Drawing Out the One in There
By Joan Ottulich
There is a young man named Jaiden. I first met Jaiden when he was in kindergarten; he simply sat and stared. Finally, his teacher took his hand to write his name; it may have been a profound moment. He began to grow intellectually, in ability, slowly, slowly with much effort. For several years, all of his academic years, I have been in the Special Education classes he has been in and have been able to observe his progress. Inside these children is a mind that functions well and teachers work hard to draw it forth. Some teachers are growing wings; angels in disguise. Sweet and gentle, no tics, repetition works well with Jaiden and when he gets it, he gets it. There are so many that one-on-one would do wonders for; he is one. His teacher always whispers “come back” when I get the opportunity to be in their room and work with Jaiden. This summer, I worked six weeks with autistic children. Their problems go even deeper. Unlike Jaiden, there is the OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). Children trapped in their minds and bodies. There I met Nicholus with the IQ of a rocket scientist and degenerative eye disease. Already he puts his face down to the table to see the paper and rubs his eyes because it hurts. It will break your heart. I suggested his family begin to teach him Braille, as it would enhance his learning. Every little bit of learning or training is so valuable to their lives. We cannot let lives be stolen by what they suffer, and they do suffer. It takes very special people, very special teachers, to help these students. There are many others; Maia who has no words. There are words there if she could get them out: But when she uses her hands, she creates with beautiful artistic ability what looks like an underwater flower arrangement. She is very particular about the colors and way she puts it together. Her gifts and intelligence show through in a girl that sits and rocks back and forth and makes garbled sounds. These are the children it takes a community to raise; an army of teachers who love to see a life bloom when you almost lose hope. I am not ashamed to say I
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