"Reading Problems Are a Public Health Problem"

New York, NY, USA

We're getting to the more detailed part of our look at disability in the schools, and I found this video while working on my homework. It's an amazing look not only at what it's like to be a child with a disability, but also what it's like to be the parent or sibling of someone with a disability.

In the second half of the program, we're introduced to the tragic story a young man in Boston from whom this post gets its title. It was startling to me to hear that some states estimate the prison space to build based on third grade reading levels! It's a controversial measure, but you can imagine how it might have come into being. Imagine being 2 or 4 or 6 grade levels behind in reading, and failing all your exams, just because you're not getting the right support for an emotional or learning disability! It would be enough to anger even the most even-tempered of us!