Living with disability out in the country
An episode on the US Public Broadcasting System show, Life in the Heartland, featured individuals with disabilities and their experiences with services and society in my neighborhood. Although the session title is simply “Autism” and there are individuals who identify as autistic interviewed, the show provided a broader look at disability in rural areas.
Autism is often misunderstood, and resources are frequently scarce in rural communities. The NIH estimates that more than 155,000 Autistic people live in Virginia, and those living in rural areas “face significant challenges regarding adequate availability of diagnostic, treatment, and support-services.” This episode features multiple voices from the Autistic community.
The autism angle to this documentary is somewhat incidental to the overall portrayal of individuals with disabilities in rural areas. In addition, those individuals with autism who contributed to the show are, by and large, articulate and doing well (one is a professor at Virginia Tech). That provided excellent examples of success.
For me, this show had the additional attraction of showing local places such as Innisfree Village and some of the magnificent countryside that is very close to Special Education Today central.
Although the series of shows is primarily about agriculture, if someone is interested in it. she can learn more about "Life in the Heartland” from the IMDB and YouTube