School Life
Brad and Bri both attend our public high school. Brad is in the ninth grade and Bri the tenth. They each have an individual aide with them all day. This in itself is a challenge. Both kids love their aides and substitute aides but finding them special someones are sometimes difficult.
Bri’s aide is Ms. Altom. She is not only there for Bri’s size and academic assistance but to provide her health care services required for her to attend school. Ms. Farmer is the substitute aide when Ms. Altom is absent. Last year we faced a major challenge when my niece Bri’s aide then resigned. This was a very difficult transition for Bri and resulted in a lot of stress on her. God smiled on us finally and sent Ms. Altom. We are thankful for her. For anyone with health care needs at school feel free to email me. I will be glad to help you all I can. Your school nurse should know your childs medical needs inside and out for she is the lifelink when they are at school. Ms. Debbie is ours and I bet she can recite Bri’s needs. I am thankful for her help and assistance in developing and training staff to care for Bri.
Brad’s aide is a wonderful lady, Ms. Conlon. She is so great with him. Brad is a ball of energy and is a typical 15 year old boy. During jr. high Brad really needed a male assistant and role model, Adam, Derek and Joey, filled a role that they will never know was so important. They were that “guy” he needed to hang out with during school. Self image and acceptance of his differences was at a pivotal time then. These guys help him transition into the nice young man he his. When Joey left along came Ms. Conlon. Both Brad and Ms. Conlon were a little nervous about each other at first. However, they now share an unbelievable bond. Brad worries about her and her about him. They know how to work hard and achieve. Thank you Ms. Conlon!!!
On the academic front, both kids have their own individual plan. They both make great grades and have achieved a lot. I am sure you guys out there have many questions. Please feel free to ask. If you would wish to just email me that would be fine.
Another important area for Bri and Brad is being included with their peers. This is probably the most important thing. Bri and Brad’s peers don’t even think of them as
different. They see them as they are and accept that. They have great friendships and participate in extracurricular activities with the district. I would encourage all families to push this for your kids. Our school district from administrators down know that I expect Bri and Brad to be included just like the other students.
We have had times when I and the district disagreed on this but they know exactly how important I feel this is. Sometimes its a hard job for parents to be your childs advocate, you don’t always make friends but it is your Parental duty to advocate for them. I would suggest to find someone to help you. My Aunt Jane, Dad, Chastity and Brandi all helped us through some difficult educational times. I can never repay them for the support. We even had to get a local legal firm to help. I hated this but unfortunately it is sometimes necessary. Remember your schools have an attorney at their fingertips.
I will leave it at that but feel free to comment, I welcome it.
Christy
Oh my goodness! I’m glad you made a website. I never knew such a thing existed. I’m very happy for bri and brad. That they have learned to cope with things. I certainly hope all goes well. I kinda know what it means to have to cope with things. I’m a Type 1 diabetic, although it’s not the same it does have a common link.
I’d be delighted if i could talk to them. I bet they’re wonderful.
best wishes!
Miss Hamilton,
One of the best things that my family and others have done is to educate their peers early. When the kids began preschool a presentation and Q&A session was done to answer and address all of the kids questions. Bri and Brad both expressed their desire to be treated like their peers. Everyone knows there are a few bad apples out there but we deal with those as individual issues. Honestly, the adults are more difficult in accepting and treating them age appropriately than the kids. School has had its challenges but overall our teachers were very committed to making them fit in and treating them fairly.
Christy
I am a senior in a Special education certification program in Texas and I have a few questions for your family if you don’t mind. I am teaching my fellow student teachers about primordial dwarfism and what it would mean for them in the classroom. My biggest concerns are not about educating the child with dwarfism, but helping other students accept the child. What are some of the questions that your children faced from their peers and how as a teacher can I help children like them to feel comfortable in the classroom? What are questions that they do not like to answer and how do you all handle them? Is there anything else you think might be important for a teacher to understand about children with this and other types of dwarfism?
Thank you for your time,
Miss Hamilton
I just looked at my last post here. It was in May. School is out so maybe we will have more time online. How untrue. We have been busier than ever. Bri has had cheer camp, practice and their squads all famous carwash fundraiser. Brad just had his golf meeting and their fundraiser is in two weeks. Bri’s aide Ms. Altom has resigned and we await appointment of her new aide. Hopefully it will be Ms. Farmer whom was their sub last year. I hope this is a better transition. Education for these guys is a lot of work. They have summer classes four days a week 2 hours a day. Their summer teacher Ms. Angie is great at meeting them where they are. If anyone has any questions specific to education please email them to me!
Well today was our yearly planning meeting for both Brad and Bri’s educational plan. It is always such an overwhelming day. Bri was kinda unnerved trying to make decisions about her future. Bless her little soft heart people don’t always see how stressful things can be for her. She agreed to try a Journalism class. I think she will enjoy it once she sees what it is about.
Brad took control of his meeting. He is so positive about life. He leads by example. He pointed out that he didn’t get to try band this year. He wasn’t agressive just assertive. Next year however he will do sectionals and try different instruments. He also discussed his academic strengths and weaknesses.
I am so proud of both of them! They are great teenagers. An A+ for effort for both of them.
Summer is here now so hopefully we will have more time online.
Thanks for the support from you all!!!
I just wanted to let you know that I am the coach of the Edwardsville YMCA now and I attend SIUE. I remember competing with Brad when I was younger and what an inspiration he was to me then and still is today. I am studying to be a special education teacher and the other day we watched your documentary that aired on TLC and I of course had to pipe up that I knew the stars of this show! Just wanted to let you know that as a parent I feel that it is awesome that you have such a desire to make your children’s lives the most normal it can possibly be. As a future educator I hope that I can also make this happen for my students regardless of their special need. If you would ever be interested in making a trip to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, we would love to have you as a guest speaker. I hope that the next time I see you all at the next meet, I can actually have the chance to say hello. God Bless you all! Adam Garrett
In order to keep Bri and Brad’s educational program running as smooth as possible it takes a lot of planning and work by everyone. Just got off the phone with one of their teachers. We are trying to get an evaluation for Bri for vehicle adaptions. This process has been ongoing since last years annual meeting. Bri completed the classroom part of drivers education and passed the written exam this school year. That was a stressful day for both of us. If anyone has any suggestions or has went through this, I welcome your response. It has taken so long now that Brad will be evaluated at the same time. We have to start the paperwork for him. We have set some tentative dates in order to get a planning meeting for next years academic programs. I would suggest that all parents of special needs children stay very involved in their childrens educational plan. Remember the goals of education are not only that they will graduate but that they will be successful individuals in the real world and live as independently as possible. This is a goal that one would set for the average child and one that we must work hard to achieve for our special needs kids.
Christy