Thursday, April 14, 2011

A World Where No-one Listens


It's been over a month since I last blogged.  I was taking some time to re-cuperate after an argument with a bout of pneumonia but today I feel compelled to write, even if it's just to purge.

I spent some time at Ayla's special school today for the Easter Hat Parade, and I'm astounded that after all this time (5 years, I know.....it doesn't sound like much but it sometimes seems like a lifetime), I still feel confronted and upset by the children in these schools.  I just have a couple of questions constantly revolving around in my thoughts......"What happens to these children when they finish school?"  "Where do they go?"  "Where do they fit?"  It always leaves me feeling despondent and sad, with a knot in my throat.

It didn't help that I witnessed two occasions of "our children" not being listened to.  These kids can't leap up and say "Hey!  A little help here???".  They whine, grizzle....sometimes bite to get somebody's (anybody's) attention.  And still no-one is listening.  Their sounds are just the background sounds of the environment that they and the teachers share.

What would it be like to be living in a world where no-one listens?