Get Up and Move

The IM ABLE Foundation is very proud of 9 year old Ceren, who raised $430 for the Foundation through the sale of her self-produced holiday piano CD. Ceren learned of the IM ABLE Foundation after watching excerpts from ‘Fight, the Movie’ in her 3^rd grade classroom: her teacher, Kristy Kowal, is also featured in the movie and shared her story and a few others, including mine, with her students.  After Ceren’s donation, Ms. Kowal was gracious enough to invite me into her classroom to speak. During my visit, I let Ceren’s classmates know of her hard work and generosity, and I gave some insight as to what the IM ABLE Foundation does and how we can help the students’ disabled peers.

Coming into the visit, I wasn’t sure how to approach my talk or whether the 3rd graders would truly understand the Foundation’s philosophy of changing perceptions and attitudes about disabled people. I explained the history and pathology of my disability, which fit in well to their recent lesson on the nervous system. I also spoke about the lives of children their age who do not get the opportunity to live a “normal” childhood that includes riding a bike, running, and playing.  I stressed the importance of appreciating what abilities the children have and also accepting their disabled peers, not treating them differently. I brought in a handcycle designed for children to expose them to and help them understand the equipment used by disabled people – some of them even said that they would ask a disabled child using a handcycle to join them on a bike ride rather than staring at them, confirming their understanding of the inclusiveness idea the Foundation stresses.

I was amazed and impressed by the questions generated and the genuine interest about what the Foundation does. While some of the questions focused on my personal situation, there were many questions that showed the true inquisitive nature of the students’ young minds, and demonstrated their desire to understand different situations. I was very happy to provide as much useful information as I could.  As I was leaving, I was touched by the children’s intention to start a classroom coin collection site for IM ABLE. This was a truly rewarding experience, and I thank the students and faculty of Whitfield Elementary School in West Lawn, PA for inviting me to share some time and knowledge with them!