Personal Narrative: Children With Disabilities

With the help of teachers and my efforts, I have been successful and was even a recipient of an academic achievement award for students with a 3.6 GPA or higher. It is not always easy learning the materials, studying and placing my thoughts onto paper, yet I will continue to advocate for myself in any circumstance necessary. Despite having learning challenges in the classroom, it does not limit my activities outside of the classroom. I love to volunteer! One of my favorite activities includes being a volunteer buddy for the Miracle League of the Fox Valley. The Miracle League is a baseball organization for children and adolescents with physical and/or cognitive challenges. My role of a buddy is to assist my fellow buddy in any needs she may need, protect her from possible injuries and make sure she is having fun! I love having the opportunity of being a buddy, it has formed a forever lasting companionship and provided smiles that touch us all! Addition to the Miracle League, I’m a member of National Honor Society in which I volunteer in several community organizations to help better the community. I was honored to be selected as a Link Crew member. It has been one of my greatest opportunities to advocate for my peers with disabilities. This is a first time that Appleton North Link Crew created a program for students with physical and cognitive challenges to be included in a freshman transition program in

All of us are quick to judge no matter if the judgement is good or bad. It was the first time we spent Christmas with our family in Dallas. All the faces around us were somewhat familiar. Like every family gathering us kids were to play outside with the other kids, but this time it was different.

As I was laying on the cushioned couch on a Saturday afternoon, my phone began buzzing in my dark black Nike basketball shorts. As I read the caller ID I noticed that it was my mom. As soon as I picked up the phone I knew something was wrong. My mom's voice was scratchy, and depressed. As I picked up the phone she immediately told me the horrifying news. For a few seconds I had to comprehend what I was hearing. After I analyzed what she had said I screeched my lungs out, bawling hysterically, as if I had heard that the world was ending. For a moment I couldn't breathe, hearing that our healthy Chihuahua had passed away. After that tragic day, about a few months later, even though I was still awestruck by that wretched day the question finally

I was diagnosed with Autism when I was 2 years old and it has affected my entire life more than anything else I have experienced. It has impacted the way I socialize and communicate with people, the way I think and understand the world,and it also affected my speech and development when I was younger. Autism also affects the way other people see me and I’m often misunderstood. I don’t remember everything about my life at that time, but I do know that I struggled a lot to get to where I am today. I’m also aware that it will impact my future and force me to work harder than my peers. Even though I have Autism, I will always know that it doesn’t define who I am and that I will improve no matter what.

I too was able to relate to this section. My uncle was born Deaf and married a Deaf woman they had three hearing children and one Deaf. It was interesting to read that the oldest daughter usually takes on the role of interpreter whether or not they are the oldest and this proved to be true in my family’s situation. I am sure she struggled with this but in all the years growing up I never heard her complain once and she has now become an interpreter for the Deaf as a profession. I am certain that she didn’t interpret everything to her parents because uneducated people can be cruel and I am sure she still carries some of that with her. I also found that the way people wanted the Deaf to be educated was quite interesting. My grandmother never

Tuesday was my first day in my general education classroom. When I arrived, there was a substitute in my classroom for the first half hour of the day, because Ms. Keane was in an IEP meeting. The substitute and the paraprofessional showed me around the classroom and told me about some of the students. There are 20 students in the classroom, and two of them are English language learners.

