The Abilities of Those With Disabilities

There is a boy in my grade whose brother was born completely deaf. His family thought he would never be able to hear in his life. When I went to see the guide dogs with my class, we got to pet the puppies. In that room was a blind woman. She will never be able to see. When I was little my very best friend had a nanny who got very ill and was about to die when I met her. She could not speak or eat by herself. This women could barely hold her head up.

These three people I have told you about all have disabilities that are not unheard of. This post though is now about what they can't do, but rather what these people can do.

The boy who was deaf when he was born had magnetic plates implanted into his head. This little boy can hear with just a millisecond of delay. This boy can do exactly what your average boy can do. He is about four years old. He is not treated differently and does not act differently. This boy is truly spirited because even at this early age in his life, the problem he had he has overcome. He has to use the devise in his head that is almost like a magnet and he has what looks like head phones. He can hear accurately and flawlessly. He said to me "I have blue ears!" and pointed to the plates on his head.

The lady I met at the guide dog facility who is blind can use her hands to do whatever she needs. Her smile was just as bright as anyone else's. She could handle the dogs just as well as if she could see them. The way she can do things is just as great as the way I do things.

The second lady I told you of I lost touch with. I remember being nervous to meet her when I was little. She couldn't express her feelings by talking. I knew she was joyful by the happy tears rolling down her cheeks.

I have a friend a year older than me with Downs Syndrome. Even though teachers have told her mother she may not do well in school, she can read and write in two languages. She loves dancing and takes hip hop dance classes. She socializes with people and doesn't isolate herself even though she is different, we even have tea parties together. At her Bat Mitzvah she didn't just have a party, she got up and made a speech in front of the whole crowd and told them how happy she was that they all came. When we first met and I was little, I thought she didn't help clean up toys because she wanted me to clean everything, and I thought she was hard to understand when she spoke because she was chewing gum. When I was a little older, my mom explained that she might not understand about clean up time, and that she had a speech impediment. I didn't care how she spoke, I just liked to have fun with her. She loved when I would learn a new song at Girl Scouts with hand motions and I would teach them all to her.

These people with disabilities are truly spirited and often capable of things we can't do. Everyone is different and we are all unique in our own way.

- Alice, The Spirited Kid
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Comments

[Ali]

hey alice! is brennan the boy in our grade who's little brother you were talking about?

-ali