Last week they went over to River Walk Park to go and watch the birds. Michael loves being in the outdoors, and really enjoyed it. His teacher tried to show him how to use binoculars, which ended up being a little more challenging than expected. Overall, Michael loved it :)
Michael has been having a blast in his new transition program! He's been getting along well with the other students and I think his most favorite are the trips that his class goes on! The class goes to the local church on some days, where Michael gets to help vacuum (one of his favorites!). On Wednesdays, they get to pick an area in the community they'd like to visit and go explore. Last week they went over to River Walk Park to go and watch the birds. Michael loves being in the outdoors, and really enjoyed it. His teacher tried to show him how to use binoculars, which ended up being a little more challenging than expected. Overall, Michael loved it :) Today, Michael's class decided to go on an adventure to Downtown San Diego by the Hyatt hotel, which was a ton of fun! Opportunities like this are fantastic to the students, since it gives them the opportunity to safely and comfortably explore San Diego with their friends. The teacher and teaching assistants are awesome at keeping a good eye at the students and making sure nothing goes wrong. Not only do the students get to have fun and really practice being in the outside world, it also helps others who don't have as much experience with the disabled community a chance to see these students in the real world-- and hopefully help erase or alleviate any negative thoughts surrounding that community.
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As someone who's grown up with a member of the disabled community, hearing the "r-word" (retarded) still makes me uncomfortable. You hear it almost everywhere you go in public, including social media, politics, and on TV. I'd like to share my own thoughts about how I feel when someone uses the "r-word" outside of its original context. First of all, I completely understand that sometimes the word slips out unintentionally during a conversation. I don't hold a grudge on others who use the word on accident, and can recognize that it was inappropriate. However, looking at the definition of "retarded" in Merriam-Webster (or any other basic dictionary) reveals a "slow or limited... intellectual or emotional development or academic progress." This has now been altered to replace words like "dumb, stupid, dull, lame, etc" and essentially labels those with intellectual disabilities as having those characteristics. Clearly, members of the disabled community do not fall under such a negative category, but the misguided use of the "r-word" continues to hurt that community. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't feel any hostility towards others who use the word, as long as it was unintentional. In that case, increased awareness and understanding of the misuse of the word may help strengthen the relationship between the disabled and non-disabled communities. That's why it's so important to remove that word from one's vocabulary, and for the media to be more aware of how harmful that word can be to others. Today my mom and brother finally got to see my apartment for the first time! Michael was pretty upset at first, and didn't like the new environment around him. However, after a few minutes of taking pictures, he had a fantastic time exploring through and getting to know my new home (which he'll hopefully be visiting every weekend during school). Afterwards, we headed down to Pacific Beach to go and have an early dinner at World Curry (my favorite restaurant!). This was only Michael's second time EVER going out to eat at a restaurant with us, and he did fantastic! Last time we went was for our birthday back in April, and it's the perfect place for him. It's a nice little hole-in-the-wall place, with amazing food and quick service. Michael hates noisy environments and usually becomes very violent, but absolutely loves the chill atmosphere in World Curry. He was laughing and smiling the whole time, and scarfed down all of his food in no time :) Once we finished dinner, we couldn't forget about going to Michael's favorite place, the beach! We headed over to La Jolla Shores.... and Michael finally got to go into the water for the first time! He was really timid at first and running away from it, but after a couple minutes you couldn't get him away from the water. It's incredible to watch how much the water relaxes, yet excites him. Can't wait to share more adventures throughout the year :)
So, last weekend when I came home it was time to give our 1985 BMW, Betsey, a wash! Betsey's been in our family since we were little kids, and is still my favorite car. Whenever I come home, I always do my best to spend the most amount of time possible with Michael. So it was a perfect opportunity to have him help me wash Betsey! Michael loves being able to help out with little things, and never complains or looks upset when you ask him to do something. Most of the time he just wants to be included, and even a simple task like drying off the car was fun for him to do. AND he did an incredible job :) Today was the day! Michael started off his second year of transition with a fantastic start. Even with a new teacher, Michael was so happy to be back in the classroom. He did get a little butt-hurt during the morning since he ended up being in a newer classroom, but afterwards he had a flawless day. This is a huge step for us, since Michael normally hates switching routines, and absolutely hates change of any kind. Considering that I just moved back into my apartment and left the house a few days ago, Michael has been handling the change very well. When I came to pick him up from school at the end of his day, he even gave me a nice smile for the camera (which he almost never does) :) Michael will be continuing the program until next year, where he will be learning basic skills that will help him transition into the real world. Last year he used to go around town and help distribute and pack/unpack food at various restaurants or churches around the city. One of Michael's favorite things to do is clean, and he loves to keep everything around him organized. I'll be sharing some more stories of what Michael does at school as the year goes on :)
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Michael
Michael is my twin brother who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome upon our birth. He is completely non-verbal, but never fails to show his love to everyone. He loves going to the beach and watching the waves, along with going on walks.
AuthorHello! My name is Julia and I am Michael's twin sister. I'm a chocolate loving, busy college student and swim for UCSD. Archives
November 2017
Michael's Instagram Account:@beyond_the_waves_blog
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