I'm hoping there is no other topic like this one; I've searched and couldn't find one, so I decided to start this.

Does anybody know someone who is disabled in some way, shape, or form?

My little brother--the joy of my life--has very severe disabilties. He's deaf, and legally blind and absolutely ADORABLE!!! I like talking about him and the impact he makes on my life. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way about people they know who have similar conditions? I know I enjoy discussing that sort of thing with people in similar situations.

Alex (my baby brobie!) is 12 years old and very sweet. He trusts everyone and has the highest tolerance of anyone I know. By "tolerance", I mean pain tolerance as well. I mean, he'll run into a wall, fall flat on his back, get up, and start laughing. He's so innocent and funny and kind and he laughs so easily! When he laughs, you laugh, you know what I mean? He's really smart, considering his disabilites, a bit OCD, and super-funny. He has these weird ritually-haibitual tendancies that just make you laugh so hard. And he has a fan club--seriously, everyone I know who's met him loves him to death. Sometimes, if I'm having a bad day, I'll just sit down, and he'll crawl into my lap and we'll cuddle for a bit. Right now he's got a cold (poor baby!) but is acting just as cheerful as ever. He's going to have heart surgery in about 8 weeks, so I hope that goes alright.

Anyway...tell me about your lives with special kids like my brother!

Hope to hear from others soon,
~Gerry's Gurl~

Awww, Alaina, thats so nice! Your brother seems like such a cool kid...its probably nice to have a close relationship with him, right? I hope that heart surgery goes well...I'll ask you about it in 8 weeks ...


Anyway, on the topic of disabilities in my life. My cousin. He is such a cool kid...he laughs at everything you say and he is really caring. He has autism. He was born on July 10, 1990. I was born on July 10, 1991. Because we share a birthday, and he is my cousin closest in age, I have a special connection with him. Every year, my entire family, along with him, participate in the "Walk for NAAR" charity event. NAAR is the National Alliance for Autism Research, and my family gives money to the organization every year for finding a cure for the disease. For my Bar Mitzvah, I donated a portion of my gifts to NAAR on behalf of my cousin.

Anyway, he is one of the nicest people in the world. He does not speak too much, as Autism is a social disorder, but right when he sees somebody he knws he goes over and gives them a huge hug and says hello. He minds his own business and is really independent, for example, you can leave him alone and he will watch TV, or play a video game and have the time of his life! He is a great guy.


So, does anybody else know anybody with a disability? i am curious to see some other posts...By the way, great topic, Alaina!



_daviD

Actully, yes my friend's younger sister is just some sort of ill...Like I don't know. Twitchy, can't talk, and has things...I forgot what they're called...Oh yes seizures! She has those and I asked her sister what it was she had...her family didn't know...Which is pretty sad if your child is like that and no one knows what's wrong with her.

Ya,y, so happy to learn that I'm not alone here!

David--Yet another thing we have in common! It's so awesome to have such a great relationship with him; it's really special and makes me feel really lucky to be able to eat and hear music and see stuff....I've never told anybody, not even my parents, this before, but sometimes I cry for the things he'll never be able to do, or experience, or know...It's really sad, you know?
But your cousin seems really awesome! And the fact that you donated $ for your bar mitzvah is really sweet, David. Next time you see your cousin, even if he doesn't understand, tell him Alaina says hi and that she loves him. And her brobie Alex says 'Lo as well. And thanks for being so concerned about Alex; he should be fine. And thanks for the compliment on the topic! It kind of started when I thought about Alex, and whether anyone else had someone special like him in their lives.

harry4_LyF--The fact that they don't know what's wrong with her is really really sad. I'm hoping that they can find out soon! And thanks for taking the time to reply.

Love you both,
~Gerry's Gurl~

My older brother has Autism. It used to be realy bad, but hes practically normal now. (He's 17 now, and learning to drive! Scary... )
Since he went on a Weat + Dairy free diet hes realy improved.
So, if they are like my brother, there is a lot of hope, because he has improved so dramatically.

Oh, Susie, that's great news! I'm sorry about your brother, but happy that he's doing better. D'you really think there could be hope for my brobie? He's got more severe disabilites than autism, but there's always a chance...hope hope hope....

