Experience of Visiting School for Children with Special Needs - Essay Example

A visit to st Antony school for the special children Introduction My visit to St Antony School was an experience like no other. This was a chance to rub shoulders with the children who some are require special needs. These children were either physically or mentally challenged. The school is located at king Edward Street in Croydon Australia. The school also has a nursery section but majorly it deals with the children with special needs as I came to understand later on in my visit. The reason why I chose this school is because it deals with all kinds of children with special needs and it is a walking distance from my place of residence. This is a place I usually pass on my way home, so one day I pick a few stuff from the local supermarket and a few clothing and head towards the children’s home. If take the 40minutes walk to the home and on arrival, I meet the security officer at the gate and I request for entry into the home since I had talked to the director earlier on phone about my surprise visit. On entering, I meet a group of children playing on a tripod stand and others having fun with their caretaker. Seeing them as innocent and bright as angels makes me smile at them as I move towards the director’s office. I then meet Sister Jane the director herself in the office. She gives me a warm welcome and then assembles the children to the hall where they are made to sing and entertain the “guest”. The children sing and dance as I watch in admiration and I take some snaps of them. They then introduce themselves after which I also introduce myself and later they are asked to go ahead with their games outside. We then start a small chat with the director and she narrates to me her full profile. I ask her how she came up with the idea of establishing the children’s home and the possible challenges she has faced to make it through to build St. Antony. The best thing about the place is it has full support from the church. Jane gets so emotional while narrating her story. She begins by narrating to me how she lost her son who was disabled and suffered severe autism. I find this as a challenge as well as an inspiration to me as she continues with her story. She then tells me that her late son was her inspiration to start up a home for special care for such children and give them a chance to live life to the fullest and all she can provide for them is the basic necessities of life and education. The children she is interested in are only the young ones between the ages of 5-12.  After our small chat, I thank her for all her efforts as give her a word of encouragement and hope then she requests me to take great care of the children since she would be away in the next few minutes as she is taking her own child to school. I am then given the opportunity to share and socialize with the children. I call them all for a small game and here; we play and have fun together. I meet a young girl who introduces herself to me as Rachael. I start a small talk with her and ask her how she feels being in St. Antony and she tells me she is happy and so grateful to the director for rescuing her soul from the trauma of being in the streets. At least she is happy to have a place to shelter and she wishes also to change the lives of the less fortunate people in the future. After that kind of chat, I give the children some toys I had bought for them and they get so happy and grateful to me. Some even get so close to me that you can think we have known each other for a long time. After some interactions with some of the young ones, I go to the kitchen. Here, I find some children doing some cleaning and cooking. They seem to be a bit older than the others are; we start a small talk as I assist them in their cooking. I become a little nervous as I see one of them who seem to be withdrawn in a way that she looks so devastated and sad. I then call him and ask him why he looks so sad, he tells me that he is thinking about his late father who used to bring him toys just as I did and he cannot just let the memories of his late father be buried away just like that. This gives me a feeling of sympathy since he lost his parents in a tragic road accident and he was the only survivor. I then think that death is so unfair, it only takes the best and most treasured people in our lives. This visit really made me learn a lot about what really goes on the back of the mind of the disabled children. There are some who know that they are not normal and that is the reason why they have been put in this situation of living in a children’s home. The lesson I also learnt is the way to take care of the people with disabilities especially the children between the ages of 5-12. There is also a disability, which I found very common with the children that I thought were normal. These children were mentally challenged and it was not very easy to find out at first unless somebody told you. I discovered that some of them behaved younger than their age and their understanding capability was totally different from the normal children. The first thing about their understanding was that the ten years old behaved like two years old. And their pronunciation of words was not understandable. I came to realize that they could not learn at the same pace with their age mates. They needed special attention because they could not learn quickly. When I was talking to another girl by the name of Rosa with a Hispanic background, I found myself having emotions and I almost had tears in my eyes. The girl was around eleven but it as difficult to distinguish her from a two year old. She had difficulty in construction of sentences and even deciding whether she wants to walk or crawl. The other children that had mental disabilities were just seated together and looking at each other not even playing. I wanted to know how the administration of the children's home knew the children had difficulties. I was told that these children were left in the streets after their parents knew that they had a problem. Therefore, I set out to learn how to take care of these children. The first thing that I learnt is that these children need to be taken slowly while talking to them. There are those that do not need to hear anybody shouting. When it comes to studies, they are taken to class according to their brain capability not their age. Another type of disability that I encountered