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

Lee Roberts: Ed in Russia on One of His Last Trips

Lee Roberts: We actually were going in St. Petersburg, and we entered into this… there was about 6000 monks, and when he entered into the Center he had a 700-pound wheelchair. Thing made some noise. It was on chains. You knew he was coming from about three blocks down when he was arriving.

So in a very quiet, huge Center based on like bouncing sound off the walls, they had no idea what was going on. And he strolls in, and then we had the Russian Secret Service with us at the time, but they couldn't exactly disguise themselves as monks at that point, so it was pretty much known that they were there.

And I'm just… I'm looking at the monks like they're looking at my dad, because I've never seen anything like it. And then as we're going through, the weirdest event happens. A bird comes through and it drops… it drops its poop on the ground and it hits my dad's chair right there. They took it as a religious sign and at that moment, 6000 monks that were there all stopped and got down and started praying and humming, because they thought it was a religious sign he was there and that happened.

I had no idea how to take it, but it was just one of those amazing experiences. So the point was, internationally, he is a bigger star in a way than he was domestic.

©2025 The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities
Administration Building   50 Sherburne Avenue   Room G10
St. Paul, Minnesota 55155
Phone: 651-296-4018   Toll-free number: 877-348-0505   MN Relay Service: 800-627-3529 OR 711
Email: admin.dd.info@state.mn.us    View Privacy Policy    An Equal Opportunity Employer 

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.