Monday’s Unified Egg Bowl reminds us of how far we have come in our understanding of the disabled, particularly those who suffer from mental disabilities.
Mingling among the parents, many of whom drove the round-trip to Starkville of six-to-eight hours on a weekday, should also remind us that there is still progress to be made.
Anyone who took in Monday’s flag football game between Special Olympians and their college student teammates from Mississippi State and Ole Miss with the easy, almost effortless interactions between the disabled and non-disabled. There was none of the awkward discomfort that often accompanies such interactions in every-day life, the sort of discomfort born of a lack of exposure and misconceptions.
It was a bunch of college-aged kids having fun playing flag football.
That, in itself, marks a remarkable change of attitude from previous generations, when it was once thought that a person who was unable to learn some things, could learn nothing. It led to a lonely, isolated and, no doubt, frustrating existence for those whose mental disabilities led to isolation and mental atrophy in a world where they were shuttered off from society.
Certainly, we have made strides in defeating that well-intentioned, if no less tragic, misconception. Today, people with disabilities of all kinds are regularly astounding us in what they are able to achieve, if given patient encouragement and the necessary tools to achieve.
Connie Robinson, whose son Luke Robinson, played for on the MSU team Monday is a case in point.
There are some thing that Luke, who turned 36 Monday, cannot do and may never be able to do, it is true. But what Connie has discovered is that the list of what her son cannot do is small when compared to all the things he can do.
Luke has a job, an apartment and interests and hobbies of his own. In many respects, he is living a “normal” life, working in the elementary school where he once attended classes and living in an apartment his parents built for him next to their house.
“He does everything except cook,” Connie says. “Other than that, he’s independent. He gets up, showers, goes to work, comes home, plays sports and enjoys life.”
There is, however, another side of the story for some.
Gavin Harris, 17, of Lake Cormorant, was playing in his first Unified Egg Bowl for the Ole Miss team.
He has just started participating in Special Olympics — softball, weight-lifting and now, flag football. His dad, Jeff Harris, said Special Olympics has been nothing short of transformative.
At his school, Harris and other special needs students are segregated from the regular student population, which has taken a toll on his self-esteem, his dad believes. Harris, like many of those who have mental disabilities, are far more perceptive than some might believe. Playing sports, especially playing in the Unified Egg Bowl, where he had the opportunity play with an against, regular students has been a boost to his confidence.
“You can see it,” Jeff Harris said. “It’s done wonders for his self-esteem and that confidence translates to just about everything he does — his attitude, his school work, how he interacts with people. He’s happier. He smiles more.”
Somewhere between Luke Robinson and Gavin Harris lies an opportunity. The more those with disabilities engage with and are engaged by those who do not suffer disabilities, the better we all are.
For those with disabilities, its provides the hope for living in a larger, far more stimulating and satisfying world. For the rest of us, it gives us a measure of humanity that sweetens our lives and those of all we encounter.
We all reap immeasurable benefits of that.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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