13 percent

The headline caught my attention - 13% of kids in Oregon are in special ed. Whoa! What's up in Oregon? The first thing I thought was "how could it be so high?" I mean, the California average is probably 5% and the national average is maybe 3-4%. What's up in Oregon? Well, a lot of California transplants, that's for sure.

And then the article ends with this kicker - 12% of kids nationally are in special ed. First, the headline about 13% meant nothing, what appeared to be completely abnormal was right in line with the average. But 12% nationally? That seems huge to me, am I way off? Even w/ the 1 in 150 autism numbers, that barely makes a noticeable dent. I'm interested to find out how the other numbers play out, I'd imagine a big % is speech, hearing, or vision as opposed to learning disabilities.

However, 12% strikes me in another way. This number is yet another reminder that a great number of that 12% is invisible. We don't see them (even those of us with the 12% living in our homes). These kids aren't at the parks, they are not on the ball teams, they aren't, as much as I hate to admit it, in our churches. This notion of invisible kids has been with me since I first attended a fund raiser for the Capernaum Project in San Jose. This ministry started in San Jose but has since grown world-wide and is dedicated to bringing fun, friendships, and love to these kids. They are truly inspiring.

Maybe, someday, after many others take on the same focus, the 12% will no longer be invisible and it will no longer be such a shock that 12% of our kids are in special ed. We can dream...