One organization in particular that has large involvement within the community to help disabled kids is this organization called Miracle League of the Triangle. This organization is country-wide organization that is located in multiple parts of the country. In particular, one location is in Cary, North Carolina. This organization is specifically related to the sport of baseball. This league operates like a real baseball league where there are multiple teams and each team plays against each other. Each player has some sort of disability where it’s a physical disorder or a mental disorder. The good thing about the involvement is that each player is assisted by a person known as a BUDDY where they help the player run the bases and hit the ball. It’s a real bonding moment for both the player and the BUDDY. It shows that the BUDDY really cares for the player and it makes the player feel more appreciated. The mission statement for the league is to create positive life experiences for children and adults with special needs and for their families through baseball. The league also has some core values in which they take and consider in this organization. Some values are that everything that is done should be player-centered and create an accepting, safe, and fun environment. The world sometimes responds in a ways not to accept people with special needs because they think they don’t fit into the society so they simply exclude them from most activities or other involvements in the community. To change this issue, the leagues organizes the baseball games to give kids a chance to participate in the community even if the league is a specific minority group. It gets these kids more involved to have exposure of interesting things in the world. The league gives everyone the opportunity to participate which creates unity among each other. The BUDDY system helps the staff, board, coaches

This event happens once a year and takes place at our high school stadium. Special needs kids come from all around my community to compete in events that best suit their physical or intellectual disabilities. It is truly astounding to see a whole community come together to support these kids. At this past year's Olympics I volunteered as a peer buddy and my responsibilities included walking my buddy, Luke, to his different events and making sure he was having a good time. Luke won first place in the ball throw and second place in the 100 meter dash. I loved seeing how happy he was when he was handed his ribbons and I was so fortunate to have been able to spend the day with

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

My whole life I felt love, but never like the love I experienced three years when I walked in the Lawrence County Developmental Center. The LCDC is the special needs program for the student of East Lawrence and I was chosen to be an aide my sophomore year. Most of the kids could not speak, if they could speak they still had problems communicating. I felt like I had walked into a totally different world, and that made me want to spend every free moment in the LCDC. My three years with those kids taught me the most incredible lesson: your life is what you make it.

I grew up at a Deaf residential school. For most of the time I slept there at the dorm. We –they had a night supervisor who also slept on site. Aww, she was such a very sweet old women. She retired at her old job and got a new job here at the Deaf residential school where I was staying. It was four of us girls she would watch. Nine-nine-thirty the lights were out. But at midnight, me and my three roommates decided we’d meet at- meet up. So I waited till midnight. I kept looking at my clock- is it time, is it time? And then the clock struck midnight. Me and my friends we met up. One of the girl had a boyfriend who came back from Canada. He had bought a whole sack of c-f- firecrackers when he was there. They’re not allowed here in the states but he bought them anyway.

Maybe I was too little, or maybe I was too short, but either way I did not make the jump. In the second grade I was your average eight year old, who always wore her hair in ponytails, and enjoyed playing tag at recess. One day I saw the fifth graders on the monkey bars at recess doing something I had never seen before, they were jumping to the fourth bar. I waited untill Kids Inc. that day to try the jump, but it was no use I was acting like a scared baby.

For my disability interview, I plan to interview a woman named Brittney Nicole (if no one else has chosen her), who was born with cerebral palsy. Brittney is a 21 year woman who is a college student at Penn State University and is very open to her disability. She posted many blogs on themighty.com based on her disability and how she has overcame hard times throughout her life especially in college. She has indicated various times through her blogs, how technology has assisted her and has made her life easier. For example, Brittney has relied on her IPhone as a phone, computer, and wallet to decrease the load that she carries each day. She said that the use of a computer is necessary for college students, but due to the weight of laptops, Brittney

Is this the day? Her mind kept asking the same question over and over. Taylor was at the soccer field on a sunny Saturday morning drinking her water, though she spilled it. Taylor was born with a hand disability that makes her hands not function like ours. This disability doesn't let her use her hands the proper way. Her joints make her hand point down, so she can't wave or shake someone's hand. Taylor loves to play soccer. She dreamed of scoring a goal one day.

Tyrone Smith, Artist extraordinaire, is the focus of this interaction. I have known Tyrone for about 6 years. We met when he began working at my job. I was responsible for his training. I have known Tyrone for some time, but have never asked him about his hearing loss or deafness. Intrigued to know more I requested to interview him on a beautiful day during our lunch break. He is the first deaf/HOH person I ever met. He is funny, extremely talented and a dedicated father, who speaks well though he is deaf.