is the children that are blind. Talking to these children I understood the importance of the eye. They use their senses and I was really amazed how they realized quickly that they had a visitor amongst them. I was talking to them and I wanted to know if they knew how things looked like. And they told me that they are taught how things look like while they touch. What they are sure of is that a ball is round and a banana has a curved shaped. I talked to them and I understood that they are just like normal human beings who are not lucky to have their sight. Moreover, they also narrated to me stories of how they were born blind and they have not known any other place rather than St Antony as their homes. Others were bone blind while others became blind because of an illness that makes them blind while they were young. After some cleaning, I then call them for another game, we play together and they shout with laughter and joy as I watch them in silence. What a feeling! I say quietly. From there I feel quite exhausted in the talk and games since it has been a long while before I did such an activity. I then join some children in the study room who are doing their homework as they wait to go to school, on Monday. I assist them in some mathematics and science after which I give them some advice concerning education. They get delighted and thank me for my help. As I walked around the school compound I saw some two children who did not have both thir limbs. That is to say they did not have the legs and the hands. It was interesting since they were just there talking about how they wanted to be one of the greatest people in the world. One wanted to be the president and the other wanted to be a lecture or tutor. I came to understand that even though one might be disabled physically, but he cannot be discouraged easily. These children were so ambitious with life and they knew there was nothing that could stop them from achieving whatever they wanted to become in life. The experience taught me a lesson, to treat everyone with the dignity they deserve as human beings, to share our joys and sorrows with the less fortunate, to give a helping hand to those who need us most regardless of who or what they are and in their different capacities. I learnt to say thank you, it never occurred to me that this would be the place I would learn the importance of saying thank you. I learnt to do the works of charity to help the less fortunate in society. Visiting St. Antony  made me learn about the various diseases that affect our lives and as such It gave me the urge to research more about the various disabilities which are ignored by the majority, I also learnt one important lesson that disability is not inability which was just a mere saying to me initially. This I witnessed practically by seeing a child using his legs to eat and write which I had never thought was possible. I learnt to give, to share the small we have especially with those who do not have. Sharing with these children made me learn the agony of losing a loved one, which I could not imagine. In this trip i got to learn a lot about the term special needs, this means that this is array of staggering diagnoses that can be waged. The children with special needs are said to have disabilities in mild learning and mental retardation that is profound. The other type of diagnoses can be food allergies and terminal illness. On the other hand, can be that the child can have delays in catching up and remain entrenched. There are also some cases that can involve panic attacks that are occasional and sometimes psychiatric problems. This designation enabled me to understand the ways in which i can propagate the services working with these children and attending to them in a more specific way that is specialized. There are some cultures that refer to special needs to be the particular issue that involve things that the children cannot do or the milestones that are difficult to be met. Moreover, these things might make the individuals to avoid making them to get involved in activities. These disabilities might make the families to be uncomfortable that is why the people will also make the some parents always morn. This type of condition will always make the children feel sorry for them. For this reason, the parents will be forced to send the children to parents home. The children will only triumph if they get support from their parents. This is seen as the amazing strengths. If the parents do support these children, they will lose hope and some will want to commit suicide. There are different cases that are also involved with special needs and another case is involved with different medical issues. These medical issues might have been brought about by conditions such as cancer and defect of the heart. Other medical conditions involve chronic conditions that might be encouraged by other diseases such as diabetes and asthma. I got so much involved with these children that I almost had a feint hearted and I also thought of working as a charitable person. I also thought very positive about these children with these special needs. During this visit I got curious and wanted to know what always go through the minds of the parents who have neglected their children. Therefore, I got a Chance of meeting one of the children's mothers who was working in the school as a staff member. She told me that she got the chance to enroll her daughter in the school as she wanted to take care of her child from a professional perspective. Her daughter is suffering from hearing problem and she could not also talk. She had difficulty with communicating with her and so she wanted to be more interested with a lot that was going on with her daughter. Therefore, it was her duty as a mother was to take care of her daughter. Moreover, I wanted to understand what was going on in the back of her mind. I realized that she often wakes up every day and hope that one day her daughter will be normal like any other child. She was able to get education on how to communicate with her daughter. On the other hand, there are parents who neglect their children. According to the woman, I talked; this is very rampant with the parents who have high reputation in the public domain. These parents look down on these children and this because they try to maintain their reputation. There are also cases that claim that there are children that are being imprisoned in houses because of their disabilities. Later on in the day, I had a chance of talking to Sister Jane on the behaviors that parent have whenever they are told about the disabilities. One thing that is for sure is that they usually behave negatively. There are parents that sometimes engage themselves in alcohol. She also told me that there are parents especially men who run away from home. They are usually afraid of responsibilities that are required by the disabled children. These responsibilities are always left to the mothers. On the other hand, the parents will eventually require assistance from the children’s home. This is because the parents believe that this is the place that the children will be able to find professional assistance. In addition, the homes also assist the parents in motivating the children.    