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Article: Why Can't Betsy Attend a Neighborhood School?; Fairfax County's disappointing approach toward educating the handicapped
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 14, 1987
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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We knew we were taking a chance by bringing our 8-year-old
multiply handicapped daughter, Betsy, to Virginia when we accepted
jobs here. Betsy suffers from severe mental and physical
retardation. She is 42 inches tall and weighs only 23 pounds. But
despite her handicaps she attended a toddler program in Vermont,
where we lived, and at age 3 was enrolled in a neighborhood school.
By age 5 she was participating in an extended school day program with
her peers and her own aide.
We hoped when we moved to Fairfax County that we could find
another neighborhood school like the one in Vermont that helped to