I worry we are at risk of losing what a generation of us fought so hard to achieve. This has been eroding and is now at risk of falling away. Institutions are coming to claim us once again. I have always found that when we all get together, when we speak with a united voice about our issues, and when we back up our words with the written word, we are heard and we are reckoned with whether it's a student council in a hospital, getting an investigation to rectify problems in a support service project, or uniting to raise issues with a common voice. None of this happens without education.
Education can turn impotent rage into constructive anger.
Maybe the next generation of people with disabilities won't have to be as angry to accomplish what we did, but they will certainly have to be educated. More and more, employers need people with good skill levels, ability to solve problems, ability to think creatively. Some of the most creative, constructive people I know are people with disabilities. The key remains education and experience. The good thing about education and experience is, it is cumulative.