NOT The Only One Club

I am a person with a disability. Not a disabled person, but instead a person with a disability. Everyone deserves to be a person before being labeled. I was diagnosed at the age of 9 months with Hemiplegic Spastic Cerebral Palsy which effects my whole right side.

Because of my disability, exacerbated by how it appears physically, I am treated differently. I was mainstreamed throughout school, and was in a small number of groups that were designated for students who learn differently. At the end of the day, that meant that I was consistently the only one with a disability in a specific environment. It ended up being very uncomfortable for me, and maybe even more so for others who were not experiencing challenges. Some people have a sense of fear, misunderstanding, nervousness, and cautiousness. After all, when things appear different or abnormal, the first reaction for most is, "Why do things look that way?”

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I went to Dominican University of California and got a BA in Liberal Studies. The major was a dual Liberal Studies BA and Elementary Teaching Credential, but ended up focusing on the Bachelors degree and saved the teaching credential for later. Starting Sophomore year, as a requirement for the major, we were assigned to observe an upper grade classroom at a local elementary school for a semester and then observe a lower grade classroom for the same amount of time.

My lower grade observation was spent in a 1st grade classroom. One of the first things I did when the semester started was to ask the teacher what she wanted to do in terms of explaining a difference to them. My hand was going to be visible, and it was inevitable that within the few months I would spend in the classroom someone would approach me and ask what was wrong with my hand. She replied with, "Oh, I have something!"

Later that day, during their story time, she read a book called The Only One Club by Jane Naliboff. The story explores the notion that everyone is different and unique. The story starts when a girl in the classroom notices that she has something different from all the others- she is Jewish and celebrates Hanukkah instead of Christmas. The girl creates "The Only One Club" and then all of her classmates want to join. As the book goes on, the girl realizes that each of her friends are the "only one" at something, each embodying unique qualities that make them extraordinary.

After the book was read, my teacher asked everyone to share what their "only one" is. The class had created their own "Only One Club," and had each thought of a unique characteristic they had. Answers ranged from "I'm the only one with blonde hair" to "I'm the only one with glasses" to "I'm the only one with a twin." After all of the students had a chance to share, the teacher I was working with said, "Well, Ms. Alicia is the only one of something very special." I added, "I'm the only one with a physical disability. I have a hard time using my right hand."

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The idea of being "the only one" can be good in some ways, and misleading in others. In a classroom full of 6 year olds, it's super beneficial in getting a specific message across. In regular society, being "the only one" can make people feel excluded and alone. As I write this post, I am thinking more about the latter. Few people want to be and feel alone, especially if you don't have a handbook to help you.

My hope for this website is to eventually make a community. To have a website with different recommendations, a blog, and to hopefully create a forum to share ideas, products, problems, and victories! After all, there are a ton of people out there, I know it!

Fun Fact:

1 billion people have some kind of disability worldwide. 1 in 4, or 61 million adults have a disability in the United States. Even more narrowed down, it is estimated that around 500,000 children and adults in the United States manifest one or more of the symptoms of cerebral palsy. We may feel alone, but we are not.