I then look at my wristwatch and find out that it’s approaching six pm in the evening. I decide to leave and the children are then assembled in the hall to say goodbye to the “guest”. Some are not happy at my departure as they weep in silence. As I move towards the gate, one child approaches me and says “thanks for your visit, I would wish that you come back again and visit us. I am so happy for the gift you bought me and I will remember you with it.” This experience touches me and I find fault in me, first I think about how many times I ever say thank you to anybody who extends a helping hand to me?  I realize the feeling when someone is told thank you and surely this becomes a challenge. I fell challenged to be grateful for any service rendered to me however much I have paid for it or not. I realized that my discomfort had been seeing the innocent faces of the children and their smiles in such a devastating situation and thinking to myself how they came into existence and who as a parent would be so daring to dump such beautiful little angels. My experience was one of a lifetime and in that, I felt it is so unfair to leave such children at the mercies of caretakers who are not in a better position to understand them well than their own parents should. Moreover, for the unfortunate children who might have lost their parents, I felt a lot of grief and pity that they were left to be orphans in this world. To be positive about it I thought that it was not their fault and that it happened for a purpose, which they may not understand, but they would realize it in the near future. In this experience, I also feel the joy in putting a smile on some one's face. I realize that it makes a difference just to make others happy since you find peace and tranquility within yourself. I also realize how much our children need our attention especially the young ones as innocent as they are. Just a look into the faces of these children shows that everyone has a purpose in life however much you are disabled or not, it shows that they also need a chance to live a better life just like everybody else. Looking at them makes you realize how unique they are in this world, how special they are and more so how important they can be to us. On my way home I started to reflect on the events that unfolded on this day. I realized that there are a lot of things that we as human beings take for granted. In addition, I got a chance to interact with the people who might have been neglected in the community. The parents should not neglect these children with special needs. The only thing that they can do is to learn how to take care of these children. Moreover, the parents should not neglect the children or even leave them on the streets. I also came to understand that, there are cultures implicate that the presence of a person with special needs are as a result of a curse and that is the reason why most of the parents neglect their children after finding out that they are disabled. Another thing that I learnt is that there are always programmes that are set schools to take of the children with special needs. The programme that is usually followed is divided into categories. The first category is inclusion. During this approach, the children with the special needs are made to learn with the other children that do not have special needs. This will enable the children have the opportunity to assimilate and engage themselves in activities that are usually for normal children. The second approach is mainstreaming, this approach involves the children with special needs to be put in the same class with the normal children but this time they are categorized by their abilities and skills in doing things. In addition, the children are also put in a program whereby they are segregated from the normal children. These classes are tailor made to suit the children with the special needs so that they can have easy learning materials. Finally, I have also come to realize that some school always excludes the children with the special needs. This has been noticed to make the children loose moral during their education. Nevertheless, the government has seen to it that there is legal action that is to be taken to anybody who will exclude a child with special needs. This trip opened my eyes and made me realize that as a human being I should also take part in taking care of the children with special needs. References Turnbull, Ron (2002). "Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today's Schools (3rd ed.)Merrill         Prentice Hall. New Jersey Orgensen, C.M. (1998). Restructuring high school for all students: Taking inclusion to the next         level. Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing co. Swan, William W & Morgan, L (1993). "The Local Interagency Coordinating Council".     Collaborating         for Comprehensive Services for Young Children and Their Families.                 Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub. Beverly Rainforth; York-Barr, Jennifer (1997). Collaborative Teams for Students With Severe         Disabilities: Integrating Therapy and Educational Services. Brookes Publishing Company. Gaylord-Ross, Robert (1989). Integration strategies for students with handicaps. Baltimore: P.H.         Brookes Smith P (October 2007). "Have we made any progress? Including students with intellectual disabilities         in regular education classrooms". Intellect Dev Disabil Bowe, Frank (2004). Making Inclusion Work. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall Wolffe, Jerry. (20 December 2010) What the law requires for disabled students The Oakland Press. Read More