Mar 30
Oliver and Micah
When I was a second semester senior in high school, I was definitely ready to move on to life after high school. I was ready to be out. When the school social worker asked me if I wanted to earn a half-credit by being a peer tutor for a tenth grader who had a cognitive disability and was included in the general education science class, I gladly accepted. Truthfully I wanted a blow-off class, and this definitely sounded like a great option.
My responsibilities were to assist Micah in reading and writing. It took some time for me to understand exactly what that meant. When I would read from the textbook, he would get bored easily and his eyes would wander out the window. As time went on, I realized that Micah was not really absorbing much of the material. He needed something else to stimulate his mind. Thus, I began using real-life examples and talking about science and how it relates to our everyday life. If we were talking about velocity in science class, I talked about the speeding cars in the school parking lot. If we were talking about solids, liquid, and gas, we went to the drinking fountain and let the water run over our hands. Micah began to understand the basic concepts of science as we know them today. As time when on, I realized that I was not just teaching Micah, but rather Micah was also teaching me. Micah was challenging me to learn about him and the ways he comprehended the material.
Although my sole focus in the beginning of the semester was to assist Micah in science class, I began to learn about Micah as a person. We began to spend time together outside of class. I began learning that Micah had the same needs as me and that we shared a lot in common, especially sports (Go Pistons!). This might sound strange, but I believe that when kids with disabilities are not included and actively participating in school, general-ed students never learn how to develop relationships with them. You get a very narrow picture of who they are. They are just the “spec ed” kids. They are just labels – someone you might say “hi” to, but that’s about it.
Being with Micah opened my eyes and I guess my heart, too. I now know how important it is to get to know the person. To start from a place that recognizes that all human beings share the desire to have friends and hang out. I learned that you can only become friends over time, over conversation, and being involved in real activities.
Tagged with: Accommodations • Cognitive Disability • Friends • High School • Learning
Feb 17
Micah Fialka-Feldman
My name is Micah. I am 25 years old and I want to tell you about my life and my dreams. In first grade I was in a special ed classroom because I had a cognitive disability. I was not in the same room as my friends. After about four months, I told my parents, “I want to go in the same door as my friends.” That was my first dream for myself.
My parents listened to me. They helped me to get my dream to come true. I was moved into the class where all of my friends were and I stayed with my friends all the way through high school. It was cool. My friends helped me and we had fun. Sometimes they would write down what I wanted to say in my journal because I didn’t write. I had a great Circle of Friends and we did fun things together during recess and sometimes after school. Some of them are still my friends now. I got help from my teachers too.
In high school, I still went to the general ed classes. I learned other ways to do some things. Because of my disability I don’t write. I have a lot of sight words, but I don’t read like most of my friends. I use special software like “screen reader” which reads whatever is on my computer screen. I also use Dragon Naturally Speaking ®. I talk into my microphone and the words I say go on the screen. I can read and send my own emails. I can learn a lot by using the computer. All kids like me should know about these things.
Since 5th grade I was a part of my IEP meetings (Individual Educational Planning). My friends would come for the first part to talk about what they thought I was learning. Sometimes I did a power point of my dreams and what I wanted to learn in school. It was cool to have my friends at the meeting because they had good ideas to help me. They didn’t stay for the whole meeting., they thought it was kind of boring!!!
In high school, my parents wanted me to run cross country. At first I didn’t like the idea, but I got use to it. I could only run about a block in my freshman year. When I was a senior I ran 2 miles in 23 minutes. I was proud….and tired.
I still learned a lot in high school. Sometimes I didn’t write a paper but I would interview someone on a topic and video tape it. I would give this to the teacher and it would be my paper.
I will tell you more about my life in another blog. There is a lot to tell you. I travel all around the country to speak at conferences about my life and how other kids can be included in their schools. I tell teachers and parents to help the kids have big dreams.
micahff@aol.com
www.throughthesamedoor.com
Tagged with: Accommodations • Cognitive Disability • Dreams • Elementary • Friends • High School • IEP • special education
This blog is written/edited by SpecialQuest community members and does not necessarily reflect the perspectives of SpecialQuest Birth-Five or funders. 
