家长和学生需要知道自己的权利。在美国，家长信息中心（Parent Information Centers）可以提供帮助。此外，在法律实施多年后，有更多的残疾学生从中学毕业，走向工作岗位或接受高等教育。

从1949年我患小儿麻痹症到今天，我们已经取得了很大的进步，但面前仍有很长的道路。我们的法律不是一贯得到应有的执行。因为我的工作是争取平等和促进人权，所以我要告诉大家：残疾人应该与所有人一样享有同样的权利和机会。有了这样的权利和机会，我们能够而且确实在改善我们的社区、我们的国家和整个世界。

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Judith Heumann has spent more than 30 years fighting for disability rights. (D.A. Peterson/State Dept.)

This article was written for ShareAmerica by Judith Heumann, the U.S. Department of State’s special adviser for international disability rights.

Growing up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, I wasn’t allowed to go to school until fourth grade because I used a wheelchair and was unable to walk.

But my parents were adamant that I get an education equal to my brothers’ so I could support myself if I never married (women were not typically breadwinners back then). They teamed up with other parents to force some of the local secondary schools to become accessible to students with disabilities.

Later, I battled successfully to be the first person in a wheelchair to teach in New York and taught there for three years.

Education is a great equalizer: It opens opportunities for girls and boys, for disadvantaged people and especially for people, like me, who have disabilities.

Hamza Jaka and Amber Buckley-Shaklee, two students with disabilities, worked as interns at the U.S. Department of State. Their stories indicate that inclusive education is moving forward.

Both Hamza and Amber have always attended integrated schools, as required under laws that didn’t exist when I was in school. Hamza, who graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 2014, was resented by peers who thought the accommodations he received (such as having a computer for spelling tests) were unfair. And Amber, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, had friends at nearby schools who were told they could come to school, but only if they didn’t bring their wheelchairs.