I realized when I had my first kid in a stroller that “the disabled” is one category we all belong to, at one point or another in our lives.
Our family sits in the second row at church, behind old people with walkers, oxygen tanks, etc. This was a deliberate effort on my part to get my kids used to thinking of people with disabilities as a normal part of our community. And, yes, it has had a positive effect on our kids, who have gotten to know a couple of the regulars.
More needs to be done, though, I have heard some otherwise very nice kids say awful things about the “kids on the short bus”. That has to be nipped in the bud.
THAT is for sure. Well put.