Balll helper : asking and thanking

After coach C told me last year that I would not suit up i was preaty bummed out to say the least. I decided to ask coach g. Coach g was i admit the last person I though would ever say yes to the idea. She had me in PE knew that I acted out, but yet like J mac I asked and prepared my slef my saying that i had had 99% chance of helping out but I was happy when coach G said yes the result is .

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fall 2010 I got to be apart of a team. I had a small job, it could have been done by players or coaches but it meant the world to me. I got to sit on the bench and cheer on the team. I was able to listen to strategy in the team room shake hands with the teams at the end of the game. Get into a quad basketball game for free ( not a supper big deal but a nice benefit) I was on the team and what was great was that other people at my high school knew I was on the team and treated me like it. Did i get to suit up? no but I was on the team and more importantly I had something fun to do Fridays nights which is what every teen deceivers. Whenever I saw ms G I thanked her after the season because she took a chance on a kid with CP and hopefully if she is presented with other disabled kids who want to help out she will remeber that it gave me a lot of happiness on those Friday nights

Laughter is always the best medicence

  the  story:  In  speech  one day  my speech teacher  Ms.F   in a effort to  see that  I am  not the only one who speaks   badly    told me about a deaf  lady who  was a  stand  up comic.  We  looked on  youtube   heard  her speek  the   bell  rang  and  I had   Mr.T    next period  so  i    rushed  to his classroom   and forgot about  it



August  2010: I am   web sufeing on  youtube and frond this  and  it  hit me that this  was the same  lady  Ms.F had  told  me about. I watched  it and all  I can say  is that her experince   is  so similar to  mine. My favorite  part  is     about the   red ballon and Mike. This video will make  you cry  laugh    and  be in awe.  Enjoy it my  friends

It should not be a fight

    I have  seen and heard  Many stories about    parents  who  have to   fight  for there child  to be in   mainstream  and   after  reading such  accounts  I  wonder why  does  it have to be a fight   on there  part    to   let disabled  kids  go to inclusive  school.

My mom  came  to   my  kindergarten  class    when we had our career
  unit I am  sitting on    my  teachers lap   listening to what she does  in the
hospital

I  have always  been  included  since  kindergarten.  It was a no  brainier    for  my  parents  and the  two  school districts  because  I  have   normal    intelligence.      I would not trade      inclusion   for special  education,  (although  I must admit  I  wish  I had  more life skills when I graduated high school ) because I have  met so many wonderful  teachers, students and faculty as well as  being  apart   of   all of my school  communities.  I  have  so  Many great   memories   of     being in the  mainstream  and  going  on  field  trips  and  discovering     new  things.      I  just graduated   from  inclusive  high school  but  have  left behind   a club and lessons  that  others have  learned  from  me.

Ms P  (red)  was my sped teacher  all t
throughout high school here  i am  with her
 halloween 2009

  I have had   help and support   from special  education  teachers and staff  and have  participated in  ST     a  one  to  one aid  and  Work ability   while  being  able  to read    write and  learn  with  people  in my community, people who  live  near  me and     in my city    because  I have  been  in inclusive education

 Field trip  fun.

I   care so much about inclusion  because   Cerebral  Palsy   could  have    caused me  to  have a  intellectual disability  are be     so  disabled  that  the  best  place  for me   would have  been a separate  class  or  a special   needs  school.    I     care because  I  have  friends with   disabilities both online   and in  real life   who are not included . I   see   what  a shame it  is  that  other people will not have the chance  to get to know them.

