Petition for the disabled with a lot of support

More than 12,000 people sign petition for an eleven-year-old with Down syndrome

04/15/2014

An online petition designed to give 11-year-old Henri from Walldorf (Rhein-Neckar-Kreis), who was born with Down syndrome, access to high school has already found 12,000 supporters. According to the idea of ​​inclusion, children with disabilities are also entitled to schooling in the familiar environment. That's how Henry is during the last one „Years into one of the first true group-related inclusive primary school classes in Baden-Wuerttemberg“, reports Holger Wallitzer-Eck, a friend of the family who initiated the petition.

Now, for the boy would be the change to a secondary school and Henri would like to change with his friends to high school. The Walldorf high school can not imagine the education of a child with intellectual disabilities and therefore rejected. Wallitzer-Eck, who is himself the father of a child with Down syndrome, then launched the petition, with the aim of collecting at least 10,000 signatures. This brand has now been significantly exceeded after a short time. With the signatures Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Culture Andreas Stoch (SPD) is strengthened his back for the upcoming decision, because he „could power of his office the school attempt“ continue and give the child a schooling at the Gymnasium, reports Wallitzer-Eck.

If Henri was not accepted at the Gymnasium, so would „first he and then all the following children with intellectual disabilities have to go back to elementary school in the special school in the future“, writes the initiator of the petition. The consequence would be according to his assessment one „Domino effect and other secondary schools could work that way as well Nosay.“ Children with intellectual disabilities may be excluded from the promised inclusion for a long time. A link to the petition can be found here. (Fp)