Exceptional Children's Week

Last week was Exceptional Children's Week, which meant performances galore for my students. I had one show last week and one this week.

I'm a big fan of these shows because they accomplish so many goals for so many people involved. For my students, whatever they perform is addressing some goal area, be it motor skills, communication, social skills, etc. Perhaps most important though is that it gives them an opportunity to perform. They get to be the star of the show. The whole school cheers for them, and that's something that doesn't get to happen to frequently for these students.

It's also huge for their parents, for the same reasons. They get to come watch their child be a star. Their disability is not an issue. The pride you see on these parents' faces is truly something special.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the show is the involvement of students from the rest of the school. Special helpers volunteer to come in and perform in the show with the exceptional education students. It's great to see these kids get involved and befriend my students. It's an excellent social interaction for both parties. For the months following the shows, there is a noticeable difference in the attitude of the regular education students towards the exceptional education students. Prior to the show, there may be some staring going on in the hallway as my students walk by, and there's definitely some intimidated looks. However after the show, the attitudes are completely different. The students wave and say hi to my students, give them high fives. It's amazing.

I particularly enjoyed the show this week, partly because the performance was the first time I saw it! With the other shows, the music therapists are heavily involved, and I see the acts for MONTHS leading up to the performance, so it tends to lose it's special-ness, if you will. At this particular school however, we took a secondary role, only helping prepare one act. So the rest of the show was new to me, and I was floored! Seeing my students dance with their peers from the rest of the school just gave me chills.

Following the performance, we attended an awards ceremony for my students called the "Yes I Can" awards. Every student it individually recognized for their accomplishments in the classroom. We had a packed house of parents who were all beaming with pride. Towards the end, one of the teachers read a poem she had written, which she couldn't even get through without choking up. Needless to say, every parent in the crowd had tears streaming down their faces as well. It was a "warm-fuzzy" kind of day.

Just 2 weeks left!