Do you know who has a lot of credit when it comes to me learning to be more courageous about showing my flawed, imperfect self online, now?
It's due to a bunch elementary school children, at the now closed McTavish Elementary School in #CentralSaanich. I did my practicum there after obtaining my specialized teacher's assistant certifications. I worked with FASD, autistic, down syndrome & physically disabled students there. They represented 30% of student population there.
I did an interactive cultural, racial & disabilities bridging awareness program while there. Part of it was showcasing my life as a child war survivor & how me & my family survived war. The other part was showcasing how I was diagnosed with polio. How I was told I'd be living out of a wheelchair for my whole life. How I beat that diagnosis by sheer willpower & suffering much physical pains while forcing my body to learn how to walk against all odds. How I'm in front of them, walking & talking. I invited the kids to ask any questions they wanted & advised staff/parental witnesses to not interrupt kids during Q&A period. The kids asked amazing questions & I answered all of them, openly & honestly. I had a few parents & teachers squirm when one kid asked to see & touch my leg braces. I showed the kids both my leg braces & told them it's OK to touch them & ask me more questions.
This is how I bridge things & create less fears of disabled peoples, from a young age. Most kids are more curious than outright judgemental. Most kids develop understanding of disabled people, if they're taught well.
- from the back passenger seat of a taxi. With my last KN95 mask - all my remaining ones are N95s. I have thousands stocked up from last year.
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