The Healing Horse, Ch. 21, Scene 8: Peaceful Moments with Pegasus

The story continues, as Karen turns to her spiritual mentor for wisdom. He reassures her, but he also insists that she deal with reality in a practical way.

(Image by Dave Kremnitzer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Scene 8: Peaceful Moments with Pegasus

Relying on her strong right leg to get from the last step of the bus to the sidewalk, she called out to Mama, “I need to talk with Pegasus, right now, but I’ll be home for supper!”

As her brave stallion carried her away, Karen felt herself relax. Despite the fact that the ranch was finite in size, she and Pegasus discovered new lands on every ride, as if they were in an alternative universe on the edge of the city. She was glad to be on horseback and knew that Pegasus would tell her what she needed to know, so she could deal with the situation at school.

After a brisk ride, they rested in a serene and sacred grove, surrounded by exotic flora and fauna. Pungent eucalyptus and sweet frankincense surrounded them. Two ancient banyan trees spread above them, and the blue Pacific reflected the setting sun before them. Karen wondered why no one else could see these treasures. She did not know, but she figured it had to do with her magical stallion.

While walking leisurely under the trees, she told Pegasus about Mrs. Pinzetti, the coffee cups, Tammy, and Dr. Lambert’s demand for more surgeries.

She concluded by saying, “Thank you for coming to me in school. Your spiritual presence saved my life. I was fading fast. But what about my dear friend Tammy?”

Pegasus replied, “I felt your suffering at school and went there in spirit to comfort you. You need your Mama’s help with Tammy’s situation. I can support you in spirit, with wisdom, with compassion, but you still need a strong adult to confront the experts. You still need Mama, and Tammy still needs her mother.”

They remained five minutes more. Time evaporated into dusk. The sun’s reflection glistened upon the blue Pacific. In spite of Pegasus’ advice and support, she felt afraid.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 21, Scene 7: On the Bus

In this scene, after overhearing Mrs. Pinzetti and her colleague plot against Tammy, Karen maintains a positive outlook and feels sympathy for the students whose disabilities are more severe than hers.

(Image by Mohamed Hassan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Scene 7: On the Bus

Walking out to the bus, Karen saw all the shiny yellow and black buses lined up. The loading zone looked like Toy Land, where little girls and boys would come for fun. Along with the other children who could walk by themselves, Karen scurried onto her bus and took her favorite seat, one by a window on the same side as the door into the bus. Listening with half an ear to the other students’ chatter, she watched as the drivers carried the non-ambulatory kids up the bus steps and settled them into assigned seats at the front of the bus.

Kitten felt sympathy for these children. They could not help themselves as she did, despite her partial paralysis. They could not walk, even with crutches. Many could neither voice their needs nor speak intelligibly. Some wore heavy metal braces not only on their legs, but also up their entire bodies. Others wore body casts. The ones who had cerebral palsy, as she did, were far more challenged than she was. Others had muscular dystrophy or multiple sclerosis. Tammy was always the last student that Mr. Hinton brought on board. When he took her out of her wheelchair, her arms and legs began flailing, and he needed help from one of the other drivers to keep her from hurting herself. He lifted her upper torso by grasping the steel brace around her waist, while another driver lifted her feet. Because of the flailing, she was in constant danger. He put her into the seat right behind him, with her back against the side of the bus and her legs pointing toward the aisle. By adjusting the seat belt and other restraints, he made sure she would not bang her head or hands against the wall of the bus or the seat. Kitten smiled and waved, and she smiled back.

When all the students were secure in their seat belts, the buses started their engines. Mr. Hinton looked in his oversized rearview mirror and took a head count. He knew every child’s name and special needs, and he checked to be sure that all his children were in place, safe, and accounted for.

The headcount complete, he revved up his motor, looked to see if the coast were clear, and shouted, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” and off they motored.

On the way home, some of the children sat together and talked. Others played games like counting Volkswagens. Sometimes, Karen played. Most of the time, she just silently enjoyed looking out the window, and her time silently alone. Today, she could not stop thinking about how she had misjudged Mrs. Pinzetti and about Tammy’s fate.

As she looked at Tammy, Karen had mixed feelings. By sharing with her, she had realized that she was not alone, and she now felt less isolated. Tammy understood what her learning disability was all about, and what it was like to be labeled retarded when you were not. At the same time, overhearing Mrs. Pinzetti’s plans had frightened her. Her intuition that the experts were evil was now confirmed, and she had to deal with this reality.

