Charlottesville High Senior Raising Awareness of Disabilities

May 30, 2008

Reporter: Ferrari

Charlottesville High Senior Raising Awareness of Disabilities

Charlottesville schools have already declared October `Disabilities

Awareness Month'...thanks to the efforts of one high school senior.

Now the teen is taking is crusade all the way to the governor and the

general assembly.

Milner was born with spina bifida. " I'm paralyzed from the

waste down because of that, " said the Charlottesville high school

senior.

His hope... " a better sense of integration between disabled and non

disabled folks, " he said.

That's why he is leading a crusade to raise awareness of people with

disabilities. And Charlottesville schools is the first school

division in Virginia to jump on board and declare October

disabilities awareness month.

" So this is just a very formal way of saying lets get as many school

divisions as we can involved in this and I look forward to seeing

total participation at some point from Virginia, " said Milner.

Milner wants all schools to teach students more about what it's like

to live with a disability, the disability rights movement, historical

figures with disabilities and sports in life of disabled people.

State delegate Toscano supports the idea of taking the

initiative state wide.

" Anything we can do to draw attention to the challenges people face

in our communities and in our state and try to address those

challenges I think is a good thing and I hope we can get it done, "

said Toscano.

Milner got the idea from other states that are already doing this.

New York, Florida and West Virginia have been key in pursuing this

and the hope I believe is that eventually all states will have some

form of disability awareness month, " said Milner.

Milner says the next venture he is looking forward to is heading to

Mason University in the fall to study politics.

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