Overcoming the First Impressions of Disability

Waiting in the room at the base of the Amazon Rainforest Trail, I could hear the murmurs coming out of the adjacent room. Then the skinny guide came out walking apologetically towards me and my parents. “I am sorry, but you will not be able to go because there would be a long hike to where we would be staying which you would not be able to do,” he said sheepishly. As I stood there noting a repeat pattern here, my mind began remembering some of the other similar incidents.

Years ago, when I was joining the public school system, my teacher had asked “why is she thinking of joining my class, there are other schools for children with special needs?” I clearly remember being scared when I heard that. But gradually, my curiosity and eagerness to learn wiped away her doubts, and by the end of the year, she said that I am a great student and she loved teaching me.

A similar thing happened while joining a private math institute in 8th grade for extra classes. At the end of my first class, the teacher told my mom and me “I can teach her.” I thought Obviously, you can teach me. However, I realized how fearful he was in teaching me before I came to the class. Therefore, I tried to make it as easy for him to teach me even if it meant that I needed to type my questions up before verbally asking them so that it takes less time, which I normally don’t like to do. Over time the teacher began to understand me more and felt more confident in teaching me. On the last day, while the students were having fun on the playground, he took me out to the top of the stairs and talked to me about my plans for the summer. That time I felt great that I was able to make another person who was originally nervous about having me in his class able to appreciate my good-natured and determined personality.

When I went for obstacle courses with my parents, the volunteers used to be very worried about sending me up and would provide me more support than what I needed. I told them that I did not need as much help and that I could do more on my own. Slowly, I maneuvered through the obstacles and came about with effective strategies to target them along the way. As I did more obstacle courses, I became more experienced in going through them and tried harder levels for older children. After every obstacle, I feel so proud of myself and how I accomplished what is physically challenging for other children even with CP.

My dad went to a couple of obstacle courses with his friends when I was in 7th grade. In one event, there was a separate obstacle course for children and people with disabilities which I did. Since most of the kids with special needs had only a mental disability, the volunteers started by helping me more than I needed. I wanted to do as much as possible on my own, but there were obstacles that they literally carried me over. I was getting a little frustrated, and was asking them to just let me try it myself as much as I can. Finally, when I proved that I was able to do more than they thought I could, they let me do more on my own. I gave a big smile when my picture with my deserved medal was taken after finishing the race even though it took me much longer to get through than other children. I also participated in another obstacle course called GritnWit, which also had some challenging puzzles as well as obstacles like climbing ladders, carrying heavy objects, and walking across uneven surfaces. This was my favorite obstacle course because I loved the mixture of brain and brawn. Also, It was very interesting that depending on how well you complete the puzzles, the obstacles become more or less challenging by changing factors such as the amount of weight you need to carry.

When I tried adaptive skiing, the skiing instructor asked my dad “will she understand me?” I quickly said yes without giving him another second to consider that question. Then I tried taking a few steps with my skis. It was obviously extremely difficult to keep my balance, but I did not give up. I kept walking until I felt comfortable in my skis. After two sessions, I was ready to go uphill. I went a few steps and skied down. Even though I kept losing my balance while going down, I kept trying until I mastered the small slope. Finally, I was ready to go on the ski lift and go all the way down the bunny slope. When I was able to get all the way down without falling, I exclaimed looking back at the slope “Wow, I did all this on my own!”.

Now, after remembering all of these incidents, I felt ready to take on the challenge. I told the guide that I had taken so many long hikes before and that I can do this one too. I got mentally ready and started the walk. Even though the rest of the group quickly went ahead of me, I preserved and fought the tiredness and pain in my muscles through every step. I felt wonderful to be able to prove to myself and the rest of the world that I can do whatever I want to even with a physical disability. And the beauty and experience of the rainforest soon made me forget most of my pains. The rest went away with the sighting of a huge tarantula in my room as was preparing to sleep!!!