One by one, the children left the bus to go home. Mr. Hinton drove block after block, turn after turn, from one end of the western part of greater Los Angeles to the other.

Karen had memorized the route to her old house, along with Mr. Hinton, when he first started as a driver. She knew who was getting off when, and at which house. Since she and Mama had moved, she was still learning the new route.

“One more block to go,” she sighed, as Mr. Hinton turned a corner and she recognized her street.

She saw Pegasus in the distance, waiting by her house. Mr. Hinton pulled close to the curb.

“There you go, Kitten! You look worried. Don’t fret, darling. Keep smiling. Don’t let whatever it is get you down. Have a nice evening, and don’t be afraid to tell your mother whatever is bothering you.”

Karen smiled and thanked Mr. Hinton. He always seemed to say the right thing.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 21, Scene 6: Surgeries for Kids Who Don’t Need Them

The story continues to grow darker and darker, though little Karen manages to keep her head throughout it all.

(Image by Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Scene 6: Surgeries for Kids Who Don’t Need Them

In the therapy room, Mrs. Pinzetti put on her white doctor coat and had Karen sit on the gray mat. As with Mrs. Schmidt, the final exercise was the calf stretch. Karen sat on the mat with her legs straight in front of her. Mrs. Pinzetti knelt at her feet, as she pushed down hard on Karen’s left knee with her left hand and pushed forward against her left toes with her right in an effort to straighten the leg and relax the ankle so that Karen’s foot would work normally when she walked. Karen tried to relax. She knew that Mrs. Pinzetti was not cruel in the way that Mrs. Schmidt had been, in spite of what she had heard her tell Mrs. DeLuca in the hallway.

The swish of the PT room’s door caught her attention, and she twisted her neck to look over her left shoulder. Mrs. DeLuca had quietly pushed the door open.

“Excuse me,” she said. “Mrs. Pinzetti is wanted on the phone in the school office. Dr. Lambert says he must speak with her, immediately.”

Kitten saw Mrs. Pinzetti’s eyes go blank. The therapist’s right hand raised itself to her face, where it rubbed the round scar abrasively, as if she were trying to rub it away.

After a moment, she said, “I should talk with Dr. Lambert, now. Mrs. DeLuca will complete your treatment. Perhaps she should start over. I’m so sorry, Sugar, but I have to go, now.”

Karen watched as Mrs. Pinzetti’s elegant figure stood and then slipped out of the room. For a moment, she wondered if she would ever become so beautiful and graceful. Then, Mrs. DeLuca began the whole therapy sequence at the beginning.

In a few minutes, Mrs. Pinzetti returned. Her face was still tense and pale. Mrs. DeLuca excused herself from Karen and went into the hallway with Mrs. Pinzetti. She closed the therapy room door, but Karen could hear them through the gap between it and the floor.

“What did he want?” Mrs. DeLuca whispered.

Mrs. Pinzetti replied in the lowest whisper, but Karen could still hear.

“Surgeries! He wants more surgeries. That’s why he got me fired from my last job. Do you see this scar on my cheek? I refused to refer enough children to him for surgery, so he got me fired and promised to ruin my professional reputation so I would never work again. That night I went home, got drunk on cheap red wine, and fell asleep on my own cigarette. I burned a scar into my own face. Not enough surgeries! I can’t afford to lose this job, but we’re running out of children who need surgery. We’re going to have to start on the ones that don’t need it.”

Mrs. DeLuca replied, “I need my job, too. We have to give him what he wants.”

The bell rang exactly at three. It was time to go home. Karen put on her shoes and waited a few minutes. She knew that the children who were able to run were all racing to the coatroom for their coats and lunch bags. She did not want to get knocked over in the rush. She had to get home and talk to Pegasus and Mama.

As she walked by the two therapists in the hallway, they both said, “Have a good evening, Karen,” and then went back into their room.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 21, Scene 5: Alone in a Classroom

After the torment of hearing Mrs. Pinzetti disparage her and plot against her friend, Tammy, Karen goes to an empty classroom for a tutorial. Unfortunately, the school cannot afford to provide a tutor, so she studies alone. As always, she makes the best of a bad situation instead of giving in to it. Then the evil Mrs. P appears…

(Image by drcw on Flickr)

Scene 5: Alone in a Classroom

After lunch, her classroom teacher excused Kitten for her daily tutorial. This had begun after her last evaluation, nearly a year before. Karen had complained that she needed more advanced instruction than the rest of her class, and that the disruptive behavior of some of her classmates made concentration hard for her. The eval team had recommended that the school hire a tutor to work with Karen in a separate classroom.

