twenty-one.11

 Inclusion

"Down with Kindness"

Inclusion.  It's such a cliche word.  

It may be cliche, but it is terribly important.  It is especially important in my eyes because of the inclusion of children with special needs.  Have you seen the impact a person with special needs has on his or her peers?  

Well, thankfully because of an amazing school, I have seen this impact firsthand.  And, it is our Alex who is impacting these neuro-typical children.  Alex is breaking down all kinds of barriers because of the amazing administration and staff at St. Joseph School in Olney!  More than that, Alex's classmates are showing me what inclusion is!

"One day on the playground, I witnessed V help Alex on the swing and then push him! We should note that Alex has to weigh more than V!!"

I really cannot explain to you how much these relationships mean to our family.  We have the most loving and supportive group of cheerleaders at St. Joe.  Remember a few months ago when I updated you telling you about the blow we took when we discovered our most perfect plan for Alex wouldn't be executed?  Remember me telling you that Mrs. Potter said, "let's try this!"  She didn't promise anything, she just said we could try.  And, that is what we are doing.  Is this perfect?  Probably not--Alex has run away from his teacher a couple of times.  (Although it is usually because he sees his big brother whom he adores in the hallway!!)  Alex is cognitively pretty far behind his peers, but they are teaching him!  (Words like "UMBRELLA!")  

These students have shown me how to love unconditionally.  I get messages at least once per week talking about how Alex is so and so's best friend.  Or, how watching Alex walk into school while he stopped to wave to this person made his or her day.  I get messages about how Alex has made an impact on a student's life.  While these always make me smile, they also always make me pause in gratitude.  This wouldn't be possible without a principal who says, "let's try this!".  

Recently, our family celebrated World Down Syndrome Day.  The school took it a step farther.  Kids dressed in crazy socks and Down Syndrome Awareness shirts.  Teachers invited me into their rooms to talk to their students about a tiny extra chromosome.  The students asked me the BEST questions and told me the best Alex stories.  You guys, these kids are SMART!  I had a first grader educating me on cells and chromosomes!!!  This little girl is in Grant's class, and when I said she needed to be in fifth grade, he exclaimed, "no, college mom!"  I was so encouraged on Friday by these students.  Encouraged because they didn't need an education about inclusion.  They do it better than I could have ever imagined.  I explained to many of them that it isn't normal for a kid with special needs to attend a Catholic School.  That didn't seem to make sense to them.  You know why?  Because they are in a building where loving one another happens.  They have the best role models when it comes to loving others, too!  

"Alex helped me talk to his classmates about Down Syndrome!"

I'm so encouraged after spending a few minutes with these kids.  One of the teachers asked me if Alex would be able to attend school at St. Joe for all of his elementary years.  We really do not know--we are taking it one year at a time.  But, it is certainly our family's goal for that to happen!  We will leave this decision up to God and Mrs. Potter.  We want is best for Alex and his peers.  We do not want him to impede any student's education, and we want him to experience the most growth possible.  We know that right now he is teaching these kids lessons that can't really be taught by a textbook.  And, we know he is growing exponentially because of the best little models ever.  So, right now, we will stay right where we are!

"V says Alex is her best friend...pretty sure that feeling is mutual!!"

In January, I let you know that Mrs. Potter was exploring options to have some much needed therapies present for Alex (and other students) at St. Joe.  So many things take time to work out, and patience is most definitely not one of my strong suites.  But, things are happening.  What can you do to help?  Pray!  

Also, a few blog posts ago, I let you know that reform needs to happen to the law regarding aging children out of Early Intervention.  Ironically, the Governor has a proposed bill right now addressing this.  I swear I didn't talk to him! :)  I'm excited to know that apparently other people have identified the benefits of allowing a child to wait until a typical school age to age out of the amazing program.  Time will also tell on this!

Yesterday, as my very out of shape self set a goal to run 3.21 miles for Alex and all of our friends with Down Syndrome, I had a lot of time to reflect.  (And, I mean a lot because boy was it SLOW!)  When the hills seemed too hard and like I was barely moving, I thought about the times in Physical Therapy when Alex must have wanted to give up, but never did.  Then, I thought about just this past Saturday when Alex navigated a playground independently--walking up the stairs just like you and I do!  When I got to mile 1 and realized I wasn't even 1/3 done, I realized this path we are on with Alex seems like it might be forever long, but it also goes by so fast.  When my neighbors smiled and waved, I was reminded of Alex's sweet little greetings to anyone, and how he can identify a person who is struggling better than I can.  His ability to pick up on people's feelings is quite amazing.  I only wish I could have the intuition he has!  I thought about how we were told Alex may never kick a ball, and how he doesn't just kick a ball, but he KICKS a ball!  I also thought about the sweetest text I got from Miss Valerie one day saying Alex had a big day--he had finally navigated across the "bridge" on the playground and had gone down the big slide!  

"Father Bill let Alex help clean the board one day.  This, I know the Pope would LOVE!"

None of these accomplishments happen without inclusion.  To me, inclusion is having natural supports.  You see, at St. Joe in Olney not only are natural supports present, but they are THRIVING.  I kind of joked that Mrs. Potter needs to let the Pope know what is happening here.  I am certain the amazing inclusion happening at this school would make the Pope quite proud.  The Wildcats are breaking down barriers and are becoming a model school on how it is done.  They are loving each other first!  The make "being kind" their mission, and then put it into action.  There is a saying I have seen several times that says, "Do you want to know how to treat a child with special needs? ... ask his or her sibling."  Well, I might just say, "ask the kids at St. Joe!"  

Inclusion. It isn't cliche at St. Joe.  It's real!