's Room

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http://www.raymondsroom.com

Thirty years ago, as a young man working at a facility for children with

autism, Dale DiLeo was shown a tiny, hot and smelly bedroom. Reserved for up to

four young men with autism, those least trusted by staff, this room was

locked—from the outside—all night long. It was named after ,

the room’s perennial resident.

’s Room makes a compelling case that today, people

with disabilities are still locked away from the rest of society. They may not

be necessarily housed in rooms like ’s, but they are placed in

facilities and programs run by a public monopoly unwilling to change.

“People with disabilities are the last minority group in which legal

segregation for housing and employment is still routinely provided,”

writes DiLeo. “And their lives are controlled by one of the last

publicly-funded monopolies in America today.”

Using research, anecdotes, and captivating stories, DiLeo takes aim at the

billion-dollar “disability industrial complex” that segregates

people with significant disabilities from mainstream life.

Calling people with disabilities society’s “hidden

citizens,” he describes a system that prevents people from working and

living in our communities, despite new techniques and approaches proven

effective in helping even those with the most serious challenges to be employed

and to have a home to call their own.

For over 230 pages, DiLeo describes the downsides to current practices in

the field and then offers up proven alternatives.