Oh my goodness, it has been some time! I have been really busy trying to finish graduate school and have not had as much time to share my writings with you! But, with my major portfolio turned in, I am just counting down the days until graduation now…just 33 more… 🙂
Here is a blog I wrote based on a book I read called The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal. Enjoy!
I find it inspiringly ironic that Jonathan Mooney was able to write an entire book on his experiences living with dyslexia and ADHD, two “disabilities” that normalcy in America normally wouldn’t expect to generate this type of achievement. In his book, Jon is able to tap into the essence of what it means to be a person on both ends of the disability chain. Several times in his book, he reveals to us that he has indeed been a perpetuator of normalcy, initially questioning the amount of value that people with certain disabilities can have if they cannot achieve success like he did. On the flip side, he falls victim to the intense and unfair labeling that disabilities breed in our culture. Although I would never wish for a certain population within the human race to cease to exist, I have thought about what it would be like to have a child with a disability.
Much like Jon’s acquaintance with Candee, who has a daughter Katie with Down syndrome, my thoughts regarding this issue bring out the “dark side of me.” Perhaps my hesitation, prejudices, and unease about having a child with a disability stems from fear; fear that I will not know how to care for a child with a disability, fear that it will not be easy, or fear that my child will not be able to lead a “normal” life. And yet, I am confronted with that word again. Normal.
Every experience we encounter in our lives makes us normal. The fact that we are capable of experiencing events in our life that evoke emotional responses, both good and bad, make us normal. In fact, I believe that our experiences with adversity and diversity make us more normal and allow us to become more of who we are. As Candee discovered in her personal journey, because her very fears were exposed, she realized how much she loved and cared for Katie. In turn, she learned so much more about herself.
Special education and prescription drugs are two huge multi-million to multi-billion dollar industries. Our society teaches us to view children in special education as “abnormal” and as incapable of complex brain functioning. These are the children that are told they will never amount to more than flipping burgers at your local McDonald’s, much like Jonathan Mooney was told his entire life. (Go tohttp://www.youtube.com/user/JonsShortBus#p/a/u/0/l7z0VHuaoc4 and watch the videos of him speaking on his YouTube page. He also has a couple short clips on The Short Bus Documentary.) And while many people with disabilities will only have the opportunity to work at fast food joints, like Katie, this does not make them any less human or any less capable of experiencing the same human emotions as we “normal” people experience.
The problem with our distorted perceptions about people with disabilities is two-fold: First, as a society we are largely uneducated about both the normalcy and diversity that exist within the disability population. Second, and as a result of the first, we are fearful of what we do not know or understand. This causes us to make assumptions based upon what other people have told us or what is ingrained in our brains as a culture. Thus, we are led to believe that people living with disabilities are less than or different from the norm.
In my mind, as educators we are responsible for changing this perception and creating a new culture. We must create a culture to be proud of, one that accepts and celebrates differences. We must first be educated ourselves on what it means to have a disability and understand the capacities we have to directly impact the children we work with on a daily basis. Our visions become their visions; our influences become their influences.
As we saw numerous times in Mooney’s book, people with disabilities everywhere are defying the odds and shining their lights, their talents, and their gifts on us “normal” people so that we can learn to appreciate that success comes in all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, we can learn that people “are valuable just because of their presence” (Mooney, Ch. 12). One thing I found incredibly uplifting from this book was when Mooney talked about what he learned from a simple card game with Katie. He said, “What I do know is because of Katie, no one was left out, no one won, no one lost, no one cared, and we were all more ourselves than we were before the game” (Mooney, Ch. 12).
Isn’t that what all humans search for their entire lives? We all just want to be ourselves, to be loved, and to feel like we belong to someone or something. People with disabilities are no different than us. In the case of people with disabilities, yes it is true that some might not be able to read or write. But in a sense, where some lack in traditional academic basics, they triumph in understanding the very meaning and foundation of a human existence. It is possible that people with disabilities can teach us more about how to love and how to become more of who we are if we just change our perspective and do not let fear guide our cognitions. In closing to achieve my point, I will leave you with one final thought from Jeff in Chapter 15. He says, “The computers extend my thinking. People extend my loving.”
Torrey Mcknight
Mooney, J. (2007). The short bus: a journey beyond normal. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
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