Morgan , Brooke and Taryn

I dont remember exactly what grade Taryn was in when she came home and told me that Morgan was her best friend. It might have been 2nd. She asked me if she could come over. Of course. When she brought her home I realized that Morgan was special. Morgan has Downs Syndrome. They spent the afternoon listening to High School Musical , dressing up and dancing like all young girls do.

Taryn never mentioned that Morgan might be different than her. Isnt being 7 great, when you dont notice the differences between you and everyone around you. To Taryn , everyone around her was the same... on equal footing.

You may think what a great opportunity for Morgan to be in a regular classroom setting where she got to learn different social behaviors and have academic success that may not have been otherwise possible for her.

But the biggest change was for those in the 2nd grade classroom who got to know and love Morgan as a person, peer, friend and best friend. This would not have been possible with out Morgan being there every day for the most part of the day.

One day in 4th grade Taryn came home in tears. She told me of some girls who did not know Morgan were making fun of her in the bathroom. Taryn could not believe the cruelty. Why would they try to hurt her. Maybe if they just had the chance like Taryn had in 2nd , 3rd and 4th grade to get to know her they would not have said those things.

Taryn , Morgan and Brooke(Morgans sisters in 5th grade also her other BFF) are in 5th grade now at the new Middle School. Morgan is in a different class now. She spends more time in resource than she used to. Taryn still sees Morgan at lunch , but one cant help but wonder how many more lives could be changed if Morgan still had the opportunities to be with her old peers as she did at the elementary.

Many of the decisions for our children are based on budget constrants and old ways of doing things. What we thought used to work. Morgan needs a 1/3 time helper. The regular 5th grade teacher has some 30 kids in the class room and logistically isnt possible to help Morgan with out an aid. Someone who can make sure she is where she needs to be and is on task with her abilities and yet push her to accomplish what we thought might not have been possible. With the finacial state of our school district Morgan doesnt have that person. She needs a part-time volunteer.
Maybe a high school senior who gets out of school early or someone who is looking to make a difference. I dont have the answer but I know with some research and good old fashion team work this would be possible.

Morgan isnt the only one. There are many of them who could benefit from this type of assimilation. How many Morgans are out there who didnt have the opportunities given to them that Morgans mom had to push for. How grateful I am that Taryn had the chance to get to know Morgan and love her. She has made our life better. We are more compassionate and are more likely to get to know people of all kinds around us because of her.

I know I dont have concrete answers but I do know this is a problem some of our neighbors and friends are facing. Maybe we could help with volunteering,voicing our opinion at school board meetings, or simply being aware of the situation and being an understanding friend.
Sometime the way to change is opening up our hearts and being willing to try something different.

p.s. You will notice Addie from the previous post is special person as well who also brings so much to our lives.