Unfortunately, the school lacked funding to hire a tutor. Instead, the principal assigned one of the teachers to work one on one with Kitten, but five minutes into the first session, the teacher had left and never returned. Karen had wondered what she had done to drive the teacher away, but she had been so determined to learn that she had persevered for two hours alone every day, trying to study on her own. She had not told anyone because she thought it was her fault the teacher had not come back.

In the empty classroom, she sat at a desk with a stack of vocabulary cards to study for the weekly spelling test. Her teacher wanted her to look at the cards and then spell and pronounce the words aloud, but Kitten had discovered that she learned better if she traced her finger over each word, and then said it aloud. She learned kinesthetically.

In her perception, the words appeared garbled, jumbled, distorted, and mixed up. She worked through the list, one word at a time. With each word, first, she could not sound it out, and then she could barely say it, but she kept her commitment to herself and to her learning. On the third try, she could usually say the word. She traced each word with her finger, and then she could remember the spelling. Repeating the word aloud as she traced it, she mastered the pronunciation. Her teachers had taught her to sound out and repeat the words, but her intuition alone had taught her to trace them. She got the spelling right almost one hundred percent of the time.

Desperate with fear that she could not learn the words, she traced them and tried to tie a knot between shape and meaning. Despair threatened to undermine her, but she held steady. Regardless of her emotional state, she mastered all the words in the first half hour. Then she took a second stack of cards from her bag. She had made these cards herself by writing in black crayon on white three-by-five index cards. On the back of each card, she had written a brief definition in pencil. These were words from her reading, words she had needed a dictionary to understand.

What is this going to teach me? This is nothing I couldn’t do at home. I need a teacher in here teaching me. I’m twelve years old. I should be starting college in six years, but I’m nowhere near ready.

A tap on the glass panel of the door brought her out of her reverie. Mrs. Pinzetti waved at her and opened the door. As always, her appearance was perfect. Her beautiful dark gray woolen pants went well with a medium gray three-quarter-sleeve sweater top, and her golden hoop earrings sparkled against her black hair. Karen thought, Appearances can deceive. If I had not heard what she said to Mrs. DeLuca, I would still think she was perfect.

“Karen, Sugar,” she said. “Since this is clinic and eval week, we need to juggle your schedule so you don’t miss PT. Walk this way with me, please.”

Kitten forced a smile as she put the cards away and followed Mrs. Pinzetti out of the room.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 21, Scene 4: The Tormentors Are My Teachers

image: William_Blake_The_Circle_of_the_Corrupt_Officials_the_Devils_Tormenting_Ciampolo_1827_NGA_798

This scene continues the theme of the evil expert and of little Kitten’s inner strength. Though hearing Mrs. Pinzetti’s plans for her friend Tammy knocks her to the floor, she finds the inner wisdom to rise and continue her mission to make the world a better place for people with disabilities.

(Image by William Blake from the National Gallery of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Scene 4: The Tormentors Are My Teachers

Kitten’s heart physically hurt. A sick sensation arose, and she could not breathe. She gasped for air and leaned against the wall, but the pain increased, and she felt as if her heart were collapsing. She consciously inhaled and exhaled, but the physical feeling would not leave. Her breath came and went in short pulsing sobs. She pulled her weak left arm across her chest and tried to hug away the pain, but the constriction grew stronger. She slid down the wall, not knowing whether she were going to cry or drop to the floor.

Now, she knew the source of the dark premonitions that had haunted her for days. Her intuition had been warning her that the experts would attack as a group, like a flock of vultures. Mrs. Pinzetti and Dr. Lambert really were plotting against her and her friends. Tammy was a person, not a lab rat. Tammy’s disabilities did not make her less of a person, anymore than Karen’s did her. These experts did not know the first thing about what Tammy wanted or needed, nor did they have a right to be nasty when talking about her. They were supposed to use their specialized knowledge to make people’s lives better, not to further their careers and profit financially. Karen asked herself why people who had everything would hurt those who did not. Why would able-bodied people with college degrees feel they had to make disabled people’s lives more difficult? Could they not see that they were hurting the people they were supposed to be helping, and that they were further disabling the already disabled?

