I Speak ''Their Language''

By DaShayne D. Walker

I Speak, Their Language is a compilation of her stories and experiences in working with children with disabilities. She wants to share how we can all help. This book is intended to motivate, educate and help us to relate. Her hope is to increase participation and reduce discrimination from us to them. She says:
I speak as the voice of the parent who needs help and has become frustrated. I speak as the voice of the child who had no control over being born this way. I speak to the so-called normal people who lack understanding.
I speak to inform you of ways to become that village that it takes to raise a child, ANY child because children dont come with manuals.
Children with special needs dont come outlines of their disabilities.
Parents of children with special needs dont come with extra strength, extra patience, dont get extra days off work, extra money to take care of or extra credit for doing a great job!
Parents of children with special needs are often drained of strength, drained of patience, drained of money, take excessive days off work and are discredited for fighting for anything extra. They get blacklisted. They get a hard time. They get a bad reputation. And now they get MY VOICE!
I Speak, Their Language

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450029469

DaShayne D. Walker

NA

Book preview

I SPEAK

THEIR LANGUAGE

By

DaShayne D. Walker

Copyright © 2010 by DaShayne D. Walker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Xlibris Corporation

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www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

1. AUTISM SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

2. I SPEAK TO GOD ON THEIR BEHALF

3. I SPEAK FOR THE CHILDREN

4. I SPEAK FOR THEIR PARENTS

5. THEY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

6. INEFFECTIVE THERAPY DOESN’T SPEAK

7. ANATOMY SPEAKS OVER DISABILITY

8. SPEAK TO THEIR SENSES

9. AND I STILL SPEAK TO LIL’ TYRONE

10. I SPEAK, THEIR LANGUAGE THE SPEECH

Dedication

This book is dedicated:

TO MY FRIENDS

Marchelle Garner and her son, Ahmad Jr. (AJ)

Her sister Kim and Kim’s son Darius

TO MY STUDENTS

Maxim, Christina, Julian and Juan Pablo

AND TO THEIR PARENTS

You all not only have special gifts…

You are special gifts.

Thank you for helping me to help you in so many ways. You have uniquely made the biggest difference in my life and I’m sure the lives of many others.

God bless you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . .

Three time author DaShayne D. Walker, writer of Christian Novels, Against Our Religion, The Men We Let Mess Up Our Ministry and Trading Places, Their Wages, His Gift was born with a passion and a gift for teaching children with special needs.

She had been reading since she was 4 years old and couldn’t understand for the life of her why her one year younger brother was unable to even recite his alphabet at the age of eight. It really bothered her. Convinced that he was just being lazy and/or was traumatized by her stepfather’s yelling, screaming and abusive method of teaching, she sought to teach him herself. She started with the most basic Dr. Seuss books such as The Cat in the Hat and by George, he got it! By the time they went to the next room to show her mom what he could do, he no longer had it. She learned that he was just memorizing the book and that his short term memory failed him. He graduated from the 8th grade on time from what was then negatively termed the MH class by regular students. That class had kids who couldn’t read, write or do arithmetic. They played games all day, ate lunch, eagerly waited for the bell to ring and went home. Finally at the age of 23, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Today, even in his late 30’s, his short term memory continues to fail him.

Ms. Walker founded a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California called The Dare to Care Learning Center in the year 2000, in his honor. It is a place where children who are in their correct grades according to their ages, who have been subjected to social promotion though their academic performance is low and are three years or more behind an average student in their grade, can get extra help.

DaShayne Walker has dedicated her life to making a difference in the lives of young children with disabilities around the country. Through her passion and her belief that every child can learn, she listens to their needs and speaks their language to them and on behalf of their parents. They may be different from us in so many ways, but not really. A lot of people feel like they’ve been dealt a bad hand in some way or another. Ms. Walker is one such person.

She grew up in the Robert Taylor Holmes housing projects not knowing her real father until she was 17 years old. She was subjected to constant physical and verbal abuse of an alcoholic stepfather and lived in a crime-ridden, gang-infested and impoverished neighborhood. The odds of her becoming the valedictorian of her high school class, an Honorably discharged United States Marine Corps veteran, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Human Services, Ms. Black California 2nd Runner up 2003-04, founder of a youth center and a prolific writer were just as low as the odds against some of the children with special needs that she teaches. Somebody believed in her, heard her voice and spoke in her behalf. This book is how she says thanks and pays it forward.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’d like to thank the very special children who have touched my life in an unbelievable way. I had worked with children with special needs for over fifteen years, but never in my life had I done something as rewarding as working with Maxim, Chrissie, Julian and Juan Pablo. They reminded me that my passion in life was making a difference in the lives of young children and they did so when I needed to be reminded of my true purpose.

I am so grateful for the experience. I am so grateful that their parents shared them with me. I found my way out of a very hard and dark place in my life by realizing that though many people believe their progress is minimal, they never stop trying. Every day they wake up and they give life another shot despite the many adversities they face. That’s what they’ve taught me to do.

I certainly wasn’t in it for the money because the pay was very low, but people like Jaclyn Wiseman and Pearl Gershuni who made the work environment very pleasant and gave me the freedom to be creative and try different things are people who belong in this profession. There should be more people like them.

Jackie and Pearl, thanks for all you’ve done and for who you’ve been to me. I was once told by a teacher that I would always have difficulties working in this profession. She said that people who paid thousands of dollars to get their educations and learn to work in this industry will be intimidated by my natural abilities and God given gifts and talents. I have had some very rough assignments. It has not always been as easy as you made it for me and I am eternally grateful to you for your kindness.

DaShayne D. Walker

CHAPTER ONE

AUTISM SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

I have a confession to make. Most of what I knew about Autism and people with disabilities, I learned from watching television and movies like Rain Man, I Am Sam, Radio, The Other Sister and things of that nature. I hadn’t met or spent quality time with a person with a disability that I was aware of until my adult years, your early 20’s. I’m not saying that there weren’t any people around with visible