Jenna Ragonesi
April Sikorski
English
21 September 2011
How Can I Help Children With Special Needs?
Introduction
Ever since I was a young girl I knew I wanted to work with children. I
previously worked at a daycare center and loved being around the kids; there was
never a dull moment. My junior year of high school, I joined the Miracle League; a
league dedicated to playing baseball with children who have disabilities. Instantly, I
knew that I wanted to devote my life to children with special needs. I realized I not
only wanted to be a teacher, I wanted to be a special educations teacher. Educating
children with disabilities is the most fulfilling form of teaching.
Miracle League gave me the foundation to assist people with disabilities.
Everyone helped each other thus creating an atmosphere that was always enjoyable
for those involved. I was especially involved with a disabled young girl, Cadence. We
helped each other in a variety of ways. Physically, I would walk her around the bases
of the field. Emotionally, I gave her a sense of joy that she could achieve her goal of
truly participating in a baseball game. In return, she helped me gain a new
perspective on life.
It is very difficult to work with children who are unable to communicate
back. This is because you never know if what you’re doing is right or wrong. As you
spend more time with these children, you begin to understand their language. The
kids who are unable to speak develop their own language in which you, as a family
member or friend, must learn to be able to effectively communicate with them.
At the end of the day, helping children with special needs is more fulfilling
than helping children without a disability. I’m not saying that it’s that way for
everybody, but that’s how I feel.
There are many different ways in which kids communicate. Most children cry
or scream, but not Cadence. Cadence is 14-years old and was diagnosed with Wolf
Hirsbhhorn syndrome at birth. This disease makes her incapable of talking; up until
the age of 11 she was unable to walk. Not being able to communicate was frustrating
for her parents let alone cadence. As a result, they started taking Cadence for sign
language lessons. From those she started learning another way to communicate
other then verbally. Her mom proceeded to tell me how she turned it into her own
language. Cadence created her own type of sign language. For example, most people
understand that to sign mother you put your thumb underneath your chin and move
it in a half circle motion once. For Cadence, she signs mother by touching her nose
with her thumb. Cadence also uses what is called Dynavox, which is similar to a
computer that tests your cognitive skills and helps you communicate. When Cadence
is asked a question she will look to this device and find the picture answer on the
screen.
For my interviews I asked my friend E.J. questions on how it feels to be the
brother/family member of a person with disabilities. If anyone could help me the
most it would be E.J. because he has a close relationship to his brother who has both
autism and muscular dystrophy. He always brags about his brother and some of the
things he would accomplish. It was not until I met his brother, Joe, that I really felt a
connection to him. I started off by asking E.J.,“ how does having a special needs
family member affect your everyday life?” My reasoning for asking is because in
order to get close to these children I feel that I need some family background. His
response was, “It makes you appreciate what you have in your life and how much
worse it could be.” This next question was for me to know how others truly interact
with disabled children. I imagine that family members can really notice people
acting different around them. E.J answered, “Just the same as a normal person.
Definitely a lot more love and attention when he walks into the room but just the
same as a regular human being.” This final question was to help my knowledge of
teaching. I asked him, “Do you have any advice on how to help these children
improve. Is there anything that we can do as teachers that you do specially at
home?” He replied, “Work with them more than one year to stay with them during
their school grades because it helps them feel comfortable around you and in return
you get to know them a lot better and know how they learn or do things.” That
response was very helpful because I did not know that you are able to stick with
them for more than one grade. It is also comforting to know that because I am able
to pick up on how they learn and throughout the years I’ll be able to effectively
teach them to the best of my abilities as well as their own.
I really like your introduction I think it is really good and keeps the reader
interested.