By Janie Beharelle, 50 Plus N&V Reader
As a high school Special Education teacher for over twenty-five years, my daughter has faced many challenges. She has taught children with Downs Syndrome, behavioral problems, Autism, and a host of other disabilities. Fortunately, she truly loves her job and enjoys the reward of helping these teenagers with special needs prepare for their journey outside the classroom and into the world that awaits them. However, her biggest challenge and greatest reward came unexpectedly one year in the form of a boy named Evan.
Approximately fifteen years ago she was told that a “very challenging” boy would be coming to her high school class the following year. Evan was deaf and legally blind. His sight was deteriorating rapidly, and it was possible that he could go completely blind before he left high school. Thus, she needed a plan as to how she could teach someone with these extremely difficult physical challenges.
She was sent for training to a nearby school in another town that specialized in children with these two disabilities. Then she and another teacher that was also involved in teaching Evan, prepared a plan for his freshman year at their high school.
A variety of large print books were acquired so that Evan could read. Because he was a diabetic and did frequent finger sticks, his fingertips proved a big challenge when trying to learn Braille A computer that “speaks” was set up along with an audio system that connected to his hearing aids. Mobility experts were brought in to help him learn to walk with a cane so he would be prepared for that when his sight was totally gone. Every possible technology and resource was made available so that Evan’s learning experience was the best that this small-town high school had to offer.
The two Special Education teachers worked in tandem to teach a young man eager to learn under very challenging circumstances. They were a team for Evan’s four years of high school. Although it was frustrating and very demanding at times, my daughter and her co-worker persevered through every obstacle that came their way. They were determined to give Evan every tool available to help guide him through his four years of high school so he would be prepared for life.
However, besides teaching him science, math and English, they wanted to get him involved in an outside activity. Since running was a very important aspect of my daughter’s life, she introduced Evan to that sport. It was a game changer for all three of them. They set a goal and began their quest to achieving it as a team.
Due to Evan’s very poor eyesight they decided that one of them needed to be “securely attached” to him. A band was tied to his right leg and to the left leg of the other teacher. Thus, they set their plan in motion and began walking on the high school track to get their “feel” for each other as a team. They practiced until they felt secure enough to enter their first race. Although they mainly walked together at a fast pace and at times jogged, it was the thrill of competing that intrigued Evan the most.
Side by side, teacher and student finished that race. Soon there were other races that they entered. One race at a time they accomplished a task that many people with sight don’t attempt. It was an amazing site to see as they came across the finish line.
My daughter would run the race ahead of them and then after she finished would back track to cheer them on as they strode together to the finish line. The crowds that came to watch their own participants cheered even louder for Evan and his partner. It didn’t matter to Evan that he came in last at the race. What mattered is that he finished the race.
Evan’s mother, so enthused about his ability to compete in races, ended up sponsoring a “Save our Sight” race after Evan graduated. Thus, mother and son paid it forward for other people with visual disabilities. Many more lives were touched because of two special education teachers thinking “outside the box” for one of their students.
Competing in these races was such an important part of Evan’s life during his high school years. It gave him the thrill of accomplishing a goal that was attainable even with his disabilities of being deaf and legally blind.
After high school, Evan pursued his education and graduated from a local junior college. He surpassed the expectations of both of his special education teachers by going on to a four-year state school. Unfortunately, Evan completely lost his sight sometime after he graduated from high school. However, because of that very dedicated team during those years, he was able to use a white cane to navigate his way through his sightless world. What they accomplished with Evan during his high school years is remarkable. Their passion for teaching special needs children is extraordinary as they both continue to help children with many physical and emotional disabilities. They were able to prepare Evan for life not only as a disabled person but as a young man simply trying to find his way in this world. I often think that fate brought the three of them together for those four remarkable years.
Evan, thankful for the tremendous effort that his two teachers put into guiding him through his studies as well as his races, would send my daughter and the other teacher a Christmas card every year since he graduated. He also updated them on how school was going and on important events in his life. His gratitude to both of his teachers was awesome and commendable for a young man that truly had tremendous challenges facing him each and every day.
Approximately seven years after Evan graduated, my daughter was informed through a relative of Evan’s that he had a life-threatening heart attack and was in critical condition in the ICU at a local hospital. Evan had overcome so many difficult obstacles in his young life. As a teen he had endured more than most people experience in a lifetime. However, this time the hurdle was too great and Evan died a week later at the age of 25. Evan was an incredible and inspiring young man that defied the odds by stepping to that starting line of his first race, deaf and almost blind. My daughter says she will never forget Evan because of his daily perseverance, his remarkable desire to succeed, and his incredible resilience every step of his journey through life.
Throughout her years of teaching, I have given my daughter items with inspirational quotes about the importance of being a teacher. They talk about the significance of an education, of preparing a child for their future, or how a great teacher builds character in her students. However, the one that relates best to her four years with Evan is as follows:
“So Often You Find That The Students You’re Trying To Inspire Are The Ones That End Up Inspiring You”
