Recently I have discovered that the United States is not that far behind Eastern Europe when it comes to the way we treat people with special needs. No we do not put them in orphanages, but that is because we no longer have orphanages in the states. But people do abort their unborn baby that has a special need such as Down syndrome or Cerebral palsy. And another thing that went on here in the states just a few years ago and may still be going on now, was we put children with special needs such as Cerebral palsy into hospitals which is pretty much putting them into an institution, yes it is better that the mental institutions in Eastern Europe but it still isn't good.
I know first hand how these children are physically. I was a Teachers Assistant for the "Medically fragile" class at my school. Yes they are fed and clothed and taken care of and are able to go to school but that doesn't mean that they are in good condition. These teenagers live at the local hospital in the "child center". (For privacy reasons I will not share these teens names but I will use a nickname or the first letter of their name to identify them.) An example of how these kids are treated is with "M", during the first few months of school he was drugged to the point where he sat their and wouldn't even make eye contact, almost as if he was sleeping with his eyes open. It broke my heart to see that he was drugged so much every day. Recently he has been a lot better and isn't drugged as much as before.
Another example is with "H", "H" rocks back and forth to the point where he has almost flipped his wheelchair over. It is bad how much he rocks and waves his hands in front of his face. And it makes me want to cry knowing that is how he feels he can stimulate himself. Something we do with him is give him a cloth or a pom pom so he will stop rocking and it works most of the time but not always.
These kids have so much potential and if they would have been born just a few years later they would be in much better conditions. Because of when they were born (late 1990's) they didn't receive the proper therapies they needed as young children. All but one of the kids live at the hospital. The hospital doesn't always provide them with good hygiene. They rarely brush "Missy's" hair and teeth so her hair is always tangled and she has bad plaque build up and with "Z" they shaved the back of her head and left the front long so they wouldn't have to worry about tangles in the back where her wheelchair touches her head.
All of these kids have some sort of Cerebral palsy or special need that requires them to be in a wheelchair for most of the day. All but 2 of them are fed through tubes and all but 2 of them are non-verbal. "J" and "A" are the most advanced. "J" can roll himself through the hallways with his wheelchair by himself and he can ride a "special" bike and walk using a stander/walker. "J" can also work the computer with a special button. "A" can say a few words and phrases, and he can feed himself.
"E", is very flexible and if he doesn't have his legs strapped down he can wiggle himself out of his wheelchair. Another thing "E" does is he will hit is mouth with anything he can, such as a toy or even his hands as hard as he can. He will bite his hands and wrists to the point where they are dry and raw. And his hands are always clenched like a fist.
I am not saying that these kids are in as bad conditions as kids in Eastern Europe. What I am trying to say is that even now here in America we are not taking that great of care of these amazing people, these amazing kids. These kids are just striving to be loved and accepted. "Em's" arms are stuck in a bent position and one of "Z's" arms is way stronger than the other. "Z" hits her self in the face with her stronger arm right by her eye and leaves bruises, and scratches. "K" is probably one of the best taken care of, she always has her hair done in braids and she is always wearing clean clothes and her teeth do not have as much plaque build up as the other girls.
Things don't only need to change in Eastern Europe, they also need to change here, in the states. Please keep "M", "H", "Missy", "Em", "Z", "E", "K", "J", "A" and "D" in your prayers, pray for the health and pray that they can make great strides with their development.
Thank you for reading and I hope this opend your eyes to how some of the children here in the Sates are treated!
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