By Guest Blogger Evan Heller, Senior at Attleboro High School_
Who am I? Easy – my name is Evan, that's who I am and that's what I'm
called. And yet, for some of my friends, there are still people who
would identify them by saying, "Oh, him? He's a "special needs"
kid, "a SPED," – a "retard."
Why are some of my best friends, people who just happen to have intellectual disabilities, identified not by their names, but by their
disability? Is it out of ignorance? Is it because people feel some
unwarranted and overwhelming desire to label others? Or is the sad
truth that these friends of mine are not called by name, because their names
are not known?
Out of ignorance or out of fear, many people do not get to know
individuals with intellectual disabilities as anything more than just a
label. People need to start taking the initiative to do something as
simple as merely talking to someone with an intellectual disability;
getting to know them as more than a diagnosis, and maybe, as a
friend...
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Jennifer J. Gross
Deputy Director
Eastern Regional Mental Health Board
401 W. Thames Street
Campbell Building, Unit 105
Norwich, CT 06360
phone: 860.886.0030
fax: 860.886.4014
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