~GG~

I have no one in my family with such problems, but I have a friend who is a bit different.
I was 3 when I first met her, we were next-door neighbours. We used to play a lot together, spent afternoons exploring the garden, climbing on trees and stuff. A while after, I remember asking my mum about this girl... I guess I was about 5 when I really realised that she is sort of 'slow', a bit different from people you would call 'normal'. Her oddities got more pronounced with age, and when starting school, she had to go to a special one.
Afterwards I moved to another town, and I haven't seen my friend since, at least, until this week. On Tuesday I had to see my doctor because of a bronchitis, and funnily, the very person I ran into at the hospital, was her, this girl, with her dad, waiting for the same doctor. That was just so strange... she did not look at me, she was just sitting in a chair and looking in front of her, her dad (who has never been able to treat her situation as a natural and acceptable state, and always looked at her daughter as she would be some monster...) kept on telling me how sceptical he is, that her daughter is just pretending to be ill (she said she has a sore throat) and what a catastrophy it is that they had to come and see the doctor... I was shocked by his attitude. I sat down next to her, and I just asked 'how are you?'. Blimey, that had an impact on her! I guess she was longing to be listened to... I was impressed by the change she made, she sat up straight, was talking fluently to me, told me her problems and asked me about mine... she was almost 'normal'. But when her father sat back on her other side, she got embarassed and did not talk to me afterwards.
Unfortunately, her mum is just the same, she cannot handle the special case of her daughter; no wonder that my friend does not show any developement... it is really sad to see people who could have a normal and ordinary life but will never have, because of the air full of prejudice around them.

Well, I don't have anyone who I'm really close with who has a disabilty, but I have seen someone have a seizure and it was one of the most terrifying thing I have ever seen. He was just standing there, and just fell over, hitting his head on the cement patio. At the time I was like in third grade, and I had no idea what to do. Eeek, It was so scary!

One of my moms friends has Autism, and even though he cannot do lots of the things we take for granted, he can memorize just about anything by just glancing at it. He always remembers everyones birthday, and never misses calling them on their birthday.
He loves singing, from country to Broadway musicals.

Lots of times when he's at our house he will get restless, and just goes outside and walks around. Once he got the door to our garage locked shut, and since we don't have a key, we had to open it with a credit card.

His mom is incredibily protective of him, and I guess she just trying to keep him safe, but really, she treats him exactly like a 5 year old. "Julian, go wash your hands. Oh, and don't forget to comb your hair, it is just so messy those days." He is 32, but some time she treats him incredbily babyish.

I can only imagine how hard it must to have to live with a disabtily. People would act all sorry for you and treat you like your really stupid, and call you "retarded" ARRGH!!! How I hate that word!!!
People used to use it is a actual term for someone with a disabtily, but now, it is mostly used in degrading sense.

I thought retarded just meant slow. Thats what our Physics teacher said, we always had to do these anoying problems, work out the retardation of the car and stuff. So he said that when we called people Retards we call them slow, not disabled.
A lot of people with autism have photographic memories. You only have to say "Oh look, its a car." and my brother will tell you the exact amount that was made, the colours it came in, the exact way the boot differs from other cars, the amount of petrol it needs, you get the gist.
Its quite funny sometimes.

yeah, i have two kids in my sixth grade clss, Josh and Alex. they're both autistic, and they have a special teacher follow them around all day. Alex, hes shy and quiet most of the time, but when he's in a bad mood, he'll start cursing and crying and hitting you...Josh, he's care free, stubborn (he wont listen to any of the teachers or do what he's supposed to) and he makes car noises when ever he moves. he also talks to himself.

it isnt so bad most of the time, but they've been in my class two years straight. sometimes i just wanna yell at Josh so he'll be quiet, and then i feel really bad because he cant help it...and especially when he doesnt listen to the teachers. he doesnt do his art work, mmusic, gym...nothing...it just makes me mad...Alex doesnt show up to half the classes, so...but both of them live normal lives. Josh plays trumpet with me, and he's really good. you can get a conversation out of Alex once in a while, and he's normal.

