Providing information, education, and training to build knowledge, develop skills, and change attitudes that will lead to increased independence, productivity, self determination, integration and inclusion (IPSII) for people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Ed Roberts, Activist

Dr. William Bronston: Ed as an Inspiration

Dr. William Bronston: To say to somebody "Be alive," it's a whole different message. You hear and see a whole different thing. And it's something you never forget.

People that met him and had a direct experience with him never forgot that. It was just a normal, ordinary invitation to prevail to be… something marvelous. And you can't argue with that. You can't argue with that because look where he's starting from in terms of where most of us are.

But in relationship to people with special needs with disabilities, to say to them "You count, not only you count, you've got to count. You've got to stand up. You've got to take part. You've got to advocate and be a role model in society for something extraordinary."

And so he had this coterie, this phalanx, this army of people with special needs around him who literally were something extraordinary only because they knew him, and they knew that they were covered. Their back was covered because he was in government, and he was able to influence buildings, and streets, and curb cuts, and public policies, and educational strategies, and transportation access.

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The GCDD is funded under the provisions of P.L. 106-402. The federal law also provides funding to the Minnesota Disability Law Center, the state Protection and Advocacy System, and to the Institute on Community Integration, the state University Center for Excellence. The Minnesota network of programs works to increase the IPSII of people with developmental disabilities and families into community life.

This project was supported, in part by grant number 2401MNSCDD, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.

This website is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,152,808.00 funded by ACL/HHS and $222,000.00 funded by non-federal-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.