I really hope both of my kids will be proud and open like you two. When I was in school, I can remember most handicapped kids had more positive attitudes than other kids. I used to tutor a handicapped girl on violin and she had the best personality. Even though she had much difficulty with it, she never gave up... she even wrote "mini-songs" which I though were really cute.
I guess tough experiences make a tough person... not "tatooed biker" tough, I mean tough inside. Strong, confident, and knowing who you are.
I really hope both of my kids will be proud and open like you two. When I was in school, I can remember most handicapped kids had more positive attitudes than other kids. I used to tutor a handicapped girl on violin and she had the best personality. Even though she had much difficulty with it, she never gave up... she even wrote "mini-songs" which I though were really cute.
I guess tough experiences make a tough person... not "tatooed biker" tough, I mean tough inside. Strong, confident, and knowing who you are.
Take care,
Melissa
I actually take piano now and voice. A lot of it depends on if the other person is open-minded. I absolutely love my piano and voice teachers. They are a husband and wife team, and they've both adjusted the lessons away from the typical concepts used with able-bodied students to whatever makes me comfortable and they're both willing to learn and adjust. If more people were like that, the world would be a better place.
I agree about being tough too, though most AB's tend to confuse "disabled and tough" with "jaded" or "cynical". I know a teacher (not mine, thank God) that knows that I am disabled, yet when I attempt to explain my opinions and views, tends to repeatedly call me jaded. I am not jaded, I am a very positive person, but when others harass me, I am outspoken and opinionated. Every handicapped child has the right to defend themselves against people that think like that. On the other hand, I have a teacher/friend that is exactly the opposite. Without him, I probably wouldn't survive that torture day to day!
I took piano lessons, too. I did pretty well, and the paino teacher was extremely nice, but I'm not quite sure I got everything that I could get out of the experience. Same goes for 7 years playing the clarinet, but hey it was fun...maybe eventually I'll look more into people who adapt for me. UGH same goes for driving....sometimes it really hits me that I don't have my license and I get all depressed, partly because I know I am not that bad, but my mother gets all nervous driving with me, and I can't stand it. She paid for driving lessons last summer, but that teacher was a joke. Now, I only have one summer to learn before I go to college in August. I will do everything I can to avoid using hand controls too. UGH sorry, I took over this thread. Don't mind me.
I have noticed that my daughter tends to enjoy playing with AB kids than with kids in her class. The children in her class have different disabilities other than cp, though none severe. She loves school but her teacher said she tends to be passive. But at family gatherings she really enjoys playing with her cousins (all the young ones are under 5). She absolutely loves it! Her cousins her very good with her. She is the "spoiled, rotten baby of the family"... lol.
It was one of her cousins that asked what was wrong with her hand. They still play just as usual and they are always sure to include her in their "runabouts".
Did you tend to prefer the company of AB kids when you were children? It seems like my daughter would get tired from all that activity with her cousins, but she is so ambitious and determined to keep up.
Hi Melissa,
I had a neighbor Bill, who was my age (5) and he was AB. We grew up together. He would pull me in a wagon, and later, he would carry me on his shoulders. I had trouble keeping up with the AB kids, until I was a teenager. I would have leg operations in the summer, and have to learn to walk all over again. This was a "normal" thing for me until I was 13...
It sounds like your daughter is doing fine. She "knows" disability as well as the AB life. I couldn't believe that it was possible for a person born with CP to have no idea what CP was, until I joined this site. For a person to grow up with no understanding of people, and their problems, is indeed a sad thing...
I just love this board, there is so much support. 