I thought Mrs. Pinzetti was my friend. Why do these specialists treat us like animals? Look what they are planning for Tammy and me. I thought they would just embarrass me with personal questions and by making me parade around in my underwear during clinic, but they don’t care whether Tammy breaks her neck in a new wheelchair, and Lambert is sure to try to talk Mama into surgery for me. What can I do to make them stop? Why did God make me crippled like this? He should have taken my life when I was in a coma.

Suddenly, she felt Pegasus’ warm, calming presence. The pain left her heart. She breathed deeply, and her body righted itself. She opened her eyes and looked down the hall with a new strength. She recalled her life goal. She would change how the world treated disabled people. But for now, she had to save Tammy and herself. She had to warn Mama and Mrs. Beaumont. She knew she could do her part to achieve civil rights for disabled people, but the bitter truth remained that the experts and institutions that were supposed to help her were her greatest impediments.

Resuming her walk back to class, she repeated to herself, The tormentors are my teachers, and I teach them in return.

Tips for a Successful Move When You Have a Special Needs Child by Jillian Day

[Editor’s note: Jillian Day created 508Assist.org to help people all across the web make their sites accessible to individuals with disabilities. She was inspired to start 508Assist.org when a close family member, who happens to have a visual impairment, had trouble finding a dinner recipe online that he could read easily. When she’s not chasing after her little ones, Jillian enjoys being outside, whether she’s fishing, hiking, or geocaching with her family.]

Moving is rarely ever fun for children. When you have a child with a disability, they may even be more reluctant to relocate for fear of the unknown. But sometimes, moving is a necessity. Here, Jillian Day of shares a few quick tips on how to make the transition as pleasant as possible for your entire family.

Accessibility Is Key

Accessibility is often a challenge for families with children who have special needs, particularly those who use walking devices a wheelchair. If you are planning to move out of state, make sure that you have an accessible place to stay while you tour potential new homes. Modern hotels must be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Boutique lodging or historic locations may not be wheelchair accessible. Alternatively, a vacation rental can be the ideal choice, particularly if you filter for one with accessibility features and other amenities that can make your stay more comfortable.

You also want to pay close attention to whether a potential home will be as easy to maneuver around in as your current one. Looking at homes on the internet gives you an opportunity to evaluate many aspects of the design, including whether or not the home is one-story and has a ground-floor entrance. Doing a 3D walk-through or looking at photos can also help you envision any modifications you might need to make, like widening the doorways or installing a wheelchair lift in the swimming pool.

Stress Less By Preparing Ahead Of Time

Even if you’ve purchased a home before, the process may have changed. While you might have previously taken out a low or no down payment loan, today lenders will often require anywhere from 3.5 to 20% down on any property. This will all depend on the type of loan you choose. Make sure that you have your money secure and ready so that you can move quickly when the right property arises. If you must sell your current home before investing in your next property, talk to your realtor about how to coordinate those two events without interfering with your child’s life.

Something else to consider here if you have a child with a sensory disorder is preparing yourself and your entire family for complications or meltdowns. Remind siblings that their brother or sister is not simply trying to get attention, but instead is overwhelmed and may not have the ability to self-regulate like everyone else. Moving is stressful, and they may have also experienced a sleep disruption, which A Sensory Life explains can also trigger a sensory meltdown. Make sure that your child has familiar objects handy and that they have a place to go to regain their sense of balance if they start to feel like they are spiraling.

Looking Ahead

More than just evaluating your next home, you also have to look at other needs unique to your special needs child. Two of the most pressing that should be addressed before the move are their healthcare and education. If you have yet to scout for a pediatrician, don’t delay. Pediatric Healthcare of Northwest Houston asserts that you must do your research. Confirm that your future pediatrician’s skills actually match your child’s needs. You also want to confirm that they are affiliated with a reputable hospital that is also fully equipped for your child’s care.

Research is also imperative when it’s time to choose the school. Although all students with disabilities have rights under IDEA and Section 504, not all schools are set up with a dedicated disability program. Contact the county in which you plan to move and ask to speak with their special education director. They can coordinate your child’s transition from their current school to their new academic setting.

There is no way of getting around all of the stress associated with moving. But, when you have a child with special needs, you can reduce some of the added strain by looking ahead. Start by making sure your new home will be accessible, and then get busy researching the best schools in your forthcoming district. It’s work, but soon everyone in your entourage will be settled into their new home.

