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by Kate Adamson
This past week I went into my daughter’s fifth grade class to talk about my disability and about being an author. What an experience both for the children and myself! Think about it. How many of you reading this are disabled and have children?
What a wonderful opportunity for me to begin to become an advocate for teachers and children as I teach them about disabilities. The children will be more likely to grow up with understanding and be caring, compassionate adults – treating the disabled as “normal” productive contributing human beings. One little girl told me about her mom’s disability and how it was the first time she had met someone else’s mom who was disabled. She instantly bonded with my daughter. Like most children, they did stare, but not out of insensitivity, just curiosity. The children in the class had many questions; many were written beforehand on note cards. As I arrived in Rachel’s class, the children passed forward their questions to ask the author. They asked such questions as, “What inspired you to write the book? How long did it take? What journey is the book about? What kind of experiences have you had since your stroke? Where do you like to write?" It’s better for children to talk about it and ask, “What happened? Can I help you?”
The children were receptive. We talked about how they would feel if they had to spend their whole summer vacation in a hospital bed. How they would feel if they couldn’t move, but could only blink and think? I could hear gasps and “Wow.” They certainly could relate to drinking ‘Green Gatorade’ and when I asked, “How many of you like Gatorade?” every hand shot up. When they heard that’s what I craved too, but couldn’t have because I couldn’t swallow, their smiles quickly faded. And everyone’s mom wears high heels, right? Heads eagerly nodded as I held up some pink pumps. “That’s right, kids. I used to wear these but no longer can. Look what I can only wear,” I said pointing to my tennis shoes. Getting out of their seats to look, they were curious about the not-so-stylish brace. They may not have understood all the issues and difficulties of my disability, but even these fifth graders could certainly relate to Gatorade and pink pumps.
When you are disabled, you often feel embarrassed, not just for yourself but for others who don’t know how to act around someone with a disability. The way to get past that is to talk about it. I encourage anyone with a disability and who has children to just reach out and talk to me. This has been such a growing experience for me and my children. I can remember when I couldn’t kiss and hug my two little girls after my stroke. The girls had to come and climb in my lap on the wheelchair to kiss me. Today at 12 and 10 years old, they are helpful as they proudly wheel their mom around the mall. What a blessing they both are to me. When they have friends over, I ask for them to help. It may be just taking towels out of the dryer and folding them. That may seem like a simple task to them but when they see that Stephanie and Rachel’s mom can’t do that, they are eager to help and seem to gain a deeper appreciation for their own healthy normal abilities.
Kate’s Journey School Presentations are being booked, but limited to the Los Angeles area. E-mail me if you have a request.
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2002-2004 Kate Adamson 409 N. Pacific Coast Highway PMB #415 Redondo Beach, CA 90277 1-800-641-KATE 1-800-641-5283 Toll Free (310) 546-8142 Fax kate@katesjourney.com |