Art work  2009   the teacher
used  to be a sped  teacher
  I  took  ceramics  during my Senior
year  of high school 

 I have  heard   from a  favorite  teacher of mine that    when  they taught at   another  school the kids with disabilities  were  there  but  they never  got to see  or talk to them.  The kids   missed  out   on getting  to  see   and talk  and  make a connection  with   the  person  who has been  a great   mentor and  friend to me.       The teacher  has been  working as teacher for  a while  but  I  was  their  first    student my   level  of  disability    it was not easy  but    like they  said    at the end of the  year   " Oh  the stories we could  tell"  and     I   am a character in  that story  along with  the  other students.(maybe   mine are the   annoying  and hard stories  but     hopefully there are some great ones of just me and  the whole class) I  have not heard  any  stories  yet from that class  but   I would buy the  book .........I  think.....  lol

 School is not the only  area that  inclusion
  should  apply to but to   all types of  recreation for
  peers of   similar ages. I played  soccer in AYSO    from pre k
 to  8th  grade every fall

 Inclusion     should  not be    so  hard because  unlike a driver's   test which should be  earned because the   result  of     it not  going  badly are deadly     inclusion  dose  not hurt anyone . In fact inclusion  benefits  everyone   involved the students  teacher s and school community.       In    all classes i have been  in  (AP   US history  include)   everyone isn't  at the same level  so why is it that    people  say it is  easier  not  to  have  kids with  intellectual  disabilities   at the  same   classrooms. With   mortifying  assignments    or    simplfilng  the  information     all kids would be able to learn better.  Inculsion   was not  a fight  for me  and should not be a fight for anyone  else.

I passed AP history ,but aged out of speech

I have cerebral palsy which is mild ;however, it still noticeable in one way when I open my mouth to say something. Not saying anything for me isn't a option because i love to talk and i am funny which means strangers will always wonder what is wrong with me or think that i have low intelligence which is soo not the case. AS Deb pointed out her speaking has no consistency with intelligence

This has happened a lot of times during my course of my life. I remember adults talking to me or asking my parents what I say it far more what happens. It happened recently at a restaurant with some family friends. I order something off the adult menu(which makes sense considering my age) . I had an adult drink but come meal time I got a thing I wanted from the kids menu. Now most people would not be bothered by this but looking back I wonder if the waitress gave me something from the kids menu because she thought I was not a adult or that I would not know the difference because I had a intellectual disability I wonder.

I did pass Advanced placement united states history and it is true. I passed my test with a three. with high school ending I aged out of free speech therapy and there are still things I could work on. Mr.T stutters a little bit but he is still smart and wise and the administrates trust him to teach AP and he is a great teacher. I may talk unclearly but that dose not mean I am dumb.


pic is from http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/295742-3812-20.jpg

Ready or not here I come

no not hide and seek but graduation i graduated from high school for the first and last time. I had a party at my house with my family and got my video games back so even though it sucks that high school is over I am glad my video games are back in my possessions

I do not get by

Remeber the Beatles song I get by with a little help from my friends well for me I do not get by with help because I do not feel that I have friends to lean on. I do have the kid from my b ball team who is my best friend but he is only a eighth grader. I have typical friends but they are not scared of transiton so it is hard to go to them for help. Plus I have the suspiction that i tag along with them instead of being true friends with them. I have some socal skills but as a senior in high school (with five days left) I can not work in groups I still act like a child. i am no where near ready and hanging out with Mr T is out of the picture as well so how am I going to survive.

At Special Olympics there are kids who could realte but DD has single handly made it so I do not have acess to them. The girls are disabled and whats more they have fromed a click and make my life a liveing hell. I got into a fight with them saying that they belong in Slytheren( from harry potter) and they belong to the vampire hunters( They realy enjoy twilight) The coach then repermand me for makeing this wrose because I also cussed at them ( was tempted to use the R word but I did not ) So I do not know how I am going to deal with the transition from high school. If anyone has a time machine can you please let me use it to go back to the begging of senior year instead of where i am now

Transition to adult life part two

It is now may 6 and school gets out in less than 30 days and I am getting more woried by the day. I do not understand why help if you are in inculsive education has to end when we are 18. I am soo not ready.


It also makes me frustrated that there is only two ways of life for someone like me. Sheltered workshops or day care or collage life with limited support. i got into a program today however it is totally special ed classes on a collage campus. i am not sure i want this there has to be a better way to ease into adult life If anyone has any suggestions how to help please leave a comment.

