Laundry.
I started my new job yesterday. I am a teacher's aide for four blind children of approximately kindergarten age.
I'm cutting you off right there. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a bleeding-heart do-gooder or anything like that, because it couldn't be further from the truth. I just want you to know that I took this job because I needed one, and because I like kids.
I had no idea I would fall in love so quickly.
Carlos is the least impaired of the four-- he mainly has peripheral vision, but can't see anything straight in front of him. So he spends most of his time looking out of the corners of his eyes, almost as if he's suspicious of people's motives. His mother is Hispanic and doesn't speak much English, so he sometimes gets confused with his phrasing, but he does extremely well. He's a freak on the Braille machine ("A" is his favorite letter), and he's extremely funny and polite. He and I are fast friends-- I call him "monkey" and he calls me "laundry". (No, I don't know either.) He spent most of recess this morning trying to convince me that my name was, in fact, "Bailey" and "not Chelosee". He calls KrisAnn (another aide) "Krisanna". He kills me.
Thacia is so sweet. She only has vision in one eye, it seems, and has trouble seeing things on the floor. She thinks she's invincible, and is forever running headlong into things at top speed. (She disproved the invincible theory by taking a header off the monkey bars this morning.) She has a tendency to ask "what's this/that?" even if she knows what it is she's seeing or holding, just to get feedback and make sure you're paying attention to her. She carries on conversations chiefly in movie titles-- always asking after Pooh-Bear or Tigger or Lion King. And if she thinks no one is quite paying attention to her, she will immediately stop what she is doing and say "Hello?" and keep repeating it until you reply. She knows her Braille alphabet, her written alphabet, her colors, and her phonetics like a madwoman-- she's very intelligent.
Melissa is blind, sensitive to changes in light. She is Chinese (even though I think she looks Native American). She has some behavioral problems and is a little bad-tempered, but I like her. She knows some simple sign language and uses it, but she doesn't speak. She hums to herself almost constantly-- it's a strange sort of keening that sounds like a little old Hopi wisewoman chanting... it's almost unnerving, but it sounds awesome. Melissa is definitely a tough case, but she and I get along very well. She's started listening for my voice in class, or at least that's what Jeannie (the teacher) says. Melissa will probably be transferred to a full-time care facility up in Ogden.
Ryland is in a wheelchair. He, like Melissa, is blind-- though we're not sure to what absolute extent. His right eye is milky and misty, but his left is a beautiful brown. He is developmentally delayed-- he doesn't speak at all, but he can laugh. He is probably at about the mental age of a two-year-old. He is also the most adorable, lovable kid ever. He loves things that vibrate; he has long, sensitive fingers that flutter over everything. He and I spent half an hour playing in the sand today. He has a great big happy, cheesy grin that oddly reminds me of Seth Green's. He is so good and patient... I completely fell in love with him. I met his father this morning, and it's clear that he comes from a loving, close-knit home with parents who will do anything for him. I absolutely love this kid.
And now I'm having thoughts of going into mobility training like Melanie or speech therapy or becoming an ASL teacher or becoming a Braille instructor and...
...this is madness, ya'll.
I'm cutting you off right there. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a bleeding-heart do-gooder or anything like that, because it couldn't be further from the truth. I just want you to know that I took this job because I needed one, and because I like kids.
I had no idea I would fall in love so quickly.
Carlos is the least impaired of the four-- he mainly has peripheral vision, but can't see anything straight in front of him. So he spends most of his time looking out of the corners of his eyes, almost as if he's suspicious of people's motives. His mother is Hispanic and doesn't speak much English, so he sometimes gets confused with his phrasing, but he does extremely well. He's a freak on the Braille machine ("A" is his favorite letter), and he's extremely funny and polite. He and I are fast friends-- I call him "monkey" and he calls me "laundry". (No, I don't know either.) He spent most of recess this morning trying to convince me that my name was, in fact, "Bailey" and "not Chelosee". He calls KrisAnn (another aide) "Krisanna". He kills me.
Thacia is so sweet. She only has vision in one eye, it seems, and has trouble seeing things on the floor. She thinks she's invincible, and is forever running headlong into things at top speed. (She disproved the invincible theory by taking a header off the monkey bars this morning.) She has a tendency to ask "what's this/that?" even if she knows what it is she's seeing or holding, just to get feedback and make sure you're paying attention to her. She carries on conversations chiefly in movie titles-- always asking after Pooh-Bear or Tigger or Lion King. And if she thinks no one is quite paying attention to her, she will immediately stop what she is doing and say "Hello?" and keep repeating it until you reply. She knows her Braille alphabet, her written alphabet, her colors, and her phonetics like a madwoman-- she's very intelligent.
Melissa is blind, sensitive to changes in light. She is Chinese (even though I think she looks Native American). She has some behavioral problems and is a little bad-tempered, but I like her. She knows some simple sign language and uses it, but she doesn't speak. She hums to herself almost constantly-- it's a strange sort of keening that sounds like a little old Hopi wisewoman chanting... it's almost unnerving, but it sounds awesome. Melissa is definitely a tough case, but she and I get along very well. She's started listening for my voice in class, or at least that's what Jeannie (the teacher) says. Melissa will probably be transferred to a full-time care facility up in Ogden.
Ryland is in a wheelchair. He, like Melissa, is blind-- though we're not sure to what absolute extent. His right eye is milky and misty, but his left is a beautiful brown. He is developmentally delayed-- he doesn't speak at all, but he can laugh. He is probably at about the mental age of a two-year-old. He is also the most adorable, lovable kid ever. He loves things that vibrate; he has long, sensitive fingers that flutter over everything. He and I spent half an hour playing in the sand today. He has a great big happy, cheesy grin that oddly reminds me of Seth Green's. He is so good and patient... I completely fell in love with him. I met his father this morning, and it's clear that he comes from a loving, close-knit home with parents who will do anything for him. I absolutely love this kid.
And now I'm having thoughts of going into mobility training like Melanie or speech therapy or becoming an ASL teacher or becoming a Braille instructor and...
...this is madness, ya'll.
1 Comments:
It sounds like a great job, Chels, I'm glad you're enjoying it :) And atleast it's better than retail, hehe
Take care!
~: Jules
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