What's In My Magic Hat Now?

Mental disabilities have such a wide spectrum from severe to mild that it can be hard to know how to properly act or talk about them, let alone how to act around someone with one. One disability that has always been curios to me has been Aspergers Syndrome. Thankfully there was a video provided this week that really opened up my eyes to it and what it is exactly. Hopefully this video will not only help myself but others as well as I continue on throughout my life.

There was also a site that I found in my studies recently that has really helped me learn about what one can do to help others who are suffering from a brain injury. This was spurred by an assignment from this week, but the article/website itself is full of amazing information. It is the "Brain Injury Association Of America" site. Check it out! 

There was a quote posted by one of my classmates last week that I feel is completely applicable to this weeks lesson as well. It is by Shannon L. Alder and says, "Never give up on someone with a mental illness. When "I" is replaced by "We", illness becomes wellness." I love this! This is a great way to look at any sort of illness and to make it into something positive. There is always something to be learned from any sort of illness. This quote was posted by Benjamin Bisnett, just as a 'by the way.'

A recurring theme in all of my studies is to treat everyone equally. From my experiences in the past this could not be more accurate. Although disabilities can have a wide range of severity, that concept of treating everyone the same and equally doesn't change. I know that as I worked with people with varying disabilities that all of them had this in common. I taught swimming for years and no matter what was going on in someones life they were all there for the same reason, to learn to swim. So although my methods were different at times, what we were ultimately doing was the same and I strived to treat each swimmer the same. I felt this made all the difference in the world!