Cover Story NEW GUY on page 31 `All parents want their child to be healthy and capa- ble of interacting and shaping the world around them. So when Micah was born [needing early help, like physical and speech therapy] , the fear for his future was a constant concern." Micah's mom, who has a master's in social work, became an expert. She's now a national speaker, author and Trainer on strengthening the partnership between parents and professionals, inclusive education and other related disability issues. Micah's parents came. to the realization that every new relationship — whether going to school or meet- ing a friend — was not just about Micah learning a new skill. It was also about another person becoming conscious of respecting and including Micah in their world," his father said. Micah's younger sister Emma, 15, remembers trying to change her brother when she was in second grade. She wanted to "make him the fifth grader he was sup- posed to be" — the older brother who didn't stutter or who could help her with her homework. But that did- n't happen. Over the years, she says, she learned compassion from her brother, how to be patient and to smile. "There's nothing easy about being a brother or sister Micah with his family, father Rich Feldman, mother to anyone," Emma says. "But I love lots of things we Janice Fialka, and sister Emma, 15. share, like playing basketball and soccer, talking politics or just making each other laugh." Workmen's Circle-Arbeter Ring in Oak Park, Feldman Protective of Micah, she's also aware of how people says. Micah's project included videotaped interviews unconsciously use the "r" word — retarded — that with three Jewish politicians: U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, implies a put down, she says. It pains her that anyone, D-Mich.; Manette Miller, Wayne State University would pass judgment on her brother before meeting board member; and then-state Rep. David Gubow. him. At Berkley High, another triumph surprised every- Working with these difficulties, however, have yield- one. Though Micah could run only a block, he wanted ed great triumphs for Micah and his community. to join the cross-country team. A major achievement was Micah's bar mitzvah at "Because the coaches worked with Micah and set clear goals, and his classmates were so supportive and cheered him on, Micah ran a two-mile run in 23 min- utes and earned a varsity letter in cross country," Feldman says. Another special event, Micah says, was being nomi- nated to the homecoming court in his senior year. The triumph was also a victory for inclusion, says Fialka. Michael Boyd, the senior who nominated Micah, has known him since second grade. "Michael will always have a different view of people with special needs or who are different," Fialka says, "because of his relation- ship with Micah." Micah's relationship to his peers continues to grow, along with the skills he learns from them. One skill he had to learn quickly was how to take the bus to college, an hour-long ride with a transfer in Pontiac. A friend traveled with Micah a few times, showing him the route until he was ready to travel alone. Once at school, depending on the day, Micah works at the campus day care center, exercises with a trainer at the gym, and takes three classes. For the classes to be most effective, Micah asked students in his class, his peers, to study with him. Two volunteered from his sociology class. They meet with Micah an hour before class twice a week to review their notes together. One result of their meetings, says OU Sociology Professor Linda Morrison, is that Micah does as well as the other students on quizzes, which he takes voluntari- . ly and are given to him orally (he does not read or write well). "Micah's more friendly than most students," says Nicole Bertrand of Troy, one of Micah's peer volun- teers. "I was surprised how open other students are talking to him. I never witnessed that before [with spe- cial education students]," she says. ‘The Ride Of My Life' Micah takes his presentation on the road to schools and conferences. SHARON LUCKERMAN StaffWriter peaking to 90 students in a lecture hall can be intimidat- ing to anybody, especially for a special-needs student. But Micah Fialka-Feldman accepted Professor Linda Morrison's invitation last September to give his 10-minute PowerPoint presentation to her sociolo- gy class at Oakland University. The school is the site of a pilot pro- gram started in January that allows Micah and two others who have cogni- tive disabilities to take OU classes. "Things don't come easy at first," Micah says. But I keep trying. I just tell myself I can do it." His mother, Janice Fialka, who intro- duced him to the class, admits.she was nervous for her son. But he pushed on. "Hi, my name's Micah," he began. "I 3/19 2004 32 want to tell you a story about my life and why I'm here on the Oakland University campus." The students laugh at his jokes. He shows 36 slides that include pic- tures of his family and highlights of his life, including these awards and recent achievements: • Winner of "Yes I Can" Award, February 2004, from the Michigan Council of Exceptional Children in Grand Rapids, noting his achievements of self-advocacy and as a spokesperson for people with disabilities. • Selected board member in 2003 of KASA (Kids As Self-Advocates), a national youth advocacy group that does training and legislative action for people with disabilities. • Selected as one of 77 youths from around the country to attend the 2002 National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. "I can't read, but here are tools that help me," Micah says, and he shows a picture of a computer he uses that he can talk into instead of typing. You can hear a pin drop. When he's finished, the students burst into applause. Micah ended with a request for peo- ple who would show him around cam- pus. A dozen students responded. "They thought the presentation ter- rific," Morrison says. Fialka wondered aloud why they responded. "Micah is just being honest — no slick repackaging or trying to be someone he's not. Micah is Micah." Micah's dream of going to college started at Berkley High School when his peers were talking about it, says Sharon Berke, his special education case worker there. "Micah thought it was a normal thing for him to do, too." He said he wanted to go to the University of Michigan like his father and grandfather. But unlike most students, Micah couldn't apply to just any school. First his parents and other supporters of inclusion had to create a program for him to attend. The closest one was in Lansing. If not for a special program begun at Oakland University, Micah faced being segregated for the first time in his life, and would.go to work with only dis- abled people. "Though there are won- derful programs for these students," says Berke, "for Micah, it was impor- tant to be around his peers, people he grew up with." In high school, Micah was in gener- al-education classes with support from para-educators and teen peers who aided him in his studies. As his dream to go to college grew stronger, Berke says, "We had to pre- pare Micah and work on his self-advo- cacy skills — to learn to speak up and say what he needed in his new classes."