Steve Cammarota is the father of a child with special needs and the co-owner of Green Leaf Consulting Group, an information technology consulting company in the Philadelphia area. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. View more opinion articles on CNN.

(CNN) Upon reading the news that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed cutting funding to the Special Olympics, I was angry -- but not surprised.

Steve Cammarota

DeVos argued that with funding from philanthropic donors, the organization does not need financial backing from the government. But it was her dismissal of the importance of programs that support special needs children that exposed the value, or lack thereof, that she places in organizations such as the Special Olympics.

"We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results," DeVos said . Even assuming the best intentions, this comment shows an obvious misunderstanding of the societal benefits of programs that support individuals with special needs.

Now I'm not the most objective person when it comes to this topic. I am a parent of an intellectually disabled freshman in high school named Sam. He was not supposed to make it very long after birth and even if he did he was not expected to be able to do much of anything physically or mentally. But he has defied the odds and is a happy, active teenager.

Sam still can't do everything that a typical 15-year-old should be able to do. Every morning, my wife and I dress him, tie his sneakers and help him brush his teeth; at night we shower him and read to him as he cannot read on his own. Much of Sam's life will require this type of help among other forms of assistance with basic life skills, let alone the more complex. However, there is one area where Sam is relatively independent and that is athletics. He can run, throw, hit, kick, catch and shoot almost any type of ball. When Sam is participating in athletic activities, he feels real self-esteem by fairly and independently competing in something his peers typically enjoy.

Read More