Thursday, February 3, 2011

'Ello

So, remember the little boy I talked about in my last post? Well, here's a news flash: he's blind. I just found out this week. Duh! Of course he only responds to sensory input, he can't see who the heck I am. I tried to interact with him again the other day, but he was sitting at his desk with his chin resting on his hands, fast asleep. Yes, he sleeps sitting up! He is such an interesting little guy. The other day he was at an assembly where I heard him giggling the entire time. It makes me glad to see him so happy. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen him crying or upset. Wouldn't that be so amazing if you could never feel sadness or anger? Maybe he's luckier than most of us. Maybe he's happier than any typical person because simpler things make him happy. I know I'm going off on a tangent but this is an important point, and something I often think about.
I used to get really sad when I saw kids who had special needs. The more severe they were, the more I felt sorry for them. I didn't think I would ever be able to work with kids like that because I'd be crying all the time. However, as soon as I started working with students who have special needs, I realized that most of them appeared very happy. I began to think, "Why should I feel sorry for kids who seems perfectly happy?" They live in a completely separate world from us, so to speak. Their expectations and happiness are much different than a typical persons'. Being able to talk and walk, have a career, marry, have kids are not things a lot of mentally disabled people comprehend. If they don't comprehend something, then how can they miss it? What they can comprehend is love. I have never met a child with special needs who I didn't think could interpret love. Even those who were completely paralyzed and non-verbal I still believed could sense when someone cared about them. I could be wrong, but I strongly hope I'm right.
Perhaps I should talk about the actual class I work in more often! More on that next time. :-)

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