Awareness!

Today, April 2nd, is Autism Awareness Day! If you know me at all, you know I have a heart for kids with special needs, and in fact, I came dangerously close to becoming a special education teacher. I've worked with lots of different  kids who have special needs, everything form high functioning to severe and profound. And I just love them. I think kids with special needs are fun, challenging, but fun.

My senior year of high school I interned in an EC (exceptional children's) class at an elementary school. I worked in a room with 6 little boys, k-3rd, who where all at least mild/moderate but mostly severe and profound. During that year, I loved on all those boys. They were the highlight of my day. Sometimes I would skip my other classes just to stay in there with them. There was one boy though that stole my heart. He was 5 and had Down's Syndrome. He was high functioning, and smart...sometimes too smart, he was sneaky and knew how to get his way. There were many times I would look at him and see this look. I hated that look, because I knew he was about to blot. He loved to run and he was FAST. Countless times I chased him, full speed down the hall and around the school (as other teachers just moved out of the way instead of helping). This kid also was suborn!! He gave me a run for my money and there were times we had a battle of wills. One day, he even bit me. It was a massive bruise/cut at the time, but now I just have a tiny little scar. But this kid also would crawl in my lap, tell me jokes, whisper secrets in my ear, run to me the moment I walked in the room to show me something he had done,  and called me "S-air-i-ca" (because he had trouble with J). He had me totally wrapped around his finger.

 I'm not going to lie and say 'when I look at kids with special needs, I don't see the disability.' I do see the disability. But I look past that to see these kids for who they are, and not define them by a disability. Growing up, there were people in my life who were older than me and had disabilities. Because they were older, I never had expectations of what they should be like. I just saw them for who they were. That is somethings that no amount of classes could have ever taught me. We have to let go of the 'normal' expectations for a child with special needs and understand 'normal' has gone out the window....and replaced with an amazing and unique individual.

Yesterday I heard someone say "a story dies if it is not told." Stories live through people telling them. Kids with special needs have great stories. I realize special needs isn't everyone thing. But if you have to chance to talk to someone with special needs, hear their story...or any story they tell...do it! It is so worth it!

If you have spent time with me, you also know I DESPISE "the R-word" when talking about someone with special needs. Its a word that is outdated and offensive. And if you use it around me, I will break you of the habit  :)