then there's my classmates and the teachers and everyone else. my class mates whisper about the two boys, make fun of Josh by mimicking his car sounds, and laughing whenever Josh and Alex get in a fight (the two don't like each other that much...Josh doesnt understand "personal space") that just makes me mad...then some of the teachers treat them like they're 5 and don't know how to do anything! that makes me just as mad, because they should be treated like regular kids, so they can lead almost normal lives. then my science teacher, Mr. T, he goes and makes fun of Josh also. he yells when Josh interrupts him during class, or doesnt participate. Mr. T. treats Josh like everyone else in the class, but i'm afraid he's being hard on poor Josh. Mr. T says he's just getting Josh ready for Jr. High next year, or he'll never get through, and i agree. treat them normally so they'll get through, but don;t treat them that harsh...

half the time i feel sorry for J&A, half the time i hate them. i think they're normal some of the time, and i think they'll never fit in the other times. life is different all the time with the Autistic boys, but i'm hoping they can have normal lives...
Regan

I know pretty much how you're feeling about the two boys...

In secondary school, I had a guy in my class who had a problem, but we have never been told what it exactly was... he had sorta autistic characteristics, but he spoke in a very strange way, slowly and in a funny voice, like when you can't breathe through you nose. He was tall, yet he was plump, his motion was awkward and heavy... all these symptoms mean to me that he must have had some other problems too.

Anyway, this guy was similar to Alex... and I have to admit, that despite the fact that I was perfectly aware of his exceptional state, I sometimes got really annoyed by the teacher's attitude towards him: the boy was allowed to do lots of things we never were, he always got some extra chances and special permissions. It is just hard to accept each other, even if we do understand in which way the actual case extraordinary is.

I'm not sure if this coun'ts, but I've had moderate to severe depression sine I was 14. I've had depression since I was 11, but it took a while for my mom to come to her senses and take me to a therapist. I'm on 2 types of medication and I see her once a month. My sister doesn't like it when I tell people about it, but I think it's great that I'm open about it. Someone might think they have it, knows someone who has it, or just wants to know what 'Depression' really is. A lot of people at my school think that I'm saying that I have depression to get attention, but at least people know. However, I get people that try to take advantage of the fact that I have depression and try to make me feel REALLY horrible about myself. It hasn't worked, but at lease I'm open about in instead of keeping it locked away inside.

Like Helena, I have depression too...*sigh* I'm not on any medication yet as i hate my GP and she won't give me any...*Grrrr!!* but i see a counsellor everyweek. Apparently 1in 4 people suffer from some form of mental illness at some point in their life. Although in The North of Scotland (where i'm from) i'd say it was 1 in 4 who don't. Depression for some reason is really common here...

I have a friend Pete who has Dispraxia. It's a little bit like Dyslexia, except worse. Not only does it effect his reading and writing, it also effects his brain in other ways. He's really rather slow, and some times i don't think he knows what we're talking about. We'll be laughing and joking and he'll just laugh with us. At first I thought he was just joining in with the laugh but the other day, Dodds and Dawn (pete's girlfriend) were having a conversation and for some reason, Dodds said... 'Dawn you look like a demented weasel' and Dawn was like...'Pete, hit him...yell at him...stand up for me!' Pete who has no confidence, did nothing, so Dodds, says, with a big smile on his face laughing. 'Really, Pete, don't you think she looks like a demted Weasel' and Pete just nodded enthusiasticly, smiling saying 'Yeah!' Really sincere! I was like...Oh, my lord...

I think wth his dyspraxia he doesn't really understand what we were talking about. Didn't understand, that it was ok for Dodds to laugh and joke about Dawn, but Pete, her boyfriend couldn't agree with him. I've heard that it can effect there concept of sarcasm and they don't really understand what it is.

Of course, Pete might just want Dawn to dump him...they're kinda rocky at the moment.

But there are other examples where he doesn't know that we're joking... takes jokes and sarcastic remarks as true. As we don't treat him any differently than we do each other he can be left in the dark a little bit on jokes, which is a shame, but i do explain later that we were joking. Just so he doesn't go around saying, for example. 'There's a Metro Centre in the Higlands....'

