Special Needs-Appeal to good souls

by YankeeJim | February 4, 2010 at 04:30 am

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“One Term, Many Definitions:

"Special Needs" is an umbrella underneath which a staggering array of diagnoses can be wedged. Children with special needs may have mild learning disabilities or profound mental retardation; food allergies or terminal illness; developmental delays that catch up quickly or remain entrenched; occasional panic attacks or serious psychiatric problems. The designation is useful for getting needed services, setting appropriate goals, and gaining understanding for a child and stressed family.”

Imagine having a child whose mental capacity will never grow beyond that of a three year old. For the first several years of life, managing care for the child is pretty much like for any child.

Spring forward to teen years. Now, you have a person who appears the age of a teen, though they are like a three-year old.

Parents of these special people have a demanding life. They are about their careers and often need assistance in caring for their children who are turning into adults in physical stature. None are alike.

Some have peculiar autism; some have disruptive behaviors that are unpredictable; some fall into repetitive behavior and need monitoring.

Spring into my daughter’s classroom where she has twenty such people, and where she and fellow workers employ their creative and professional skills to entertain and keep active these precious souls. These are our children with special needs.

Society can be judged about the degree to which it is advanced by considering how it cares for its entire people with special needs. The people involved, the program leaders and caretakers are unsung heroes because to protect the special needs recipients identities and privacy, few people know about the programs and the demanding effort involved in caring for them.”

I use Rahm Emanuel’s gaffe as a reason to introduce this subject. Thank you Rahm for your excellent stupidity.

“News arrived on Tuesday that two top Obama officials have issued apologies for remarks deemed offensive. Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave a mea culpa for having said that Hurricane Katrina was “the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans,” by which he seemed to mean that the natural disaster forced major change on a dysfunctional system. And White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel apologized for calling liberals “retarded,” by which he seemed to mean… well we’re not sure what he meant. The question today: Whose gaff was the greater sin? And why?”