Correction and a word on boldness

I have to comment on the story about Luke. I don't really don't know the full story with Luke, I just filled the parts I didn't know with BS to help drive my point home. That would have been fine except there a link to this blog off of my Facebook page and Luke's mom is one of my facebook friend and sure if she is a reader. So I thought I would come clean before I get busted. My relationship with Luke and his family means a lot to me, I don't want to hurt them in anyway. That shouldn't take away from my point that mental illness and self-injury are at endemce levels in the disability community and something needs to be done about it. I assure you that the rest of this thing is the honest truth, well at least how I see it

At chruch yesterday the surmon was about how god calls on us sometimes to be bold. I couldn't agree more, especially agree more especially in these hard times. Times like these call for bold ideas and actions. The same old, same old, is not going turn the econmy around. The Junor Senator from IL knew that when he decided to run for president. They called him a radcial and worse. They said he would never win. That the US was not ready for a president with his skin color. Now that senator is President Barack Obama and he's making the bold moves it takes to fix things. I think the time has come for me make a bold move. This fall I plan to move to Dayton, Ohio to earn my Masters of Education from Wright State University and become a lincensed to teach early childhood special education. This is something Ive thought about for two years, I feel the time has come to do it. Working with young children with special needs is something I enjoy. It something I'm passionate about and I feel I really make a difference in the field. I have often wondered if I would have gotten to Travis the boy I worked with at the county when was 3 or 4 and gave him the love he needed and taught him how to communicate maybe his life woud be better. I don't have everything about this Wright State figured out yet but I'll get there.

Good news and random musing

Got some good news today, about year ago I was dinosed with a condition called barrett's eshgus, it is caused by stomach juices washing back into your eshgus, if it goes untreated it can turned into esgus cancer. The doctors took a sample of my enhgus to biopchecis this week, I got the results today and the Barrett's have recessed, it's weaker now then anytime we been montioring it. Things are so good the doctor doesn't want another biotphecis in the next three years.

I heard about a student I worked with during my YATC days. He has a job working with the disabled. He's helping one his clients with reading skills and doing lots other good stuff. He even has hot little honey at home. I'm so pround of him and I'm proud of myself for helping get to the point he is. I worked hard on that and it was my pleasure because he's such a great guy. I was always considered the problem child of YATC , well the other student I was a mentortoo is now taking classing at the community college, so I guess I wasn't too bad.

I remmber a while ago a sat a lunch table in a lunch room, there was a group 6 0r 7 of us that sat together everyd ay. All of us were disabled in someway some were blind, some had Cerebral Palsy, some mentally disabled. I remember the one guy that sat there Micheal confided that his girlfriend had left him ad he believed it because he was blind. I had recently started having seizures and not started to accept it. My relationship with the special ed department at OSU would start to come undone during that time too. This would all it all it me harder then my head hit the work bench in Mr. Geyer's workshop during one of my seizures. My point is everyone at that table had problem and dreams. For time out of day we put that stuff away and talked joked and ate. Disability was the common bond we shared. Micheal once pointed out that we all had names out of the bible. Since then we have all move on to the next phase in our lives. I remember this curly haired kid who use sit across from me at that table the one in the wheelchair and arm braces. I'll pathes will cross again my gut tells me that.

One of the neat things about special ed is get to meet some neat people. One such personI've met is Lauri. Lauri has always reminded me of my mom, she about her age, she a very kind and gentle person. She's kind of a old hippie type, I saw her at comfest last year. When I was doing field work in Lauri's building, she would always stop me in the hall and ask me how I was and how my day was going. This was during when I early in my seizures days so it helped to see a friendly face. There is an adventous side to Lauri, she works with students with visual impairments, she has taken them on a trip to Washington DC and a White Water Raffing trip. Let say I have a fear of water, been that way since I was a kid. Lauri has a son with CP, I've worked with him a little bit, he a great kid with a great furture a ahead of him. I hear thru the grapevine Lauri's building is adding a special needs preschool program. I would love to teach there after I get my preschool lincense and I know her prinipal likes me from previous work there. I was always a warm and homey place, I enjoyed my time there.

