In my work with children who have disabilities I learn many different things. I'm always on my toes because you never know what kind of day it's going to be, and things change as the day goes on as well. It's definitely preparing me to be a better mother when the opportunity comes, but overall my interactions with these kids is making me a better person.
I have my days when I'm tired, frustrated and impatient. I get tired of kids trying to push me around and needing to constantly manage behaviors, being one of the few firm hands in some of the children's lives and them fighting me every step of the way. However, there are always breakthrough moments in my day that keep me going. These are times when the child's eyes light up for a moment because you just did something that really connects with them, they stop their behaviors for a moment and are in control of themselves, they make a connection with a task or concept they've been working on, they understand that they've succeeded, and so many other types of moments.
Children are incredible, all of them. Lately I've been learning a lot about acceptance. There are a few severely autistic children who I work with and design programs for. People with autism can be very difficult for some people to be around because tendencies and behaviors, both good and bad, are "different, weird, unusual, and even disturbing." These tendencies cause many people to be afraid of, to look down on, or even criticize the individuals with autism or other disabilities, with no acceptance shown. In my research and application of therapy lately I've found that the principle of SHOWING ACCEPTANCE leads to leaps and bounds of progress with people, particularly these special kids. It's the age old, "don't judge a book by it's cover" principle because typically once you can get past the acceptance stage, you'll be surprised the incredible talents, intelligence, humor and other things that come out if you let it.
If you think about it, when your parents, friends and others give you time to express yourself and respond to you, join with you in things you like to do, support you when you're working on something and show excitement when you succeed, you want to keep them around and respond back to them. It's how relationships are formed in a "normal" setting, but a lot of people don't realize that that's how you can create a relationship and help people who aren't so "normal."
Last week we showed this video to our employees. It has inspired me and I hope it does you too.
It's not just about the kids with disabilities, though they are incredible and showing we accept them will drastically improve their lives. It's about relationships, period. If we believe in love and acceptance, if we want that for ourselves, then we need to show it and not just feel it for others. That's how we make our marriages strong and not so difficult like people say they are. It's how we help our family relations, friendships, and every interaction with a stranger on the street or in the store a fun, loving and building opportunity. Life is good and we're in it to strengthen one another and be strengthened. If we can show that acceptance and love to those in our personal worlds, then life will be easier to enjoy and smiles will come more naturally, and there's nothing bad about that.
