I just got off the phone with Delta Airlines. I explained that Penny—our 20-year-old daughter with Down syndrome—will be flying on her own for the first time this summer. We talked through the options. Should we request a wheelchair so she has someone take her all the way onto the plane? Or should she simply request someone to walk her to the gate, after which she would board on her own? I’m going to talk those options through with Penny (and if you have suggestions for the best way to scaffold this next step for her, please send those our way). Meanwhile, I have to tell you what the Delta agent said as we were hanging up:
“This is so exciting. To give [people with Down syndrome] the freedom they so desperately need. We are so proud of her. Bravo. We will do everything we can to help her take this next step.”
Bravo, indeed. To Penny. To Delta. To everyone who wants to play a little part in taking the next step towards a world of belonging! (Penny has been practicing going through airline security on her own. Now she’s ready for the next step!)
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Amy Julia Becker desires to challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and help us envision and build a world of belonging where everyone matters. Amy Julia invites people to reimagine the good life through her writing and speaking on disability, faith, and culture. She is the author of several books, including To Be Made Well, White Picket Fences, Small Talk, and A Good and Perfect Gift. She is a guest opinion writer for national publications and hosts two podcasts: Take the Next Step and Reimagining the Good Life. Becker is a graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv). She is a member of the Disability Ministry Network and the Alliance for Disability Justice and Ethics in Reproductive Genetics. She lives with her husband and their three children in western Connecticut.