Those reading this in the education know you to close to certain students. You care about all you student some are extra special for some reason. This far in my career ive moved around alot but every place ive went there been at least one student that was extra special. I remember when was at the county school there was this kid named Travis, he had CP, Autism, and profound MR. He had not had a easy live. His mom was into achol and drugs and his dad was a deadbeat, Travis ended up in foster care. Travis didn't interact with people that much, but I could get him to interact with me. I use to design sensory activies for him, he really had a ball with them. While I only got to work with Travis for limited time I would like to think I brought some happiness in to his life.

lesson learned at the school for the blind

Winter of my senior year of college I did field exprience at the state school for the blind. Sevrel things about that exprience stand out in my mind about that exprinece. The biggest is Luke (not his real name) who had CP as well as being blind. Luke was also fighting a mental illness that caused him to injury him himself. He had already injuried his face to the point of disfigurement. They put braces on his hands to prevent him from doing anymore damage. Luke's mom worked at the school and in what must of been hard time for both of them they came everyday. They kept on truckin as the Greatful Dead song. I remember Luke use come down to the lunchroom and sit with the same table everyday listen other kids while his one on one fed him lunch. He was hoping for better days and better days. Over time Luke was able go without the hand braces, even thought he needed a note reminding him keep hands on armrests of his wheelchair. He graduated from school now he on the road to a great furture. Luke taught about hanging in there when times are rough are necessary to get to better times. A lesson that sevred me well when my health went to pot. I'm still in touch with Luke and his mom there good people, that desevre the good time there getting.


I wish I could tell that self-injury among disabled people was rare, or it only that's it only happens among low-functioning disabled people, but that would be a lie. Luke is very smart. Many of my disabled friends have engaged in self-injurious behavior in some point in there lifes. I have short spell when I use to cut myself. So what is causing disabled people to take knifes and lighters to themshelfves. I don't really know for sure. I think part of it is everbofy puts such a emaphasis on being normal. And instead of our schools and parents saying the world is wrong, they try to change us to meet the world expectations. Inexcesstion they are saying we are wrong. I admit treating the disability snd making a disabilible is easier then lobbing and doing what takes do really change things, but is it really the right thing to do? Why dont er decide the same energy being used to cure the disabled to change laws and views so being disable are not a bad thing. The parents of disabled children instead of looking for werid new age treatment/cures, they should work side by side with disabled adult do fight for oppunity for there children that id real. They should be helping to build the disabilied communities there children will one day live in. Just my two cents take it for what it's worth.

Today was a good day

Been meaning to write in this but every time I seat down to do it something else on the net lures me away. Today my best friend Bryan got married. Bryan and I have known each other since we were kids. We consider each other brothers. He has Cerebral Palsy more servly then I do. He uses a power wheelchair and has limited use of his hands. In some areas his mind works slowly when come to some things, but in some areas he's the smartest person I have ever met. He has said some profound things. The women he married has spirnal bifada, which is birth defect having to do with the spinal cord and she uses a wheelchair too. They have both had some rough times,but the rough times didn't matter today. Today they where both happy and in love.


Bryan works at one the local workshops as client advocate. He preforms various functions around the workshop. He is good at what he does. One thing that makes good his job is the fact that he is disabled like his clients. The clients realize he is disabled, so they more prone to listen to him. He also knows better how to sevre them because he recives services himself. He has staff at home that help him. Last Sunday my pastor was saying that it is so easy feel close to Jesus because we can relate him. Not that we relate turn water to wine or rising the dead or curing the sick. We can relate to his suffering because we have all suffered at some point in our live. Another example he used was the Wizard of Oz the big green head with smoke and flame that helped dorothory and her friend get it was the feble man behind the curtain the man the man they could relate too. I feel that part my affectness as a teacher is that my students can relate to me. In the same token I came relate my students I can adjust myself to suite them better. That's one way my seizures my benefit me it might give me insight into my students.


There are certain unwritten rule about disable people. We not suppose to go to college, get married, have kids and others. My generation seems intend on breaking all the rules and I like it. Power to the people. Bryan married another disabled person that took guts, your more likly to gets critized that way. But critism doesn't mean anything when your in love.