Milestone ahead

I am going to prom on Friday wish me luck

basketball 2010 part two

From the time I was little I always wanted to knoww what it felt like to be on a school team for my school. That has not happend since sizth grade but flash forad to last year. Mr C bailed on the soccer team ( but we are still great friends ). I dicieded I would bite the bullet and ask coach G if I could help out. I had perepared my slef by saying there was a 99% percent chabce the coach would say no and a ONE PERCENT CHANCE THAT SHEE WOULD say yes. Ms G said yes and I became a ball kid for the varsity basketball team. I had to be in charge of the balls at the home games and got to sit on the bench and shake hands after the game. I got to be a manger on the basketball team and although I never suited up to play in the game I was apart of the team.

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Milestone

that is what I did today I ran 2 times around a track at school. Not bad for someone who parents worried about if she be able to walk .

Happy St Patricks Day

I were green today and had a cupcake. A good day indeed


In case you want to read about elfs and faries My aunt JO martin has four books out that are kid friendly. There are chapter books about a girl named Lily kingmen who enters another world on the eve of her 18th birthday only to fine out that she herself is fiery from a famous fairy family

Do not go buy books just yet because I might have a give a way later if i get permission from my aunt

Transition to adult life

I have been wanting for a long time to write about how i feel about leaving high school for a long time and Ellen's post about her run in with the lady with Down Syndrome gave me fuel for my story here it goes.

All high school seniors there is a big fear about what lies ahead. Think about it from the time you are five and six you go to and from school Monday through Friday come home are under adults supervision while you are at home. In the case after high school a new routine takes place one that involves growing up and moving away from home or getting a job and going to community collage. Normal people handle this well. My brother did and now he is back near by ( well now he is in AZ) but he still lives at home with his mom.

Now through in CP ,NVLD, OCD and a fear about the future it is hard. I personally do not want to levee high school and leave the familiar that i have had since I was a newborn. I am not that independent and the aspect of a roommate in collage scares me. The fact that i have normal intelligence means that I can not stay until I am 21 which means fall next year I am going to be lost.

Now that I am a senor my parents and i have to plan for the rest of my life. This has to be the scariest part of transition as the future seems like a big black abyss. i am so scared like i have ever been. I love things to stay the same so these next months are going to be scary. I know i do not want to live in a group home and although I want to live at home next year I doubt I will always be comfortable living at home so I will need to learn how to live on my own. I want to get married and have some kids so I can coach there teams help with scouts etc will that happen i sure hope so. I want to be a self advocate and an author for the disabled and make the world more inclusive but i will need some help. I hope some adults at school will continue to help me as I transition from there but until i leave in May I am going to enjoy every last minute of my high school experience. My advice to all parents is to enjoy the kids as they are kids and listen to them and help make their dreams come true.

A perfect example of Inculsion.

time 12:20 Augest 9 2010
place English classroom belonging to Mr T who is an general ed teacher a bunch of students inculcating AZ who has NVLD and CP making group work and public speaking hard for her to do.

Mr.T was talking to his students about Orthello and to start out the unit he was taking a abbreviated script for groups of three to act out. Mr.T knows how hard group work is for Az so he says that she is Director and has to find out the tone of the play. AZ loves the idea because he told her it is kinda like AP work( he also teaches to Senior AP- English) and she has always wanted to take. About ten minutes latter the class reconvines and he sits with AZ and togeter watch the play ( a actor who will remain nameless) got near the director but he moved back much to AZ's delight) Then Mr T asks AZ a question and she got it wrong but it dose not matter what matters is that Inclusion happened and she was one happy girl at lunchtime. Mr.T is genius





Why did it work: Mr .T knows that social stuff are hard for AZ & IT always ends in frustration of monopolizing the project. He also knows that Az loves a challenge and wishes that she was in AP. He put 2 together took the script and wrote tone on it in certain points for her to do while the others were practicing the same scene. He then helped check her work when she was done at his desks. The result is one happy well ran classroom and a kid who can grin and say that she was an director today and had fun doing a special job.
AZ 8-10-09

You have to see this movie

comes on tonight on hbo I can not wait !!!


now to set my dvr and do some homework


ugh homework well that is just one of the down sides of inculsive education.

