Where disabilities= superpowers

So we're celebrating "Disabilities Awareness Month" at my school this October. What that basically means is I had a dream about celebrating this at my school and my principal said to go for it. I want to write about it here so that people are encouraged, inspired, and dream.

This type of thing may possibly be my favorite part about teaching and working with children. By "type of thing" I mean bridging the gap between special ed and general ed.

I love people with special needs. I mean love. If I see them at the grocery store, I have to restrain myself from watching them and I usually try to say "hello," and interact briefly. What I love about people with disabilities is their ability to touch places of your heart that others can't. And yet, there's this stigma. People don't know how to interact with them. It's usually feelings of pity (they don't need it, I promise) or guilt or curiosity that are hinderances. They don't know what to say or how to act.

This is why I have LOVED celebrating Disabilities Awareness at my school. My goal is simply to raise up a new generation in our school who think my kids are rock stars. If you don't know much about my class- they are fairly low-functioning. A couple are medically fragile, 4 are in wheelchairs, 5 are non-verbal- they need help feeding, changing, and transitioning. (Luckily I have 3 incredible assistants working with me!) So if you can imagine sometimes that we look like a circus train walking down the hallway.

Having been at my school 2 years, I feel like I finally have connections and support and now... my kids are like rock stars. Seriously.

This month we have:

• posted interesting facts and inspirational quotes around the school walls
• had a "question of the week" about disabilities
• we are having on Oct 25th five people with disabilities come speak (each disability will be represented: deaf, blind, cerebral palsy, quadriplegic, and Down Syndrome)
• I invited classes to come and visit my classroom so we could tell them about how we communicate and what we do in my classroom

It's been interesting to see how classes respond. The younger children are more hesitant. A 4K class came in and one girl was straight up scared- like teeth chattering and body shivering. The first grade classes had great responses to my first question, "What do you think it means to have a disabilities?" Their answers: "Um... like you have a superpower?" "Like your friend?" The older kids answered something like this: "Um... something you can't do. Like you can't walk or talk."

They set me up perfectly for my next question: "What is an ability?" The answer: Something you CAN do.

That's been another goal. For them to realize that when someone has a disability we just have to be creative and think of ways they CAN participate. At the end of our time I let them read books to my kids and they thought it was the greatest. Most classes left asking their teacher if they could come visit our class more often. 

I have already in 3 weeks seen a change in the culture of our school. When we walk down the hall, all the kids wave and address my kids by name and look them in the eye. That is a mark of compassion and a way to give my children dignity. They deserve to be addressed by name and looked at in the eye. 

If you want to learn more and be inspired check out these videos or articles. 

• The speech therapist at our school has a son with Cerebral Palsy and this this is his story of being on the track them in high school.
• This is a fairly well-known story about a dad who pushes his son the whole way in a marathon.
• This is about a high school coach in Georgia who would surprise a special ed student each Friday during football season and include them in their whole game day activities.
• This is a really awesome series called I Am Unstoppableabout people with physical disabilities doing VERY big things.... like doing the Iron Man and climbing mountains... no biggie.

So.... go and celebrate people's differences, abilities, and lives!