Tension usually exists between minority and majority groups: Black and white people, gay and straight people, women and men, and the poor and the rich. Though discrimination has diminished over previous centuries, it is something that most people who are different from the larger society often fear.
A Personal Experience of Disability
I understood this not only by being a member of society but also by being part of the small group in the community that was likely to feel this fear. A road accident caused me an injury that almost made me part of the disabled community. Walking like other people in society was my greatest desire.
The Accident and Its Physical Consequences
After my birth, my mother boarded a car to take me home from the hospital; little did she understand that this was a journey that was to change my life, especially my physical appearance. Having told my father that she was coming back, she took a vehicle, and the next thing she discovered was that she was in the hospital again. After her recovery, she remembered the tragic accident involving the car she had hired and a lorry. This accident made me look like certain sorts of Amazonian frog species because of various orthopedic deformities. My joints and legs were temporarily improved with surgery, casts, and metalwork. These issues resulted from multiple bone fractures and muscular dystrophy that manifested as muscle weakness most of the time.
Inclusion and Special Treatment at Elementary School
The elementary school environment provided a happy atmosphere for me. I understood well when I joined the school that I was not walking like other students; however, this mostly made me receive special attention from the teacher. For instance, I was allowed to sit on a chair while other students sat on the floor, which was the norm in the school. Also, my condition allowed me to take a wagon ride along the hall rather than walking down the hallway. Other children in the school felt jealous because of my special treatment. I felt I was the superstar among the students, especially when I was not punished for making mistakes in school.
Why Segregated Education Was Not Motivating
The policy of separating special or handicapped students was not a great idea for me. Even though I was comfortable studying with students who had the same conditions as me, I felt that this was not so motivating. I understand that most people thought and assumed that this separation was the best way of making students feel comfortable and avoiding discrimination from other students. However, in my case, staying with students who walked well motivated me to believe that one day, I would be like them. I knew that the special treatment made the other children in the school love me more, making me feel more comfortable than staying with other students who were in my condition.
Shyness, Illness, and Communication Barriers
Although I loved school, I was naïve and shy. Most of the time, my teacher had a problem getting me to communicate with her. I felt she was a stranger. I never opened up to explain any challenge that I was facing. For instance, I wrote my classwork slowly, especially when I was experiencing general body weakness while in class or side effects from the drugs I took before going to school, such as a headache. My response to the teacher’s questions about my well-being was crying. I often cried when I was not feeling well but never communicated my problem. This made our counseling master and my class teacher visit our home.
Parental Protection and Social Isolation
At home, getting out was rare except on Saturday when we were going to church. My parents took care of me and never allowed me to walk out to any other place. They preferred that I stay indoors and play with my elder sister. I did not even know the name of our immediate neighbor. My parents feared that I might injure myself when playing with other students or face discrimination from the children I was to play with as well as people in society. I always learned to talk to my mother about any problem and developed the attitude that she was my only refuge. All other neighbors were strangers.
A Childhood Centered on the Nuclear Family
Since my father was an orphan and had no siblings, we rarely received visitors in our house. My grandparents on my mother’s side were the only visitors we received in our family. Since they were Christian missionaries in Africa, they rarely came home, and most of their other children stayed in Africa except my mother. The Christmas period was the only time we reunited with them. Therefore, I rarely interacted with other relatives; my entire life revolved around my nuclear family.
The Teacher’s Intervention
On Saturday, after the church service, at 3 p.m., we hurriedly left the church. This was unusual; we were almost always the last people to leave. “Mr. Peter Rough and Mrs. Kilm have arrived.” I was shocked to hear the name of my teacher.
As was my custom, I hid in my bedroom, leaving my parents to talk with my teacher. I heard a voice from afar: “Do you allow your child to interact with other people? You need to understand that a sick student like her needs to develop communication skills with other people so as to feel like she is part of society. Do not lock your kid indoors because of her condition,” my teacher explained. After some days, my mother allowed us to play with other neighborhood kids.
Surgery and the Hope of Walking
At the age of twelve, my neighbor, a medical doctor, suggested to my parents that I undergo a surgical procedure that included bone plating and hip replacement. He said that this condition was reversible since it was not a congenital malformation and my bones had the ability to regenerate. Three months after this doctor had a deep discussion with my parents, I was taken to the theater for surgery. Though naïve about this procedure, I had hope that after healing, I would walk like other children. This procedure resulted in what I felt was a dream.
Recovery and Life Beyond the Wheelchair
Two years later, I donated my wheelchair to the physically challenged at the hospital. My legs no longer had weakness. My muscles regenerated, providing my legs with enough support to stand and walk. The plating and hip replacement made my bones strong once more. Motivated by the walking students in the school, I learned to walk over a short period, though at first, it was difficult. My mother describes this as returning to who I was at birth before I had an accident. I felt a new experience after years of using a wheelchair (Beaty and Hunter). My earnest desire was fulfilled at last.
Inclusive Education as a Source of Motivation
It is true that separating physically challenged students in school helps defend them from discrimination; however, letting them learn with other students can motivate them to desire to walk. My experience with walking students in school made me often try to walk like them even before the surgical procedure. Even after this procedure, it made my practice easier since they assisted me in practicing an extra mile apart from the practice I did during weekends with the physiotherapist back at home. Currently, I walk like other students, having realized that I am a good football player. I play with minimal complications, and I love hiking.
Work Cited
Beaty, Jerome, and J. Paul Hunter. New Worlds of Literature. Norton, 1989.
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