School update

IEP: went really bad enough said..

In other news i have been acting well in English class. Four days in fact last Friday -through Thursday (Friday we went to a play about AIDS) It was part of days of respect which happened at school last week. the secret is simple Mr T is my favorite teacher this year and when he talked to me about relaxing and giving up being the center of attention it cliked thanks to a song. i have frond that I learn better too if I let the Info come to me thanks (Disney if y do not understand look below) and do not raise my hand . This has not yet transform into other classes yet but it has to start somewhere right?.


On Thursday my club the DDAC was a part of a school wide fair for Days of respect week. I did not get videos on my filp because it was so hectic. We set up two games or simulations one was blindfolding a person stick there hand into a paper bag and trying to see what the object was and the other was doing a puzzle with your fingers tied. Ido not have pics but will post about the simulations soon with what I have from the night before next week some time.


(Pic is of Princess , book gal , Balu, and me from our last time in Disneyland Summer 2006)

A Princess party

Or  not    .Tomarrow is  my annual  IEP.  Thanks  to  my wonderfull behavor and great  grades (so not the case)   the IEP  will  go  nicely.

 I am so  nevous.     I think  my  self  esteem  will be going  down  tomarrow  morning and  I will be  more nevous then  I am already am ( if  that  is  even possible)  for life after  high school.

  The  bad thing  is I   touched the fire  sota  speak last Thursday so  it  was  too  late  for this IEP  but  maybe  not  for  open  house  which  is  in  march but that  dose not cover  life after high school. ( more on these  topics   soon  i hope)

 pic is me  age 19 months  

Disability simulations brain storm?

Do you guys know any good ones be creative. I am president of the disability awaieness club at my high school and we need ideas on disability simulations for high school aged students to learn about what is like to have a disability that is hands on and could be repeated at other schools thanks.

man it has been a while

hi guys it has been a while. School has been hard and ocd has come back making the last few weeks a challenge. I am going to try to post some more since i am off of school for a few weeks. i am planning to do a year in review next week and montage for Zoe's gotcha day

( Christmas eve) Stick a around but in the mean time post a comment.

Words do hurt part two

Tuesday December 1 2009 time second period in a high school class room Mr_______ (a special ed teacher) and the students of the class including AZ.

AZ: Aww Mr.___ why did u have to put in 0 for this chapter .( I had to work three days to finish a worksheet)I now had 25 and my mom yelled at me.

Mr.___: You earned it AZ you say you will do it and never do

the other students are inside the classroom now. Mr.___ is about to give a lecture

Mr.___: Who says we need so more troops all we have to do is send AZ and the Iraqis will heProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

she is coming and run away,

Mr. ____ is a special Education teacher who made fun of me. it is nor funny to me. Mr.B knows I do not have lots of friends and by caking a joke he is making a emphasis on this fact and that I should be avoided . When I was in third grade i remember being called Ronzilla and people running away from me. Ir was coined by a boy who made fun of my speech kids would call it and run away from me on the playground. Did Mr________ know this on Tuesday when he told the joke no but he still should not have done it should he?

stay posted for how it turns out I tried to talk to Mr.____ but could not. For anyone who dose know me in real life I am really interested in what you have to say.

Murphy's law : A disabled advocate's perspective

  Who ever said  Friday the 13 was  a bad luck day is  wrong . It is  Monday the 16 which  is also known as  today . Today I was suppose to have a Including Samuel party after school  with my disability awareness club. Well  all  seemed to start out well  but then  it  happened  the school had  a black out second period.   I   started to worry,    By the end of third  period things were looking worse the power to the whole school  was  off.  (In my second period the lights were on but the computers were off)  so  during fifth period  administration  told us to go home .    In our school once kids leave they normally do not come back,  (it was rumored that PGE  were going to get the  lights  by two. )     So   I am not  feeling so well but I am hoping  we will host  the movie  soon.