(of course the Metro Centre (one and only) is in northern England)

My issue isn't nearly as severe as ones that have been mentioned, but I have had Juvenille Arthritis since I was 11 years old. I have the systemic type, which means that it essentially affects every joint in my body, as opposed to only some. It is mostly just my knees and ankles, but my fingers can ache when I do too much writing or typing. I was told that I would grow out of it as I matured, but the gap is closing, so it is a good possiblity that I will have this for a long time. The medication that I am on and have been on doesn't do as much as I wish it did, but it does lower the pain. I just get weekly injections now, as they as more precise than taking the oral pills. I always try to work past it, and for the most part it works, but sometimes I have to not do as much in P.E. or other physical tasks. It really bothers me, as I can't do sports, which I used to do all of the time before I got sick. Maybe I'll still lose this as I age, maybe I won't. But I do know that it isn't the worst thing that could happen to me, and for that I am grateful.

It is best if you first know the problem. For me, I have leukemia. There is not much to do for that, just make sure to take your pills in the morning! Also with cerebral palsy, you have to be very careful. You can't get the child to exicted, or she/he will have a seizure. It would help if you had any other views on how to cope with these children. I will hope to hear from you.

Hmm...sometimes it's not necessary to know someone's disability because, as some children do, they may feel a bit embarrassed about it or fear that if someone knows about the disability and therefore they won't deemed to be 'normal'. But on the other hand, it may be neccessary to know someone's condition so you can make some allowances etc.

I was born profoundly deaf but I grew up oral and had cochlear implant (it is a device that enables you to hear at the same standard as the hearing person) so sometimes when I was little, I didn't want anyone to know about my deafness (as I went to a hearing/mainstream schools) because I feared that they would single me out or won't see me as normal. However, although I was quite subborn, it would have been neccessary to let people know so that they can speak to me clearly, rather than mumbling or turing their back away etc.

However, as I got older, I became quite accepting of my deafness and I gradually became to view it as not a disability (I know, I know, but that's for another debate) and when I meet anyone and if they are not speaking clearly, I just mention that I'm hearing impaired, so do you mind speaking a bit clearer? If they have a problem with it or a bit judgemental, then they are not worth my time - there are much more accepting people out there.

I guess, the thing is to try and treat everyone equally and respectfully and there may be some cases where you have to make some allowances for the children and adults with disabilities but the moral story is to treat everyone with respect.

Disabled children are still just children. Respect that maybe they can't do everything the same as everyone else does, but treat them as normally as you would any other person. They and their families will appreciate it.

I have a Mentaly Disabled Brother...
He has a syndrom called Prader Willy
(Named after the doctor who found it or something)
any who the best way I have found to "cope" with him
is just let him be. Don't bother him to much.
But over all he is just a person who has it a bit different
He still likes music and he likes to swim. So hes' really
not to different.
Just my opinion

oh gosh, well i have no disabilities.

but i think that everyone should just treat disabled children as they would treat others, but just be careful about what you do and not loose your temper.

EmmaWatson332-oh gosh, you have leukemia! thats sad, i watched a movie about a girl who had leukemia, called A Walk To Remember. could you tell me what leukemia does (sorry, i havent learnt a thing after watching that movie, it was tooo sad)?

Fall_Out_Girl-
Leukemia doesn't to to much to you. It's just hard to do things for a long time. Like, in an amusement park, I can't be there for like 6 hours, or I can't breath properly. It's nothing to freak out about, but if I get really, really sick, there is a possiblity I can die. But other than that, it's fine.

my brother is 8 and has down syndrome and he is the ausomest person alive. my friends love him because hes so hilarious. and if anyone had anything against disabled children or made fun of my brother i would smack em to next near.

Down Syndrome is a genetic didease where you have an extra pair of chromosones that make you learn a little slower

I have a friend, Her little brother is 4, he is an exceptionally bright child. He talks and walks and looks like a normal 4 year old, no one ever belives it when they tell people he has autism.


I was in complete SHOCK, when they told me after spending a couple hours with him i noticed he was repetitive and was a bit slow in talking, nothing you would notice if you didn't know he had autism. He doesn't slur his words or anything like that.

The most beautiful part about this brilliant child: He loves people for who they are, not what you give him.

I found this amazing.

He can get impatient and He gets very annoyed often by little things.

He knows he's diffrent in his own way but he gets treated equally.

When he dose something wrong , they let him know he did something wrong and he gets TIME OUT on {the chair of doom} we call it.

-Basically what im trying to say it , children with "Disability's" {i hate that word} should be treated like normal children and be proud of who they are and the {little glitches in their hard drives }