Kintropy In Action

Take two stories from CBS television this long weekend (both of which were introduced as "special kids" stories). 

The first highlighted a cheerleading team:  The Destiny All-Stars.  Under the banner "Cheers From The Challenged," reporter Jeff Glor embraced the story of Chole, a 14-year-old girl who experiences autism and Down's Syndrome.  He pointed out:

"Chloe, who's 14 years old, has a developmental disability. But on the 'Destiny All Stars' cheerleading team, that's nothing unusual, because everyone does...."

Apparently, this separate-but-unequal cheerleading concept is catching on:

"Destiny, which is based in Gaithersburg, is riding a nation-wide wave that has doubled in size in the past year. There are nearly 160 squads of special-needs cheerleaders in 34 states. Dr. Allen Crocker, an expert in the field, says the program bucks society's tendency to leave kids with disabilities behind."

The story was constructed to push all the usual buttons. 

• The problem:  Chloe didn't interact well before joining the squad.  She was lost among her typical peers.  
• The cure:  Separate Chloe from her typical peers.  Put her on a cheerleading squad for kids with developmental disabilities.  Chloe blossoms, progressing socially and developmentally.

Heartstrings pulled.  Message delivered.  Segregation heals all.

Contrast this with a story during the Thanksgiving football games on the same network about Katy Marchman.  Katy is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan; she also has a diagnosis of Angelman syndrome. 

In this story, though, the reporting team focused on how big a football fan Katy is.  Katy gets excited about going to a game.  Katy keeps a scrapbook of team photos and likes to look through it.  Katy uses her voicebox board to cheer during the game.  Her family and the team itself supports her as needed, but Katy's owns her fandom.

Katy, in other words, is a person, first (actually, a FOOTBALL FAN first).  And that isn't special; it's just how things should be.

-- Dad