“Labeled Disabled” is a springboard for conversation By Julia Fairclough "What happened to that person?" "Why are they in a wheelchair?" your child may ask. Some parents have a hard time answering that question, and explaining what entails a disability.

Stereotypes, discriminatory behaviors, and the importance of how to talk openly about disabilities are important to Somerville's educators, which is why there will be a filming of the documentary "Labeled Disabled" at the JF Kennedy Elementary School's cafeteria, 5 Cherry Street, on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Kennedy School PTA, the event is free and open to the public.

Executive producer Maggie Doben, a second grade teacher in the Marblehead school system (and formerly taught at the Cambridge Friends School), unveils the perceptions of children. Through interviews, classroom lessons, and discussion, educators, disabled individuals, parents and students show what this learning can achieve.

Doben chronicles her unique curriculum where students meet a number of successful individuals suffering from a wide range of disabilities. Through these interactions, Doben hopes to change the perception that disability means inability.

"I was a child who had a fascination with disabilities, and was fortunate to have parents who would answer my questions," Doben said. "That life-long interest, coupled with being a teacher, was an appropriate recipe to help children have their questions answered as they have the same questions I had as a child."

Anne Foley, the Kennedy School's principal, said there's a diverse population of special needs students in the Somerville school system, as well as at the Kennedy School. "There's a bigger movement to bring society together," she said. "It's not unusual to see children and adults in wheelchairs, and you are not afraid of them."

Society has made a lot of progress in accepting those who speak and act differently, Foley added. The documentary will hopefully broaden the conversation. Doben will be available to answer questions.

Enhancing awareness is also a part of the Somerville School Committee goal to include all students in available activities, said Debra Higgins, the special education PAC coordinator for the Somerville Public Schools. The Kennedy School offers many specialized programs, so it's important to get as much information to parents as possible, Higgins said. Programs include the Specialized Kennedy Intensive Program (SKIP) for the developmentally challenged and the Social Emotional Enhancement program (SEEK).

"My oldest child has a disability and we were very open about it," Higgins said.

Higgins likes that the documentary is through the eyes of the disabled child, which is a unique approach, she said. "It's one more opportunity to show the community how different we all are."

Doben said the documentary first aired at the Watertown Public Library (she is a Watertown resident) in May of 2008. Two hundred and seventy people showed up. The demand to learn about disabilities was clear, she said. Since then, Doben has aired the documentary at schools throughout the area, and as far north as Salem.

"The incidents of disability has increased astronomically because of war, people's ability to survive injuries, advances with medicine," she said. "If we don't talk about it a huge portion of our population will be isolated,"

Doben has been an early childhood educator for 13 years. In addition to her teaching, she is a professional photographer and photo-documents events throughout New England. She also maintains her own business, Mdoben Photography.