When Max turned 12 last summer, he invited five friends to sleep over at his house and celebrate his birthday. Presents? Max asked his friends not to give him presents. Instead, Max and his mother, Sarah, called The Arc Eastern Connecticut and learned that puzzles, games and art supplies are always in demand.
So, Max asked his friends to bring to the party games like Sorry, Trouble and Rubik’s Race; also, glue, Play-Doh, tape and other craft materials. Then, on a breezy September afternoon, Max and Sarah delivered the gifts that weren’t Max’s to The Arc ECT on Sachem Street in Norwich.
A student at Integrated Day and Charter School (IDCS), Max runs cross country and track. “I just like running!” He also enjoys sprinting and is working on his ability to compete long-distance. Another reason he chose IDCS is the music and arts programming. “I like art, and I want to learn to play the guitar.” His dad, Craig, used to play guitar in a band. Max also has a turntable. “I like mixing songs.”
Max had already decided to donate his birthday presents to people with special needs when his mom, a special education teacher at Norwich Free Academy, suggested The Arc. The year prior, he’d chosen St. Vincent de Paul Place.
Max ticks off statistics. Employment rates for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have been flat for 20 years. “Their unemployment rate is 80%!” he says.
“People with disabilities,” Max says, “deserve the same chances as everyone else.”
Max lives in Norwich with his mom, dad, and sisters Sadie, 14, and Abby, 18. Given a choice, he’d rather be 16. Although Max does know someone with autism and had a friend back in first grade with a heart condition, his passion for inclusion is more heartfelt than personal.
Max notices things, and he doesn’t like what he sees when adults speak to children with IDD.
“They kind of talk to them like they’re in first or second grade when they’re really, like, in sixth grade,” Max says.
Max wants everybody to understand just one thing: “A person with disabilities, they’re just a normal person.”
By Kathleen Stauffer
Kathleen Stauffer is chief executive officer of The Arc Eastern Connecticut. For information on The Arc, go to www.TheArcECT.org. For more articles by this author visit www.kathleenstauffer.com
