Special Needs Kids Are Just Lazy

Ok I'm going to have a mom on a warpath moment. Nothing makes me go from my usual sweet and polite country girl self to a complete and total, albeit justifiable b***h faster than when some ignorant fool says something derogatory about people with special needs. There is an injustice here that needs to stop. When people make fun of how a child walks, talks, looks, etc. or when they say things like "Special needs kids are just lazy." I have an undeniable need to want to slap them.

When did we as a society get so intolerant? When did we start to lack empathy? It's called a disability for a reason. Do they truly not realize that the ability to learn quickly is a luxury not everyone has? I think on some level they do realize that, but they choose to ignore it. They choose to ignore it because it's easier to be swept away in the current of intolerance than to fight through the ignorance to stand on the solid ground that is understanding and acceptance.

I myself do not have a physical or learning disability but I have a father, cousin, sister, husband and child who do so I think I have it on pretty good authority that they are NOT lazy. They are the furthest thing from it. Every accomplishment they make, they earned. And they earned it the hard way by pushing for it, working towards it, never giving up. There are very few "normal" people that I've met with the same kind of drive and determination as my "learning and physically disabled" family members. I was raised from an early age to know that my intelligence is a gift, just as my father's ability to make anything with machinery was a gift, my brother's athletic ability was a gift. Every one of us has a gift and these gifts are all important, regardless of what the world may tell you.

For those of you who still think Special Needs kids are just lazy I offer you this special needs challenge:

1. Find an article in a language that is foreign to you. Now translate (No using an online translator)and understand it in 5 minutes or less.

...Can you do it? Good for you. Those of you who couldn't: Congrats you just got a teeny tiny taste of what it's like to have dyslexia. People with dyslexia have to translate every word, every letter, every time. The letters in words move around on the paper, similarly shaped letters like b's and d's are pretty much a guessing game, sometimes the letters are allputtogetherinthesamelinewhichmakesitincrediblyhardtodecipher, otreh imest eyth rea xedmi gotoreh (other times they are mixed together). Not only do they have to rearrange all those letters they have retain what they've read and are expected to do all of that at the same pace as students without dyslexia. It would be comparable to someone who never spoke German a day in their life being able to read and understand an article at the same pace as someone whose native tongue is German. And yet these kids DO decipher the words. they DO the assignments. They DO find ways to be more efficient and successful. So for those of you who couldn't complete the challenge in 5 minutes or less... don't worry too much about it you're just lazy.

2. Take a roll of duct tape. Tape your legs together. Now continue to do your daily routine to the extent that you usually do. Make sure you get everywhere on time.

...Can you do it? Awesome...you should probably get some kind of award for fastest learning curve in arm walking! Couldn't do it? Congrats you just got a teeny tiny taste of what it's like to not have the use of your legs. Simple things like opening doors, reaching for food in the lunch line, getting out of the way from people walking towards you, taking a shower and changing your clothes all take an exorbitant amount of effort. Couldn't maintain your routine to the extent that you usually could... don't worry too much about it you're just lazy. Unravel the duct tape from your legs and carry on just do so with the knowledge that some people can't simply unroll duct tape and walk out of the room.

3. Cut a pair of yardsticks so that they end up going from your feet to your mid-thigh. Now duct tape those to your legs. Now walk around school, work, the neighborhood and make sure everything you normally do is done efficiently, to the extent of what you normally do, and at the same pace as everyone else around you.

...Can you do it? Impressive, hats off to ya man. Couldn't do it? Congrats you just got a teeny tiny taste of what it's like to have Spina Bifida and have to use leg braces to get around. Have a hard time getting around, doing normal every day things? Had a hard time with people giving you strange looks and trying to keep up with everything and everyone around you? Don't worry too much about it, you're just lazy.


..... now I could go on and on with more challenges but I'm pretty sure I've made my point. So the next time you see a child struggling to understand things or one that might not be as quick as others remember, you don't know their story. You don't know what struggles they may have. So don't judge others by the label "Learning Disabled". It's easy to call someone lazy when the alternative is to actually try to understand the reality of their situation. The time is now to overcome this level of under-reported and sadly too often accepted ignorance. The time is now.