31 for 21 Day Five : Laying the foundation

  I have been playing golf   since  2007.   I  first learned about the sport   through  Special  Olympics.  My first year I  started  playing I  was in  skills and I could not hit the ball over  100  ft.

First   golf event with Special Olympics 2007

 After  two months  I  decided that I wanted  to play for my high school  team.  My  dad thought it was foolish  but he  drove me  to the course  anyway. The  coach was a former  special education teacher and  felt that he could  handle  a teenager  with disabilities and   let me on the team.  By saying  yes to me  he allowed me to become a part of the golf team  he also  laid  the foundation for  something  magical  to happen    a  Monday  night   in  August.  

 Good  chip 

     Now  I am  pretty good at golf,  I can  hit the ball  over  one  hundred  feet and   hit  really  good chip shots .    I  now no longer play skills,  I now  play  unified  golf.   Unified Golf is where   a person with a disability  plays alongside a person without disabilities  and  mentors  them  as  they  develop their skills   to play  individually.   I  really thought that my  partner would  be the same one as  last year but   she had work commitments. I asked   a girl on my  high school  golf team if she would be willing to play  with me.  She  couldn't , but she did come out to play with me  one  night.

   That  night  I played the best game of my life.  I  got two  great chips and  great drives.   I also  was  able to connect  with a peer who is quickly becoming my friend.  We were not close friends   in high school , but we  were able to  reconnect,  She  originally lived on my street but moved  to another city. Being on that  team  laid  the foundation for us   to play together .

   I know  a lot of  families of kids with disabilities who have to fight for  inclusive education.   My heart breaks for these families and their  kids.  I also feel very angry because educators  need to understand that   school  is more  than  test scores and academic honors.   It is  the center of a child's life.  Friends  come  from school experience  when   people  ship  students   off to another  place   there is no  foundation for  friendships to form between those with and without disabilities.  I am not saying that these friendships will  form while in school, but they  could,  but  as  people   grow and mature  and  see  their surroundings in a new  way  they might want to become  friends with  people  with disabilities, but if they did not have  the  chance to attend school  with people  who did  have disabilities   they will not know  where to look.   

 Inclusion  lays the foundation for   friendships.



 Tune in tomorrow for  a book giveaway

31 for 21 Day Four : Project Search

Project Search is a wonderful  program. It  helps young people with disabilities  find  jobs.  There  is a program  in my town and my friend  with DS   went there last year. From there  he  got a job  in a inclusive  work environment .  It is  a wonderful  program.  I would   highly  recommend  it  to any  young person with  disabilities.

31 for 21 Day Three: Dear Future Mom

 Happy  Saturday  guys.    On  weekends this  month I will be  posting   video clips  that  are  disability related.     Do you have any  suggestions for you tube  videos that I should link  to?   Leave a comment below.

31 for 21 Day Two: The update preview and a new label

 Hay  guys  so I have not really updated  you guys on  my school stuff  since  Spring .  I    am  set to graduate  college  in 2016.     I am  taking 16  units this fall and am doing well.  Three of those  classes  are  Graduate  level  classes that I am  taking for  my Special  Education  minor.  A  big  goal of  mine was to graduate  in 2016 and I am  ecstatic that this  is  a real  possibility.  As long as  I  pass my  classes.

  Because  I am  graduating from  undergrad  I will be   blogging a lot about my experience-particularly  pre school  through  eighth  grade in school.     In  order to do  this  I will  be sharing some older  posts about my school   that I  have  written  along with some  new  posts so be sure to come  back for more from now til  June .

31 for 21 Day One: Welcome

   Hay  guys  long time no blog.  Sorry its been so long I have been busy.  I have lots to tell you and you will  be hearing a lot  about  my life  now that    its  31 for 21.  This is an event hosted by  Big  Blue Berry Eyes in which  people  post every day in October for  Down  Syndrome  Awareness  Month.

 Welcome    please    leave a comment that lets me know that you are here,

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A poem in Honor of Back to school

   Today is the official start of  School for  local  schools  in the are,  My  Jr college starts back Monday.
 ( This year is   going to be a very special year for my family you will have to wait  a little bit longer to find out why )


Here is to a school year where all children are visible in local  neighborhood schools

 The invisible student

  I am a child  just like you.
  I go to school, and think recess is cool.
  But there is something different  about me.
  I have an disability.

  I  sometimes drool
  You sometimes stare.
   Many people pretend I am not there
  For  I am invisible
 you can’t see me   I have  a disability.

     District personal see  my  education a joke
 so they bus me across town  even though the neighborhood school is not broke.
       there system is.
 At school   I am  sent  down the   hall.
  The classroom door closes and  that is all.
   I  am there all day  down the hall.
     Its not fair,

  Its not  fair
 it can’t be
  I should be treated fair
 as an equal you see
   We  learn about  freedom 
    we learn about  the world, but  we are not there.

 Left out  of pictures
   of social life
    the websites  about the school do not include us.
   Why can’t  I be in the pictures?
  Why  do  my  parents need to fight  for me to be seen?
      Seen  as a  disabled person
  seen  for me.
  Inclusive education that is key.
   Its time to close   separate  classroom.
 Cause Separate is not equal
 We learned that in 1954.

 Its time for  us to become visible-
for us to be seen.
 For us to be in all general education classes
 Learning and living about  Freedom
  Learning  how to read.
  Learning  about  Romeo,  Juliet, and  Huckleberry Finn.
    Discovering our  past
   Exploring through  experiments
                 Its time for all that
                 Its time to presume competence for  all kids
Teach us  everything so we have a chance at learning  about this world.

 Its time to move the desk  from down the hall.
 Into same aged classrooms.
   Open  the classroom
  Let me in
 Now is a good time to begin.





 Have a great year  everyone. 

World CP Day Photo Montage

Its that time of year people  time  to   start  sending in photos of you  or your child with CP.    October  is world CP Day .  So  send in  one photo   to azchapman1991@gmail.com or post it on my   and tune in   October seventh    to see this great  montage.
 Feeling left out? 
    Find a friend with CP and take a photo  and   submit it.


For more information  please  see  the tab  labeled.   World CP day photo montage