All Children Matter

A community Response to Educating
Children with Disabilities in Vermont

All Children Matter tells a unique story about four small towns in rural Vermont that came together to provide educational and therapeutic services to children who, simply because of their disabilities, were excluded from public education.

In the early 1970s and through the next two decades the inclusion and acceptance of children with severe disabilities within the public schools slowly took place, with Vermont at the forefront of these efforts. The Woodstock Learning Clinic in Woodstock, Vermont was integral to this progressive movement.

This story will interest many people, including students of special and regular education who are studying the history of the institutional movement in the United States and the struggles of families who wanted to keep and raise their children at home. Most of all, this book is a tribute to the founders of the Woodstock Learning Clinic, the hundreds of volunteers involved in its programs, and the parents who never relinquished their dream to ensure that all children deserve a free, appropriate education within their home community.