Choose your words wisely... "just pick one"

So today I had a few students stop by to chat.  These are typical kids which is what we in the world would say means typically developing.  Anyway, I had my students in my class (students with autism) introduce themselves to these three girls who had stopped by.  Now these boys all wanted meet the girls and needless to say we all have some communication areas which we can and will seek to improve on this year.  But one of the funniest things happened when I was asking one of the students to introduce himself.  I would ask the student, "Say what's your name?" And like many kids with autism, he repeated it exactly as I did saying, "Say what's your name."  Then I would offer a more refined request saying, "No, what's your name?"  In which he then offered, "My name is..."  But I couldn't get him to look at just one of them in the eye and ask whats your name.  He kept looking back and forth and across all three girls.  I then said to him trying to will him in my heart to be socially correct and engaging, "Just pick one and say whats your name?"  I knew immediately once i had finished that saying it as I watched him take his finger up to his nose to "pick one."  Trying not to die laughing as the three girls were at this point, we finally got him to say, "Whats your name?"  Then after they responded with, "My name is____," he immediatly stuck out his hand to shake it with them.  Of course the hand he stuck out was his most recent gold digging finger reaching for this high school seniors hand who in all honesty was going to shake his hand because of how hard he had just worked, but I decided to quickly intervene and switch his hands so that we weren't giving any gifts away to our new visitors and future friends.  The class was up in laughter for this simple interaction that was backfiring on me in so many ways.  It's little stories like this that remind me that everything with communication has to be deliberate.  I will now start being a little more conscience of every word that comes out of my mouth, and i will watch every hand that comes my way.

Why am I calling this, "The Indispensable Ones?"

First of all, this is not a professional blog.  It may have a slant here and there about things I am learning, have learned, or need to learn.  But as a whole, this is a personal blog.  The reason I share this on the front end, is I plan to talk not only about my stories in the class, but also my feelings along the way.  I know many people can't believe I would be a feeling person.  Of course the sarcasm in my last sentence can't be felt as much as if I was speaking in person but those who know me understand.  This return for me has been like a breath of fresh air leaving my heart wide opened and often exposed.  So I am warning anyone now, I may get mushy, tell you about me crying even, so from this point forward, you have been clearly warned.  

So I came up with the name for this blog based on a verse in the bible.  I read a book by a lady named Stephanie Hubach called, "Same Lake, Different Boat."  (totally recommend to any parent of a child with a disability or person who works with students with disabilities.  In her book she shares her and her husbands stories of being blessed with a child with Downs Syndrome.  She also shares the struggles along the way of parenting and how you may be doing similar things, but somethings are totally different. (Hence the title...get it)  So anyway she references 1 Corinthians 12: 21-22

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

She goes on to share how many times in our worlds, those people who seem to be weaker, or have less to perhaps offer us, or have a disability are not less in any way, but rather a different part of the all combined whole that without them we would be less than we are.  I was floored when I heard this concept because there are so many students with disabilities that have shaped my life in my journey as a teacher that I would not be who I was today without them.  Indeed those kids, your kids, those whom I seek to serve, at my school, they are Indispensable, and we are a better school because of them.  

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