There was a time when people with disabilities were mistreated or discriminated against in schools because they were considered to be not intelligent enough or because they didn’t act “normally” enough.

Times are changing.

Today, schools are held to a standard that was made into law by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act mandates that everything in schools, including classes, programs and activities, be accessible to people with disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Act outlines these protocols because a physically challenged student should not be prevented from participating in sports activities any more than a learning disabled student should be prevented for registering for a more challenging math or English class.

In short, disabled individuals are able to reach the same goals as those without disabilities.

A June 2010 New York Times article titled, “A Struggle to Educate the Severely Disabled”, profiles a 20-year-old man named Donovan Forde.

Forde was 6 months old when a traumatic brain injury left him with multiple cognitive disabilities.

The article highlights how the rules put into place by the Rehabilitation Act help the disabled community access the same public education institutions as those without disabilities.

Forde is unable to walk, speak or feed himself. He is not able to see much beyond shapes, yet he goes to school every single day in the New York City public school system. The Rehabilitation Act makes that possible.

What this means is that as long as people with disabilities are given a fair chance, they will have a fair chance at success in life.

They can set goals and accomplish them.

In order to be successful, disabled people need to believe in themselves and not let their disabilities get the better of them.

This also means being open-minded and flexible.

Not everyone is going to understand the disabled or even perceive them in a positive light.

That is just the way of the world.

As long as the disabled are allowed the same access to education, programs and activities as everyone else, people will be able to coexist and learn from each other.

According to the U.S. Constitution, “All men are created equal.

This includes the disabled as well.