Assistive Tech 5173 Class #1

The video, "Including Samuel" touched me on several levels. As an educator, it was inspiring to see the staff's whole hearted commitment to inclusion for Samuel and the positive response of the students. Samuel made a significant contribution to his school and community. He was thriving through the warm, caring relationships he had with the staff and students, and the many opportunities he had to share in activities with his classmates, made possible through the use of assistive technology, including a motorized wheelchair and adapted toys, crayons, keyboard, and sports equipment such as a tricycle, a treadmill and walker. It reminded me to encourage positive relationships and work more diligently with program planning teams to provide ways for my students with LD's to participate more fully in the whole range of class life.

On a personal level, the video impacted me deeply. As a parent with a child with special needs, I identified with the fear, the worry, the concerns, the frustrations, the sacrifices and the determination to do whatever is necessary to help my child. Despite the commitment of time and energy, there is always a feeling that we should be doing more. Samuel's mother's reflection on her desire to be his parent rather than his therapist reminded me that I needed first of all to nurture our relationship, celebrate the good and help him weather the challenges just as I did with my other children who are now strong, independent, creative and generous individuals. In acting as his therapist, the message to him constantly is that he needs fixing.
Samuel's father's desire for his child was that he be happy first of all. I share this hope for my child, but I feel that I often lose sight of that in the midst of the many good things that we work on with our son. Just as Samuel experienced the joys of friendship and games in his family and community through the determination of his family to support his involvement in activities with family members and peers, we need to support Nick in doing the things he loves with his peers. Because social activities are challenging, we have gradually allowed him to withdraw from many activities with peers, rather than working with the leadership of the activities on adaptations and strategies that would allow him to be successful. The video was a great wake up call to put first things first and a reminder to look for the means to have Nick participate fully in our family, school and community.