For most of her life, people questioned whether Nicki Vander Meulen belonged—in a traditional K-12 classroom, in law school or on the school board of one of Wisconsin`s largest school districts.When doctors diagnosed Vander Meulen with Asperger`s syndrome, attention deficit disorder, and cerebral palsy as a child, her parents fought for her right to attend the neighborhood elementary school.
The school`s principal thought she belonged in a school for the severely disabled. Her parents knew otherwise.
Despite a counselor who told her that she`d never graduate from college, Vander Meulen went on to graduate from high school with honors and earn undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin—where her law school classmates questioned whether the university providing a notetaker for her constituted an unfair advantage.
Now, a board of education member for Madison, Wis., schools and a juvenile defense attorney, Vander Meulen may be one of the few people in the nation on the autism spectrum serving in public office...
Nicki`s 50 School Tour Video
Share this article on you social outlets
Our Sponsors
- - Volume: 8 - WEEK: 8 Date: 2/20/2020 8:30:33 AM -