Angel Smiles
WOW!!! Today is certainly a beautiful one! The outside beauty was surpassed this morning only by what happened with one of my special ed students. Started my day off REALLY well!!!
This particular little angel turned 12 yesterday, though she has no idea what that means. Yesterday was just another waking moment. Cake is not something she can eat, but she does like vanilla pudding and is learning to drink from a sippy cup. Now a tall, thin 6th grader, she entered the world twelve years ago weighing just over a pound. She is blind and deaf and has cerebral palsy. I have struggled all this school year to just break into her world. Some days she ignores me, curling up in a ball and pushing my hand away. Some days I become a human jungle gym that she climbs. Today I put on the vanilla-scented hand lotion I think she associates with me and went to see her. While she was in her wheelchair she took my hand and put it on the back of her neck. Pats and neck rubs are her treat. I moved my hand down to the seat belt she wears, and she helped me get it off and stood up. Immediately she dropped down to her knees and started to do her "If I curl up in a ball this person will go away" routine. Not today, chickie!!! I tapped on her feet and began to remove her shoes, braces, and socks. Since her hands are usually occupied by having the right one in her left ear and the left one tapping on the right one, her two feet are her main means of exploration. After her feet searched around for a couple of minutes I pulled her up by one hand to stand. (That other hand just isn't going to let go of the ear!) She wanted to go back to the floor, but I pulled her up again and again and encouraged her to take a couple of tentative steps. Her mom says she will take a few steps at home with help, but until today none of us had seen it. Suddenly she began to smile and giggle and off we went in a kind of crab two-step across the room. At the other side I sat her beside me on the mat table and she promptly climbed into my lap. This time when I put her on the floor, her hand sought mine and up she came for more standing and walking. I got to my knees and made a loose ring around her with my arms. She stood and twirled around and leaned - but smiled like this was the best entertainment you could buy! Though I usually struggle to get 10-15 minutes of some kind of activity out of her, today we played and stood and walked for 45 solid minutes!!! The top distance we made was 20 feet! When I finally convinced her it was time to sit down, I put her socks and shoes in her hand so she'd know what I was about to do. Today she didn't fight or fuss when I put them back on, and when I took her hand and placed it on the wheelchair, she stood and climbed right in. The teacher couldn't believe that what is often a 3 adult task was accomplished with minimal assistance of one person. I hugged the birthday girl and gave her an extra back rub for her hard work. She smiled to herself, a smile that simply meant that all was well in her world that she for nearly an hour had shared with me.
The Queen of Smiles, however, is her classmate. Only when she is sick does she not brighten the room with a wide-open smile from ear to ear. This precious one was thrown against a wall when she was an infant. Now as a 6th grader she can activate buttons to answer simple yes-no questions most of the time, and loves to play with objects such as my car keys with one hand. She can't speak, stand or walk, her hands are contracted at odd angles, and she requires a padded prop to keep her head upright when she sits. I put her in the standing frame today, and she patiently lay and watched me adjust all of the pieces and parts of it to fit her. When I turned the crank to raise her to standing, she squealed and smiled and reached out for me. She rubbed the back of her hand on my cheek, and the teacher said she was saying "thank you".
How I have prayed all year to be able to do something for these children! Often I have felt like a complete idiot when nothing seemed to work. But then days come along when smiles from these angels are worth more than gold!
Today was golden.
This particular little angel turned 12 yesterday, though she has no idea what that means. Yesterday was just another waking moment. Cake is not something she can eat, but she does like vanilla pudding and is learning to drink from a sippy cup. Now a tall, thin 6th grader, she entered the world twelve years ago weighing just over a pound. She is blind and deaf and has cerebral palsy. I have struggled all this school year to just break into her world. Some days she ignores me, curling up in a ball and pushing my hand away. Some days I become a human jungle gym that she climbs. Today I put on the vanilla-scented hand lotion I think she associates with me and went to see her. While she was in her wheelchair she took my hand and put it on the back of her neck. Pats and neck rubs are her treat. I moved my hand down to the seat belt she wears, and she helped me get it off and stood up. Immediately she dropped down to her knees and started to do her "If I curl up in a ball this person will go away" routine. Not today, chickie!!! I tapped on her feet and began to remove her shoes, braces, and socks. Since her hands are usually occupied by having the right one in her left ear and the left one tapping on the right one, her two feet are her main means of exploration. After her feet searched around for a couple of minutes I pulled her up by one hand to stand. (That other hand just isn't going to let go of the ear!) She wanted to go back to the floor, but I pulled her up again and again and encouraged her to take a couple of tentative steps. Her mom says she will take a few steps at home with help, but until today none of us had seen it. Suddenly she began to smile and giggle and off we went in a kind of crab two-step across the room. At the other side I sat her beside me on the mat table and she promptly climbed into my lap. This time when I put her on the floor, her hand sought mine and up she came for more standing and walking. I got to my knees and made a loose ring around her with my arms. She stood and twirled around and leaned - but smiled like this was the best entertainment you could buy! Though I usually struggle to get 10-15 minutes of some kind of activity out of her, today we played and stood and walked for 45 solid minutes!!! The top distance we made was 20 feet! When I finally convinced her it was time to sit down, I put her socks and shoes in her hand so she'd know what I was about to do. Today she didn't fight or fuss when I put them back on, and when I took her hand and placed it on the wheelchair, she stood and climbed right in. The teacher couldn't believe that what is often a 3 adult task was accomplished with minimal assistance of one person. I hugged the birthday girl and gave her an extra back rub for her hard work. She smiled to herself, a smile that simply meant that all was well in her world that she for nearly an hour had shared with me.
The Queen of Smiles, however, is her classmate. Only when she is sick does she not brighten the room with a wide-open smile from ear to ear. This precious one was thrown against a wall when she was an infant. Now as a 6th grader she can activate buttons to answer simple yes-no questions most of the time, and loves to play with objects such as my car keys with one hand. She can't speak, stand or walk, her hands are contracted at odd angles, and she requires a padded prop to keep her head upright when she sits. I put her in the standing frame today, and she patiently lay and watched me adjust all of the pieces and parts of it to fit her. When I turned the crank to raise her to standing, she squealed and smiled and reached out for me. She rubbed the back of her hand on my cheek, and the teacher said she was saying "thank you".
How I have prayed all year to be able to do something for these children! Often I have felt like a complete idiot when nothing seemed to work. But then days come along when smiles from these angels are worth more than gold!
Today was golden.
posted by Jennifer at 3:35 PM
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