Image via Pexels

The Healing Horse, Ch. 21, Scene 3: The Coffee Cup

The story develops another plot thread as little Karen discovers that the therapist she thought of as trustworthy begins to reveal her dark side. image of 5,000 styrofoam cups in a hallway

image of 5,000 styrofoam cups in a hallway

(Image from Cdsreport, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Scene 3: The Coffee Cup

Coming back from her nutrition break, she saw Mrs. Pinzetti and her assistant Mrs. DeLuca talking, as they sauntered down the hall, sipping coffee from Styrofoam cups. Karen hurried to catch up so she could say hello to them, but then heard what they were saying. Her ears fine-tuned and something inside made her tiptoe.

Mrs. Pinzetti coughed and then asked which student would come for clinic the next day, and Mrs. DeLuca replied that it was Tammy.

Mrs. Pinzetti said, “That’s good. I thought it was Karen, but Tammy and her mother will be easier to deal with. We have to get Tammy into an electric wheelchair. That will make us the first in LA to have a semi-independent quad, and bring in a nice referral fee from the chair company. The mother makes a ruckus about every little change, but we can get her to go along, if no one brings up the dangers. Besides, even if Tammy crashes off a curb and breaks her neck, it’s still good for us, and it won’t make life much worse for the kid. She’s already so disabled. The important thing is to be the first to get a quad student into a chair she can control.”

The redhead replied, “I suppose you’re right. Sometimes I almost feel sorry for her. Can you believe how well the mother dresses Tammy?”

Mrs. Pinzetti snarled, “What else is the poor soul going to do? Look how much daily care her daughter needs! It’s ridiculous! Tammy is completely spoiled and demands way too much from everyone. Her mother caters to her as if she were a normal child, but she isn’t. She’s disabled and retarded with CP. She doesn’t have the same feelings that normal kids have. Lambert keeps saying she should be in an institution, and it’s only her mother’s stubbornness that keeps her out of one.”

Mrs. Pinzetti glanced at her wristwatch and added, “We need to hurry. Walk this way with me, please.”

She drained her coffee cup and threw it onto the floor before hurrying away. Mrs. DeLuca did the same. Karen stopped and watched the two therapists disappear down the hall. Then she picked up the coffee cups so that no one would trip on them and carried them to the nearest trash can.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 21, Scene 2: Cinnamon Rolls with Tammy

image of cinnamon rolls on a baking sheet

This scene introduces Karen’s friend Tammy, a bright girl who cannot speak intelligibly or hold a pencil to write. As the story continues, we will watch their friendship grow, as Tammy struggles to make her way in life.

(Image by grongar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Scene 2: Cinnamon Rolls with Tammy

During the rest of the day, Kitten greeted each experience as it arose. She did her best not to project negativity. She completed her class work and then pushed her friend Tammy’s wheelchair through the line of students that passed down the hallway to the cafeteria for their mid-morning snack.

Tammy was a charming girl with a bouncy blonde ponytail, but the effects of her cerebral palsy were even more pronounced than Karen’s. Her arms and legs were beyond her control, and they flailed wildly unless they were strapped down to her wheelchair. She always held her head high because her full-body brace forced her to sit upright in the wheelchair. Her speech was so garbled that, while Karen could understand her, to the other children and to most adults her words were incomprehensible.

The line moved forward until the two girls reached the cafeteria door. Behind the counter, the hot cinnamon rolls smelled wonderful. Mrs. Pearl, who served the food, asked them if they wanted oatmeal or cinnamon rolls. Karen and Tammy both smiled, and Mrs. Pearl knew exactly what they wanted.

“Why don’t you push Tammy over to a table, and I’ll bring the cinnamon rolls to you,” she said with a laugh.

Karen positioned Tammy’s wheelchair by a table and put a napkin into her lap. No sooner did she finish than the cinnamon rolls appeared. Both girls thanked Mrs. Pearl, and then Tammy looked up and boldly asked Karen for help. Karen tore off a piece of warm cinnamon roll and held it to Tammy’s lips. Tammy ate eagerly and looked Karen in the eye.

Kitten said, “Tammy! It’s so good to see you, again! I missed you over winter break, and I’m looking forward to turning your pages in class for you.”

Slowly, with effort, Tammy replied, “Oh, yes! Me, too! You were so kind to turn the pages of my books for me and to help me with my schoolwork. Of all the children in the school, you are the only one I think of as a true friend. ”

After nibbling her own cinnamon roll, Kitten confided in Tammy.

