Final Reflection

As this course comes to a close and I reflect back on what I have studied and learned, I have to say that although I learned quite a bit I am still not where I would like to be as far as understanding  students with special needs. However, I do think that is a feeling that will develop through experience and interaction with my future students and getting to know them as individuals and getting to know their specific needs, challenges and abilities. I am grateful that I have been able to study some of the laws regarding the services that schools provide for special needs students, and to have gained an understanding of the changes that we as a country and culture have made in supporting, including and welcoming people with special needs.
One of the most impactful experiences for this class was the orthopedic simulation, where I spent several hours in a wheelchair and had some tasks that I was to accomplish. It was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life as far as understanding the challenges associated with being in a wheelchair. I experienced an enormous range of emotions as I attempted to accomplish each task; my emotions ranged from frustration to rage and back to despair as I realized that the place I was in was not designed for my current level of ability. I thought about how each person who is in a wheelchair may also feel those things and be faced with them every single day, on top of the ordinary day-to-day frustrations and challenges as well as any other additional emotional issues or mental health issues that affect any one of us. I thought that it would be incredibly easy to slip into a deep depression brought on by the experience of trying to live in a world that you cannot access freely. Since that simulation, I have looked at each person in a wheelchair as a person of deep strength.
Although the mechanics of this class were frustrating at times, I am glad to have been able to take it over the summer when I could focus on it a little more than if it were in a full-time semester. I had originally planned to be a ECSE major, but now know that ElEd is the right place for me to be. I will work hard to include, encourage and support all of my future students who have special needs.