Seven years ago, Dan Habib sat beside his son, Samuel, who lay in a medically induced coma at a New Hampshire hospital. Samuel was 4 years old and had developed pneumonia after a tonsillectomy.

The boy's neurologist knew that Habib and his wife, Betsy, had been struggling since Samuel was 9 months old and been diagnosed with a genetic disorder that resulted in cerebral palsy.

The doctor encouraged Habib, a photojournalist, to document their journey to manage emotions and educate others.

So Habib began taking pictures.

The result is "Including Samuel," a 58-minute documentary that was broadcast on public television stations in 2009 and has had 300 screenings in 30 states. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday at UNC Charlotte's Student Union Theater.

Habib will take questions as part of a panel discussion after the free screening. But Samuel, now an 11-year-old fifth grader, will be fast asleep in a Charlotte hotel room after two full days of touring NASCAR racing shops and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Samuel's interest in racing - his favorites are Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart - was the impetus for Habib's visit. Once he reached out, local organizations made it happen. Sponsors include the Crossroads project and the Office of Disability Services at UNCC and the National Inclusion Project.

Habib's film tells the story of Samuel and four others who have fought for "inclusion" for themselves or their loved ones with disabilities.

Inclusion, formerly called mainstreaming, means including people with disabilities in all aspects of life, Habib said. Federal law mandates that all children, regardless of their ability, receive a free and appropriate education in a typical public school classroom whenever possible.

Habib began thinking about the "inclusion movement" after he and his wife attended a leadership program at the University of New Hampshire for parents of children with disabilities. They heard from disability rights advocates, including Norman Kunc, who is featured in the film.

Kunc spoke about his "right to be disabled." If offered a pill to cure his cerebral palsy, he said he wouldn't take it. "This is who I am. This is my life. I don't want to change who I am," Habib remembers Kunc saying.

As a father, Habib wanted to show others why his son and other children with disabilities should have the opportunity to have happy and fulfilling lives.

As a journalist, he also didn't want to sugar-coat the issue. So he interviewed his older son, Isaiah, now 14.

"Isaiah says, 'Sometimes I feel like you guys don't care about me, that you forget about me,'" Habib said.

But the film also shows the brothers singing, wrestling and playing ball together. "There's sunlight streaming from his smile," Isaiah says, speaking about Samuel in the film.

"Making this film helped me face my fears and biases head-on," Habib said. "I want people to get to know Samuel for all his wonderful and complex personality traits - not just as 'The kid in the wheelchair.' That will happen only if Samuel is fully included in our school, community - in everything we do."