How Did You Get Here?: Students with Disabilities and Their Journeys to Harvard

by Thomas Hehir, Laura A. Schifter, Wendy S. Harbour

When their children were young, several parents interviewed in this book were told “you can’t expect much from your child.” As they got older, the kids themselves often heard the same that as children with disabilities, academic success would be elusive, if not impossible, for them.  How Did You Get Here? clearly refutes these common, destructive assumptions. It chronicles the educational experiences—from early childhood through college—of sixteen students with disabilities and their paths to personal and academic success at Harvard University. The book explores common themes in their lives—including educational strategies, technologies, and undaunted intellectual ambitions—as well as the crucial roles played by parents, teachers, and other professionals. Above all, it provides a clear and candid account—in the voices of the students themselves—of what it takes to grapple effectively with the many challenges facing young people with disabilities.   A compelling and practical book, How Did You Get Here?offers clear accounts not only of the challenges and biases facing young disabled students, but also of the opportunities they found, and created, on the way to academic and personal success.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2015

Reviews

[Casey Dworzynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How did you get here" seeks to explain how individuals with disabilities are able to overcome the negative stigmas attached to their identities. The author achieves this through interviewing Harvard Graduates, showing that their stories are remarkably normal. They have parents who advocate on their behalf, they had good teachers who encouraged them and supported them, they had bad teachers who would not accommodate them. Ultimately, the book seeks to start normalizing their success story to change the phrase, "How did you get here" into "Welcome, of course you are here."

The biggest takeaways that I have from this book is that we should always seek to find accommodations that integrate and provide students with access to the material rather than segregate and seek to overcompensate for our ableist assumption that they cannot achieve on the same level. Also, the book makes the point that many disabled youth often struggle with "coming out" with their identity as a disabled individual. We should be aware of this in our practice and ensure that Universal Design is a part of our everyday practice to ensure even those who are not comfortable asking for accommodations are able to participate.