“Every day, we break through the limits that the experts set for us, whether they think so or not. I have to tell myself that, each and every time things get hard! This darn geography is very hard for me to understand, and so is the math. One night before the holidays, I spent over three hours pulling my hair out over some stupid math that I could not get into my head. It was like torture to me! It made me so angry and upset at myself because I could not grasp any of it! I was in a blank state of mind. Nothing stuck or made any sense. Every time I tried to see it in my mind, all I saw was a blank. The math just was not there! What’s so frustrating, Tammy, is that even though it does not make any sense at all to me, I keep trying, and trying and trying. I never give up, and I keep hoping that someday, maybe, I will find the key and unlock all this knowledge!”

Tammy frowned and replied, “I know what you are going through, Kitten. I go through the same thing, and I wish I could help you. It is agonizing to say the least. People don’t understand how much effort we put forth. They think we are playing games, when we work twice as hard and three times longer on our academics than other kids do. I’m like you, in that I never give up, but unlike you, I am ashamed to ask for help when I need it. Perhaps this is because my disabilities so pervade my life that I need help for even the most basic acts, such as feeding and toileting myself. And, of course, even though I have a perfect memory and academic understanding comes easily to me, due to my speech difficulties and inability to hold a pencil, I am apparently incapable of understanding anything, whatsoever, in the eyes of our instructors. At least, you can walk and talk.”

Their eyes met, again, and the bond between the two girls grew stronger. They continued their conversation until time for them to return to class. Kitten left Tammy waiting for her adult attendant, who would take her back to their classroom.

As she left the lunchroom, Karen thought, Tammy really opened up to me. She’s like me. She can feel what’s in people’s hearts. I really want her as a friend. We will build bonds and, as Mama says, we will break the conventional wisdom that experts try to limit us with. If I keep to the truth of who I am, who knows what kind of people I might meet? Who knows how or when I am going to change the global definition of the disabled, but I will. I am going to do it—one day at a time, one opportunity at a time, with love and unwavering concern in my heart.

The Healing Horse, Ch. 21: Cinnamon Rolls and Torment

This begins a new chapter, and as you have no doubt guessed from the title, it is going to be very dramatic. It features an evil surgeon, a twisted therapist, and a narrow escape from disaster. Read and enjoy! In the first scene, Kitten brings her mind into the present after the previous series of bad memories about school, then she tactfully shares about her holiday break. Needless to say, she does not mention talking horses, Disneyland, or anything else that happened.

(Image courtesy of https://www.pinterest.com/pin/13862711342399933/)

Scene 1: Arriving at School; Not Casting Pearls Before Swine

When the bus arrived at school, Kitten pulled her mind back to the present. It was the first day of school in January of 1964. She was twelve years old and in seventh grade. She got off the bus, and her teacher greeted her and the other children by name before escorting them to their classroom.

Karen listened as the teacher had them take turns sharing about their vacation activities. Like Karen, they had all stayed home and enjoyed the holidays with their families.

Intensely aware that most children were unconcerned with spiritual matters, she did not want to share the events of her autumn with those who would not understand. In the past, she had been ridiculed for being talkative, open and honest. What she had done over winter break had gone beyond being unusual, and comparing it with the other children’s holidays made that clearer as well as dearer to her. Moreover, Pegasus’s transformation required her to be careful with whom she shared the truth. She would use indirection and ambiguity to protect both Pegasus and herself. She hoped she could change her communication style. She hoped to find a middle ground between secretiveness and naïveté.

When her turn came, she spoke with an inner sense of strength and sincerity. Her only thought was to be honest and personal yet brief. She said that she and Mama had celebrated Hanukkah and lighted the menorah. She had enjoyed her time off school by helping a special friend. She briefly mentioned how she had helped rescue a horse, and that she and Mama had moved into a new house earlier in the fall. The teacher, Mrs. Davidson, thanked her. Kitten returned to her seat and listened to the other children tell their stories.

Best Colleges and Universities for Students with a Learning Disability

image of two students with statistics in sidebar

When I wanted to go to college, I literally had to sue the State of California. Now, students with disabilities have a range of excellent colleges and universities to choose from. One of them (Beacon College) is actually dedicated to serving students with dyslexia and ADHD.

Click the link below to read an excellent article with links that will take you to the school websites. It also has admissions department info and ratings.

Many thanks to Johanna Mitra, Content Manager of iReviews, for sharing her article with us.

Here is the link: Best Schools for Students with a Learning Disability

I have also added a link to the article from the Whispers of Hope page on Special Needs Resources, so you can always find it there.