system?