UNIT 20 Disability

美国学生习作

"Freddie"

From the time I was two years old until I was about seven "Steve" [a pseudonym] had been my best friend. He and I went over to each other抯 houses all the time. At that age I was very friendly and loving to everyone but very over-active. I have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) so I was boisterous and restless. Everything was great until second grade when Steve抯 parents began to dislike my behavior because I was so 揾yper.?That抯 when they wouldn抰 let Steve be my friend anymore and eventually he was forced to cut off contact with me.

This broke my heart and I would have been able to get over it without too many scars; if the rest of the kids had liked me. But they didn抰. No one would play with me at recess and no one would ever come to my house. I began to get very depressed. My teachers were not aware of ADHD and were extremely critical of me and insensitive to my disability.

It was then I was approached to help "Freddie," [pseudonym] who is mentally disabled, prepare for the upcoming 揅hallenger Little League.?In the league disabled children play, and 搉ormal?kids act as their 揵uddies?to help move the game along. Freddie抯 mom and mine thought it would be a good idea because I would be helping Freddie get ready for the league, and doing something for Freddie might make me feel better about myself.

Since then we have been playing ball each fall and spring at his house once a week. In that time I have grown to know him as a person, his likes and dislikes. He has a strong personality that contradicts the image I had of kids with mental disabilities. I had imagined that they were essentially passive showing only faint recognition and response to anything happening in the world around them. And while this may be true for some severe disabilities, Freddie interacts with his environment just like I do. We just have different obstacles to face, different disabilities to overcome.

While Freddie and I threw the ball around in the backyard, I developed a genuine friendship with him like I would have with any other kid I knew. That is why I enjoyed going over to his house. When I got to his house, we would talk a little, watch some television, then go outside. We played with his dog. We threw the ball around or played tag. In the summer we played with the hose. Freddie and I always had fun.

I also became friends with the other kids from the Challenger League. I got to know many of them, and they always talked to me. At first their open friendliness was surprising in contrast with the kids in my school. They accepted me immediately without question.

My friendship with Freddie and my experiences with the Challenger League made me realize the importance of openness and acceptance and tolerance. I started to stand up to people who made fun of kids in my school. I could no longer be a bystander because I knew what it felt like to be bullied or ostracized and I knew what it felt like to be unconditionally accepted. I began to learn what is right and wrong, what is important and not.

Although accommodations have to be made for his disability, you can talk to Freddie like anyone else. Freddie has the same soul and spirit as all of us, perhaps he is even stronger and more pure. He has been a good friend to me, and I try to be the same for him. I worry about him not getting enough exercise and always encourage him at the baseball games to run around the bases himself. All he needs is someone to tell him he can do it.

My years of friendship with Freddie have taught me patience and how by helping others we help ourselves. Really helping someone can make a lasting impression, not just on the one you help, but also on yourself. The friendship that I have developed with Freddie has given me the self-confidence to grow and to be a better person. We should all be so lucky.

江苏省靖江高级中学