college students piped up. “Thank you so much for your honesty. What else do you, uh, find frustrating? Tell us!”
Natalie looked around at the others, who had kind of slumped back in their seats. She knew no one else was going to say anything, and she actually started to feel sorry for the college students. After all, they wanted to be special ed teachers. Maybe they lacked some communication skills, but they did want to help kids with problems.
Natalie took a breath and raised her hand.
“Yes!” Mindy said eagerly. “I’m sorry, I forgot your name.”
“Natalie.”
“Natalie, yes. Please, go ahead, Natalie!”
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing that frustrates me,” she began, noticing the slight movement to her right as Sheldon lifted his head and turned toward her. “I have to wear a hat to keep bright light out of my eyes and it’s awkward sometimes. People think I’m rude or have a hat fetish.”
A couple of the kids laughed softly.
“It’s also pretty embarrassing when I stumble over things,” Natalie continued. “I’ve heard people say, ‘Gosh, she’s so clumsy,’ and it hurts my feelings. I can’t help stumbling over something I can’t see.”
“Yes, yes! I know exactly what Natalie is saying,” Arnab added enthusiastically. “It is very frustrating when I walk into a wall!”
Some of the kids chuckled again.
“Also,” Arnab went on, “it is so difficult when I do not know whether someone is talking to me .”
“People need to identify themselves,” said Paula from her seat in the wheelchair. “So we know who we’re talking to, or who is talking to us.”
“What really burns me up,” JJ said, “are people who tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘Guess who this is?’ I mean, don’t play those stupid games with me, man!”
“Yeah!” Murph agreed. She sat up and was rubbing her hands together excitedly. “I hate that! And I hate it when people ask me why I’m smelling that book. You know? Just because I have to hold it close?”
“People see you with a cane and they think you’re weird—or else they treat you like a baby,” Eve added.
“Or like you’re mentally retarded!” JJ interjected. “You know, ‘Here, sweetie, let me help you across the street.’ ”
“OH! I HATE THAT SWEETIE VOICE!” Murph shouted.
“Shhhhhhh!” Miss Simon warned her to keep her voice down.
Eve raised her hand timidly. “It really annoys me,” she said softly, “when people talk so loud. They practically shout in my ear sometimes. Really, just because I’m blind, it doesn’t mean that I’m deaf, too!”
“She’s right,” JJ agreed loudly. “What’s wrong with people? I’ll tell you what was really embarrassing for me. At this public school where I used to go? I walked into the girls’ room!”
The kids burst out laughing.
“Yeah. Oh, man, you should’ve heard them scream,” JJ went on. “But I said, ‘Whoa! Don’t worry! I can’t see anything!’”
The kids laughed even harder. Even the college students joined in. When things started to settle down, Mark, one of only a couple kids who weren’t laughing, spoke up from his wheelchair at the far end of the table.
“Public school. You want to talk about public school? Kids at my school would jump in front of me to see if I could see them,” he told them. Natalie could tell by his voice that it was a bitter memory. “They would snap their fingers in front of my eyes. One time they pushed me down a hill. Another time into the trophy case!”
The group fell quiet.
“Do you know why my arms are full of tattoos?” he asked them. “It’s because I needed to show those kids that I was not a coward. Maybe I’m in a chair. And maybe I’m blind. But it doesn’t mean I’m a sissy.”
The room remained silent.
Mindy finally spoke up and tried to shift the conversation by focusing on Natalie’s silent new roommate.
“Gabriella,” she said, “what frustrates you ?”
The girl lifted her chin and
Natalie looked around at the others, who had kind of slumped back in their seats. She knew no one else was going to say anything, and she actually started to feel sorry for the college students. After all, they wanted to be special ed teachers. Maybe they lacked some communication skills, but they did want to help kids with problems.
Natalie took a breath and raised her hand.
“Yes!” Mindy said eagerly. “I’m sorry, I forgot your name.”
“Natalie.”
“Natalie, yes. Please, go ahead, Natalie!”
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing that frustrates me,” she began, noticing the slight movement to her right as Sheldon lifted his head and turned toward her. “I have to wear a hat to keep bright light out of my eyes and it’s awkward sometimes. People think I’m rude or have a hat fetish.”
A couple of the kids laughed softly.
“It’s also pretty embarrassing when I stumble over things,” Natalie continued. “I’ve heard people say, ‘Gosh, she’s so clumsy,’ and it hurts my feelings. I can’t help stumbling over something I can’t see.”
“Yes, yes! I know exactly what Natalie is saying,” Arnab added enthusiastically. “It is very frustrating when I walk into a wall!”
Some of the kids chuckled again.
“Also,” Arnab went on, “it is so difficult when I do not know whether someone is talking to me .”
“People need to identify themselves,” said Paula from her seat in the wheelchair. “So we know who we’re talking to, or who is talking to us.”
“What really burns me up,” JJ said, “are people who tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘Guess who this is?’ I mean, don’t play those stupid games with me, man!”
“Yeah!” Murph agreed. She sat up and was rubbing her hands together excitedly. “I hate that! And I hate it when people ask me why I’m smelling that book. You know? Just because I have to hold it close?”
“People see you with a cane and they think you’re weird—or else they treat you like a baby,” Eve added.
“Or like you’re mentally retarded!” JJ interjected. “You know, ‘Here, sweetie, let me help you across the street.’ ”
“OH! I HATE THAT SWEETIE VOICE!” Murph shouted.
“Shhhhhhh!” Miss Simon warned her to keep her voice down.
Eve raised her hand timidly. “It really annoys me,” she said softly, “when people talk so loud. They practically shout in my ear sometimes. Really, just because I’m blind, it doesn’t mean that I’m deaf, too!”
“She’s right,” JJ agreed loudly. “What’s wrong with people? I’ll tell you what was really embarrassing for me. At this public school where I used to go? I walked into the girls’ room!”
The kids burst out laughing.
“Yeah. Oh, man, you should’ve heard them scream,” JJ went on. “But I said, ‘Whoa! Don’t worry! I can’t see anything!’”
The kids laughed even harder. Even the college students joined in. When things started to settle down, Mark, one of only a couple kids who weren’t laughing, spoke up from his wheelchair at the far end of the table.
“Public school. You want to talk about public school? Kids at my school would jump in front of me to see if I could see them,” he told them. Natalie could tell by his voice that it was a bitter memory. “They would snap their fingers in front of my eyes. One time they pushed me down a hill. Another time into the trophy case!”
The group fell quiet.
“Do you know why my arms are full of tattoos?” he asked them. “It’s because I needed to show those kids that I was not a coward. Maybe I’m in a chair. And maybe I’m blind. But it doesn’t mean I’m a sissy.”
The room remained silent.
Mindy finally spoke up and tried to shift the conversation by focusing on Natalie’s silent new roommate.
“Gabriella,” she said, “what frustrates you ?”
The girl lifted her chin and
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