From Segregation to College: Gage Robinson’s Self-Advocacy Journey ~ 1023

Tim Villegas
From MCIE. Imagine being an adult and not being able to have a say in your education. This was the experience of Gage Robinson, a young man who has an intellectual disability.

My name is Tim Villegas from the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education, and you are listening to Think Inclusive, a show where with every conversation we try to build bridges between families, educators, and disability rights advocates to create a shared understanding of inclusive education and what inclusion looks like in the real world. You can learn more about who we are and what we do at mcie.org.

Gage Robinson is a 19-year-old college student at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota, but the road to college has been pretty bumpy. A little bit about Gage: he loves public speaking and has co-presented at several regional, national, and international conferences. He runs a nonprofit called Gage Gives Back, where he educates others about traumatic brain injury, shaken baby syndrome, and gives back to those places that have helped him get to where he is today.

Here’s what we cover in today’s episode: how Gage took on his school district to get the services that he wanted, what he said in front of the Minnesota Council on Disability legislative forum on inclusive higher education, and what support looks like for him in college.

Now before we meet Gage, I want to tell you about our sponsor, Together Letters. Are you losing touch with people in your life, but you don’t want to be on social media all the time? Together Letters is a tool that can help. It’s a group email newsletter that asks members for updates and combines them into a single newsletter for everyone. All you need is email. We are using Together Letters so Think Inclusive patrons can keep in touch with each other. Groups of 10 or less are free, and you can sign up at togetherletters.com.

Right, time to meet Gage. He and I met a few weeks ago to record our interview. But even before that, Gage and I met to talk about his story. Sometimes it is hard for Gage to get out everything he wants to say in the moment, so he sent me this audio clip that explains a little bit about his history.

Gage Robinson
School has not always been easy for me. When I was not successful in school, I spent most of my day in a self-contained classroom with other special ed students. I wanted to be with all my peers. I felt like I was a failure back then because I never went full days of school, and I spent a lot of time on homebound services. I had lots of behaviors, and I always felt like the teacher thought I was such a bad kid. I just didn’t know what to tell them. I also just wanted to be in school learning like everyone else.

The school teacher felt I needed segregation because I wasn’t at the same level as my peers academically, and I had lots of behaviors. My mom met Jen Semanas when I was at such a bad place in school that I was self-abusing. Jen brought me back to my home district and said we will include me with my peers.

Learning to advocate for myself has been important for me to learn. I have been able to tell the school what I need, what doesn’t work for me, and most importantly, the goals I have for myself in the future. The people that believed in me most were Jen Semanas, my mom, my doctor, and my friends.

I want educators to know that I am a gen ed student who receives IEP services. I also just wanted to be in school learning like everyone else. I love to learn. I just learn differently, and it may take me a little while longer. I love being included with my peers. I just learned how to take breaks so I can go to late-night events. Having the right adaptations made me successful in gen ed classes. I learned that having peer support is important so I don’t have to rely on teachers or parents for everything. Last of all, I learned so much from my peers and made such good friends. I want teachers to see people with IEPs as capable.

Tim Villegas
Don’t know about you, but when I was a teacher, I knew learners who had the same experience as Gage—segregated by their problem behavior and perceived lack of academic skills. Kids who wanted to be included but were denied access to general education curriculum and peers and sent to schools only for students who had the same struggles with challenging behavior. All in the name of support.

Here is me and Gage from a couple of weeks ago. Okay, so it’s been a while since I talked with you, Gage. What’s going on? What’s the haps?

Gage Robinson
I’m in college.

Tim Villegas
Jen was telling me about some due process hearings that happened. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Gage Robinson
We settled with the school.

Tim Villegas
Let me back up just a bit. After being reintegrated back into regular public school, Gage was able to graduate from Cannon Falls High School. And as someone with extensive support needs, Gage can receive services through age 21. But the services that the school district offered him were at a level four setting. So more on that in a minute. And the options for learning weren’t the kind that he wanted. So Gage went to due process with the school district, which basically means that he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Okay, and what did you want?

Gage Robinson
I wanted to be included with my classmates and go to college.

Tim Villegas
And what did the district say they wanted?

Gage Robinson
They wanted me to go to a level four setting—but you’re shoved into like a little box type thing and with peers with disabilities. And I did not want that. I wanted to be with peers and friends that are the same age as me.

Tim Villegas
Okay, so just to recap, Gage, you wanted to go to Dakota County Technical College and take classes there. And the district wanted you to go to this level four setting where you wouldn’t get to really choose what you want. It doesn’t sound like you’d be doing the things you wanted. And go ahead.

Gage Robinson
And well, they choose the job and you go wherever with friends with disabilities, and they get to choose the job for you and see what job is the good fit for you. And I wanted to be the one that chooses my career and have the choice of what I want to do.

Tim Villegas
Right. So when you say you settled with the district, what does that mean?

Gage Robinson
It’s like I don’t have to deal with the school.

Tim Villegas
Yeah, so you just get to go to college now.

Gage Robinson
Yep.

Tim Villegas
That’s amazing. You sound happy.

Gage Robinson
I’m thrilled and I don’t have to worry about it.

Tim Villegas
What a relief for Gage. He’s going to college with support, which we will talk about in just a bit. But he didn’t stop there. He is taking his advocacy a step further and just recently spoke in front of the Minnesota State Legislature.

Gage Robinson
I spoke in front of the legislature because I wanted people—I wanted it to change the law where transition will be like, I wanted the transition to be in that college campus and didn’t want it to be in a level four setting which was a school.

