I was speaking on msn last night to a chap called James, and to be honest I was very perturbed at what he was saying. He has cp, but is staunchly anti-inclusion, not to mention very conservative. No matter how many arguments I put forward, or how many pieces of writing I showed him, he refused to listen; however, he also refused to put forward any sensible argument of his own.

Moreover, he went on to say that some people with pmld should be placed into institutions, and that it was unethical to keep them at him. Now, I appreciate that it can be difficult looking after people with severe disabilities at home, but there are always alternatives to institutionalisation, such as having home help. To lock a child up is an abomination, but this is exactly what this guy seemed to be preaching. Historically, people were detained in ‘long stay hospitals’; I heard one story where a girl with cerebral palsy who was unable to communicate was detained in such a place for 13 years. I find, moreover, very little intellectual difference between segregated education and institutional care, for both are designed to keep us out of sight, and there is absolutely no need for either. All children benefit from playing and learning together, and the benefits of inclusion – increased standard of education, more social acceptance of disability etc – by far outweigh the costs. This mollycoddling attitude the Tories have towards disability is simply asinine, and they would put back disability rights thirty years.

This guy has made me very angry. To try to argue that there might be a need for any such place is unthinkable. After all, where would he draw the line? Would he himself be willingly institutionalised? I suspect not. What he was saying went against almost everything I hold dear, and if he starts trying to implement his backward ideas, I shall personally release all the power of Hades against him. Its not a case of freedom of speech, but freedom itself.