With school opening all across the nation, the hustle and bustle of another busy year begins for kids, parents and teachers. In the midst of this hurrying and scurrying, our priorities can become distorted and we lose sight of some very special kids who need our attention.
Last week on my post, Hannah drew our attention to The New Kid in School and what we should do to help them adjust to their new surroundings.
This week, I’d like to focus on another group of kids who need tender loving care all year long and that is Kids With Special Needs.
What is meant by Kids With Special Needs?
This means any kid who might need extra help because of a medical, emotional, or learning problem. These kids have special needs because they might need medicine, therapy, or extra help in school — stuff other kids don’t typically need or only need once in a while. (kidshealth.org.)
The list might include:
- Kids in a wheelchair or use braces when they walk.
- Kids who have an illness, such as epilepsy, diabetes, or cerebral palsy.
- Kids with sight problems.
- Kids with hearing or speech problems.
- Kids with learning problems often have special needs.
- Kids with Down Syndrome.
Obviously, a big portion of their needs have to be provided by parents, teachers and counselors, such as making sure they have the necessary equipment and medicine according to their specific need.
However, there is a need that can only be met for these children by their own peers.
No one tells the story of this specific need better than someone who has been there. I’d like to share the story of someone who is very dear to me – my cousin, Suzanne Grant. Her story begins in kindergarten.
One by one, each child strolled across the big stage in the auditorium to the thunderous applause of parents and grandparents, as well as hundreds of people in this small town of Donalsonville, Georgia. These little ones were making their first mark into the world as graduates of Seminole County Kindergarten. Suddenly the jubilant crowd slumped into an eerie silence.
Five year old Suzanne Grant had been lifted onto the stage by her mother who steadied her balance, and then turned her loose. Slowly, the little girl who had been born with Spina Bifida and had received physical therapy plus been fitted with braces for this special occasion, pushed one foot forward to take her first step. Slowly, a second step followed, then a third, then a fourth until Suzanne reached the podium where she was given her diploma.
She then continued her journey into the waiting arms of her mother on the opposite side of the stage. At that moment the audience, which had sat frozen to their seats in stone silence, rose to their feet with a roar that could be heard all over town. Twelve years later, this same community gave Suzanne another thunderous applause and standing ovation when she rolled her wheelchair across the stage to receive her high school diploma.
But wait! There’s more. Born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord, Suzanne not only graduated from high school, but with her up-beat attitude, she plunged ahead and received a college degree also.
I spoke with Suzanne recently and asked her “what would you say was the most important thing to you as a young child in elementary school?”
Her immediate reply was
Having friends and being included in their activities. I loved being invited to birthday parties. The Girl Scouts group that I was a member of was especially good to me.
And so, my friends, in the hustle and bustle of preparing your child for the beginning of another school year, why not talk to him/her of ways to be a friend to Special Needs Kids — those kids whose health problems might prevent them from running and playing on the playground as your child can.
A few things you might offer as tips are:
- Carry their books down the hall if they need help.
- Ask them to join you and your friends for lunch in the cafeteria.
- Be sure to speak up for them if other kids tease or make fun of them. Also be sure to tell your teacher; no one deserves to be bullied and teased in a rude manner.
- Invite them to your birthday parties.
Can you just imagine the hurt and pain a young child suffers
by not feeling a part of his own peer group?
Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family. (Proverbs 18:24)
The siblings of special needs kids also are exposed to harassment. My grandniece was expected to live only to the age of 2. She is now 18. With multiple handicaps, she has taught her siblings to be accepting. As the oldest, she was the first to make my niece a Mom. She has also taught her Mom how strong she is. Yet they face criticism. Even at church where one woman didn’t want her daughter to be around “that.” And the siblings get harassed at school for their sister’s condition. Every life is precious. We are all created in God’s image. There is something of Him revealed in each person.
Teresa, you brought up a very good point about the siblings of a special needs child. Not many people probably recognize that they, too, are affected and treated unkindly. I know that I had not thought of that. I am sure your family has learned much through this that they are able to pass on to others. Thanks for sharing this.