May 2003
Dear Friends,
Jasmine is 5 years old, delicate, with long black hair, a very
special girl with Down’s syndrome. Her father is from England,
and her mother is Thai. They do not connect with any church mission
organization and may not be part of any church. Several months
ago they came to me asking for help. They wanted Jasmine to have
as normal a school experience as possible and wanted her to be
in kindergarten next year. Since I am the kindergarten teacher,
they thought I could help. They had already talked to the administrator
of my school, and she had encouraged them to look elsewhere, possibly
a Thai special school that only enrolls students who don’t
fit into a regular school. They had looked at the special school
and were saddened by it, feeling that it would be no place for
Jasmine to grow. While we visited, Jasmine played quietly with
the blocks in the room. She obviously has had a great deal of
love and care from these parents and I wanted to help them find
the right place for her to be with her own age group. This project
took on special meaning to me because my brother, Bruce, who was
also Down’s syndrome, died last December at age 56. I talked
to the administrator and to our special services person and let
them know I was more than pleased to have her in class. They both
felt that we had to think about the years to come and how having
her might make it difficult on others in the class. I have been
emailing the father, telling him to wait and see and not get too
discouraged. |
