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 thing: 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.

CONTENTSForeword ixIntroduction 1CHAPTER 1"My Mother" 15CHAPTER 2"I Had Teachers Who Believed in Me" 49CHAPTER 3"I Was Always Asking My Teachers for More" 71CHAPTER 4"I Found Things to Do Outside the Classroom" 91CHAPTER 5"I Was Always Forced to Find a Way" 103CHAPTER 6"I Could Not Have Gotten Here Without Audio Text" 133CHAPTER 7"My Disability Shapes Who I Am" 155CHAPTER 8"I Thought I Knew Something About Disability" 179CONCLUSION "How Can More of You Get Here?" 203Wendy S. HarbourNotes 227Acknowledgments 235About the Authors 237Index 239