Hi everyone!  I am incredibly excited to be blogging for the Massachusetts Council for Exceptional Children, and welcome you all to join me on my journey to becoming a special educator.  I am currently a junior at Boston College and am double majoring in human development and psychology with a minor in special education.  I aim to concentrate my studies on severe special needs after college graduation, an occasion which once seemed so far away and is now running towards me at full speed!

I hope that through this blog you will be able to share in my experiences as a undergraduate studying special education and encourage any questions, comments, or suggestions for future posts!  

To get us started, I wanted to share a poem that truly inspires me to pursue a career in special education.  To be honest, I don't actually remember where I first discovered this, but the words have remained with me since I first became interested in working with children affected by disabilities seven years ago.  

I Am The Child 

I am the child who cannot talk. You often pity me, I see it in your eyes. You wonder how much I am aware of — I see that as well. I am aware of much — whether you are happy or sad or fearful, patient or impatient, full of love and desire, or if you are just doing your duty by me. I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater, for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do.

You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times. I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated. I do not give you answers to your everyday questions, responses over my well-being, sharing my needs, or comments about the world about me. I do not give you rewards as defined by the world’s standards — great strides in development that you can credit yourself; I do not give you understanding as you know it.

What I give you is so much more valuable — I give you instead opportunities. Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine; the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities; the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible. I drive you further than you would ever go on your own, working harder, seeking answers to your many questions with no answers. I am the child who cannot talk.

I am the child who cannot walk. The world seems to pass me by. You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair, to run and play like other children. There is much you take for granted. I want the toys on the shelf, I need to go to the bathroom, oh I’ve dropped my fork again. I am dependant on you in these ways. My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune, your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself. Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them. I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright, to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent. I give you awareness. I am the child who cannot walk.

I am the child who is mentally impaired. I don’t learn easily, if you judge me by the world’s measuring stick, what I do know is infinite joy in simple things. I am not burdened as you are with the strifes and conflicts of a more complicated life. My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child, to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love. I give you the gift of simplicity. I am the child who is mentally impaired.

I am the disabled child. I am your teacher. If you allow me, I will teach you what is really important in life. I will give you and teach you unconditional love. I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you. I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted. I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams. I teach you giving. Most of all I teach you hope and faith. I am the disabled child.

Author Unknown  

This poem reminds that while I am a student to my professors and textbooks, I also have so much to learn from the very children with whom I hope to work someday.  From them I will receive some of the most meaningful lessons, including how to love, how to face challenge with courage and determination, and how to appreciate this life for all it is.  The opportunity to work with child with disabilities is truly a privilege, and I look forward to all the lessons I have yet to learn.  
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