Unique Acceptance

Many people have lived a life with a sibling that has special needs, and I am one of them. I grew up not knowing much about kids with special needs. It took me a while to adjust to my little sister, who was diagnosed at birth with hydrocephalus; this is where the brain swells. The brain swells because there is no where for the water to drain. The doctors will eventually put in a shunt. A shunt is a tube that is inserted into the brain and goes to the stomach. The fluid on the brain will go in the tube and down into the stomach. One out of every 1,000 babies are born with hydrocephalus, it’s the same in cases of autism and down syndrome. What causes kids to have disabilities you may ask? When the reproduction take place there are two chromosomes but there are some babies that have 3 or more; there are the kids are born with disabilities. Kids that are born with disabilities battle everyday for their lives.

There are people out there that pray for a cure but, in my opinion, yes, I would want them to be out of pain, but I like my sister the way she is. She is so heartwarming and sweet to me and everyone else. There are things people shouldn't do to a disabled person. It's not okay to stare at someone; it's rude and disrespectful . It's not okay to use the word retard. Some people look at the word retard as stupid but its not its meaning, the word is very hurtful. If you were to step into my shoes and be a sister of a disabled person, you wouldn't like that word either. That word to me has a whole different meaning than it would to others. Something that might offend me or my family probably wouldn't offend most people. I hate judgment over someone's disability. Just because people with disabilities are a little slower, we have no right to judge someone. Imagine if you were the one with the disability and heard people saying the R word, staring, judging you for your ability and physical appearance.

But I'm not saying everyone is like that. There are some people in this world that would treat someone with a disability the same. Back in the 90’s kids and Adults with disabilities were segregated. Soon people have realized that were all human. This would have soon led into the Americans with disabilities act and this was basically stating just because of someone's disability they have the same rights. Nowadays more people are accepting and more people participate in programs that help kids/adults with disabilities. But that doesn't mean that there still aren't people out there that would treat people with needs different. Our world we live in today is a lot better than it was years ago.