Tim Villegas
So right now the Minnesota State Legislature is considering a law, HF 687, that would establish the Inclusive Higher Education Technical Assistance Center at the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota, as well as establishing a higher education grant. The center would coordinate and facilitate a statewide initiative to expand inclusive higher education opportunities, provide expertise in inclusive higher education, and provide information to students and families. And for learners like Gage, it could be the key to unlocking college for a whole host of Minnesotans.

Here is Gage’s statement at the Minnesota Council on Disability legislative forum on inclusive higher education.

Gage Robinson
Hi, my name is Gage Robinson. I am a white man with dark hair and a beard, wearing glasses and a burgundy shirt. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today. I recently completed high school and am in transition. It has always been my goal to go to college, and I’m interested in public speaking, web design, nonprofit organization, and cabinet making and woodworking. I would like to explore careers in these interest areas.

School has not always been easy for me. In my younger years, I spent most of my day in a self-contained classroom with other students with disabilities. I love to learn. I just learn differently and it may take me a little longer. I love being in classes with my peers and friends without disabilities. I want to go to college to be with students my age, create friendships, and be a member of the campus community.

Currently, my options are limited. I need more choices to go to college and be successful. The transition options through my high school do not include taking college classes or being with peers without disabilities. I should have the option of going to college to learn, make new friends, and gain new skills. Inclusive higher education will provide me with the support that I need to be successful.

I want to be seen as capable. I am. I want to keep learning. I am a lifelong learner. I am more than a disability. I am a son, a brother, a nephew, a friend, an athlete, a self-advocate, a public speaker, a nonprofit leader, a woodworker, a prospective college student. Given the opportunity to go to college, I can succeed and have the career of my choice.

I am advocating for expanding inclusive college options for students with an intellectual disability like me. All Minnesotans with an intellectual disability are worth it. Thank you.

Tim Villegas
After the break, we’ll hear from Gage on what it’s like being in college.

Tim Villegas
So I hear you’re taking an interpersonal communication class in college.

Gage Robinson
Yes, that is correct.

Tim Villegas
How many classes are you taking?

Gage Robinson
Just one. I am auditing the class.

Tim Villegas
And when did you start that class?

Gage Robinson
January of this year.

Tim Villegas
Oh, great. So you’ve been in there for a couple of months now?

Gage Robinson
Yep.

Tim Villegas
Okay. And what do you enjoy about that class?

Gage Robinson
I enjoy being with my friends and making new friends. And I’m pretty much passing the class.

Tim Villegas
Nice. So you’re doing all the assignments?

Gage Robinson
Yes. With no adaptations. I’m doing it just like students in my class.

Tim Villegas
That must make you feel pretty good.

Gage Robinson
Yep. Like the five-page paper I had to do—I got a 15 out of 15.

Tim Villegas
That’s awesome. And what’s great about Gage being in college is that his professor has really high expectations for him. So like this paper he just told me about, it turns out that this was a makeup assignment because Gage got COVID and couldn’t do a presentation that he was originally scheduled to do. So the professor said, why don’t you just write a five-page paper? But instead of stressing about it, you were able to complete the assignment?

Gage Robinson
Yes. I put it in the notes and I put it in my words, and it was on Germany—the culture. But I used my voice-to-text. And I did have some help, but I did it with my words. I had help modifying it into a paper.

Tim Villegas
That’s exciting. And here are some more things I learned about Gage’s college experience. It’s not just one class that Gage gets to be a part of. He goes to classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but then after class, he stays on campus doing regular college stuff, like working out at the gym—where he can press 400 pounds, by the way—eats lunch, and has conversations with students.

So does Dakota County Technical College have support? Are they giving you support? How does that work?

Gage Robinson
I have a support staff. He takes notes and he’s the same age as me. So it’s kind of like having a friend that’s already at the college—that’s how I would describe it.

Tim Villegas
I found out a little bit more about how this works. So Gage essentially has his own personal care assistant or paraprofessional, but they are there to support Gage’s independence, not hinder it. And what advocates like Gage want people to know is that it has taken very little for Gage to be able to access not only the academic side of college, but also the whole culture of the college campus.

Other things Gage works on while he’s on campus: doing homework, playing games like chess, working on orientation and mobility, getting from place to place, using money—all of those functional type skills which, frankly, all college kids need. Oh, and did I mention he has a job at the gym he works out at too?

Well, anything else you want to talk about as far as college? How long will you be going to college? What happens after this semester?

Gage Robinson
I started in January and I’m going to end in May.

Tim Villegas
Okay. And then what will you do during the summer?

Gage Robinson
I am hoping to get a job.

Tim Villegas
Okay. And then you’ll start back at school in the fall?

Gage Robinson
Yes. You can go for two more years. Or three. Yeah.

Tim Villegas
Okay.

Gage Robinson
And I’m hoping to do it for credit class.

Tim Villegas
Okay. I’ve only known Gage for a short while, but I’m so grateful for the time that I had speaking with him and to hear about his growth in self-advocacy and as an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities who want to go to college.

Gage Robinson
I agree it is incredible.

Tim Villegas
Think Inclusive is written, edited, and sound designed by Tim Villegas and is a production of MCIE. Original music by Miles Kredich, with additional music by Tim Villegas. If you enjoyed today’s episode, here is one way that you can help our podcast grow: become a patron and get access to ad-free episodes and behind-the-scenes posts. Join our Together Letters group and get a sneak preview of MCIE’s new podcast series Inclusion Stories.

Special thanks to our patrons, Melissa H., Sonya A., Pamela P., Mark C., Kathy B., Kathleen T., Jarrett T., Gabby M., Erin P., Paula W., and Carol Q. for their support of Think Inclusive. For more information about inclusive education or to learn how MCIE can partner with you and your school or district, visit MCIE.org.

Thanks for your time and attention, and remember: inclusion always works.