Re-Evaluating my Evaluations

Today I had the fortunate experience of working with an autistic boy at the archery range. His time at the range was both satisfying but also very challenging. I focused a large part of my time on improving the technique and self confidence of this boy, as he had a difficult time understanding the mechanics of archery and had a tendency to march off in a huff when he wasn't able to hit the target (which honestly, was more often than not).

Today's time at archery was preceded by a few sessions with Adam's Camp. In these sessions, I worked with campers whos ages ranged from ten to thirty. A common character trait these campers all shared was an emotional or physical disability, very often down syndrome. As with the autistic boy I helped coach through archery, these participants were challenged by the basic physical strength and dexterity to succeed in an activity such as archery, but tried none the less.

After both of these experiences I left with a feeling of both satisfaction and achievement, which is more than I can say about a "normal" lesson on the range. My time with these disabled children was filled with laughter and gratitude, but most importantly passion. Both the autistic boy and the disabled campers were filled with such alacrity when they achieved in hitting a target, and overwhelmed with angst when they failed to meet their expectations. This emotional reaction is not something I personally experience, and it is not something I find everyday on the archery range, or in many of the other activities we offer.

In reflecting on these experiences I have come to two interesting conclusions: first, perhaps there is a vocational opportunity waiting for me in working with this demographic; second (and more pertinent to this blog post), I reconsidered how we should view these people and their disabilities. I would like to talk more about the latter point, as the former might be a little less interesting and deals too much with the unknown future.

It is society's natural and visceral reaction to look at the disabilities of autism, down syndrome, and the like as an unfortunate problem and a drain on "normal" people's lives. With this response, we feel pity, sympathy and remorse for those who personally deal with these emotional/physical problems and those who care for the inflicted. I think this natural response is problematic, and causes us to (whether consciously or not) look down on the disabled and consider them less than ourselves. As a disclaimer I know that not everyone has this natural response, and I am speaking largely for myself here.

I can still recall a time when I was working at the Special Olympics this year and silently prayed to myself that our world could be rid of these diseases and disabilities, but then stopped. I began to consider the point that maybe these disabilities are character traits, traits that characterize some of the most gracious, joyful, passionate, and caring children I have encountered. In my prayer, I stopped myself and began to look at these people I was coaching as beautiful creatures that God had created. I began to look at these people as gifts rather than burdens.

When I framed the issue of down syndrome or emotional disabilities, I considered it to be just that, an issue and a disability. Now I am not trying to ignore the fact that there is still that element of disadvantage in the world; what I am trying to highlight is that these people who we often look at diminutively, are first and foremost people. What I am also trying to highlight is the point that these are some of the most beautiful, passionate and caring people I have ever encountered. In these brief experiences I have had with the "challenged" people of our society, I am growing more and more conscious of how I look at these people and careful of how I consider their presence in this world. I am working towards caring for these people out of love, and not out of sympathy. I am working towards appreciating differences as differences and not deficiencies.

In closing, I want to make a statement of humility and honesty. I write this post not as a person with much experience in the dealings and rhetoric of this particular topic. Having said that, I am open to criticism about my thoughts or words, and can only hope that they are not met by offended or disgruntled readers. Thanks for reading!

JW