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Aug 27, 2012, 01:52 PM
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Member Since: Jun 2007
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 5,518
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It's heartwarming to see his classmates have the ability to recognize his courage and strength, and treat him with respect. It certainly wasn't like that when I was a kid.
I grew up with a girl who has CP. Our parents were very close friends, so we grew up almost like sisters. She was very bright, but had mobility issues in both arms and legs, though she's able to walk with crutches. Still, back then (during the 60s), kids would kick out her crutches from under her and laugh when she fell. Another friend and I would serve as her escort and body guards to keep the bullies away. Even the schools back then (public AND private) would not accept her as a student because she was "crippled" and would be a distraction to the "normal" children. The things people would say about her and others like her made me so angry. I knew those "normal" people wouldn't last one day in her shoes. 
Kudos to the mom for refusing to give up on her child. My friend had a mom like that too. My friend is a grown woman now. Thanks to her mom, my friend found her way into "normal" school, graduated from college, and now works as a teacher at a school that would not accept her as a child. 
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