Thanks for sharing your story. :)
I’ll share mine now. One of my four kids (the 2nd of 4) had a severe audiroty processing delay. 6%tile. I had her tested when she was 3 since she wasn’t speaking on time...private tests, she’s fine. I had her tested when she was 5 for Kindergarten...with the CST...she’s fine but has a lisp so she’ll get speech (she went to Catholic School and the Public School District provided for it). I had her tested again when she was 7 in 2nd grade because something was wrong...and it wasn’t a lisp. She wasn’t a behavior problem and she didn’t have a basic skills problem. So I had her privately tested again and she was in the 6th %tile. She would have fallen through the cracks because she was well behaved, didn’t have a basic skills problem and compensated for her “disability.” Oh and did I mention some of the other kids “bullied” her until mommy found out and put a stop to it by threatening the little brats? I didn’t rely on the school, or the government, or my 7 year old child. I took control.
She’s now a senior in the honors college at a University...her IEP ended in the middle of 6th grade because she was a straight A student and I figured she didn’t need any modifications...and she didn’t. She learned to compensate for her delay/disability and didn’t want special treatment. I had to fight with the school, the county special services, to get her off the IEP in 6th grade. She begged me and I agreed with her. High school never knew or if they did, they couldn’t do anything about it. She was in all honors classes without an IEP or any modifications. She’s now a senior in college, in her University’s Honors College.
She didn’t want to use her auditory processing delay as crutch when she was a child! and we sure didn’t allow her to use it as a crutch. Scholar, Athlete, all around great kid and all because she and her support system cared about her and not some mushy feely crap.
I think all of my kids are “special” in different ways. My oldest just graduated with a BSME. She’s self sufficient and will always have a job. Plus she’s gorgeous and fun and smart.
My next kid is the one I talked about above and she’s an honors student in the honors college at her university working on her honors thesis that was approved without changes. She’s also double majoring in Math, is the lead singer for a band, plays 2 inatruments, etc. and is working for her second summer at a major local day care center. She also plays in a collegiate competitive volleyball league.
My third is also an honor student and athlete and now a senior in high school. Yes, I’m proud. She’s worked hard for it and she deserves it and hopefully college scholarship money will flow like it did for her two older sisters.
And the youngest...my clone. Straight A student until she got to high school when she no longer cared. Social Butterfly. Miss Popularity. I’m pulling my gray hair out but while I’m doing that, along with my headache, I’m raising her and parenting her, as is my husbad. And it’s hard. It’s always been hard to parent.
As for this topic of the thread, what is the real issue? Was the photographer purposely excluding this child? Doubtful. Was the teacher, school, classmates? Doubtful. Is the Mom being an attention seeking liberal with the media on her side? Probably. And, I’m probably too cynical.
Just amazes me sometimes that some conservatives want the same thing as liberals and all of it screws the rest of us.
Thank you for your story.
Let me tell you something that most will probably find hard to believe, but if they do, I’d recommend some readings on the subject of manipulation of images. I’ve studied the subject, and practiced it for a long time, and am still learning.
There nothing intrinsically wrong with the photograph! Nothing, nada! In fact, if someone like this mom insisted on interpreting its content emotionally (as she did), he/she could very well interpret it positively. Look, the teacher and the disabled kid are in prominent/privileged positions framing the scene. Or something like that.
What I am saying is that the meaning of the content of the photograph is imposed on us by the tearjerking story that accompanies it, and definitely not by anything within it. This is something to be aware of, as such things are used to influence our votes, and, more often, our buying decisions. The hidden persuaders at work.
Why, it’s a nice picture.