Ewa Szczawinska steps behind the mirror
Handicapped children are not often seen on the streets, although statistics say that there are 284,730 here.
But superstitions abound. An example: don't watch programmes about disabled children or you may give birth to one. So, what about those who work with handicapped children? Just like Alice in Wonderland, I decided to step into the mirror to see another world about which I knew next to nothing.
I met my guides. Both have master's degrees in special education. Izabela Podgórska is smiling and vivacious. She laughs a lot and has a wonderful and contagious sense of humour. She told me she always had a place in her heart for children who have been rejected by society.
Ewa Tatarska is relaxed and cheerful and enjoys painting and sculpturing. She could have been a successful art student, but instead chose to work with children. She decided to study special education before the start of the academic year, when she went on an adaptation camp for first-year students. There she got to know a little girl with Down's syndrome, who transformed her life.
Tatarska cares for the most severely handicapped children. The job is immensely challenging, and requires a great deal of patience, especially when teaching the kids skills which are taken for granted by other children. Often the results of her work appear only after many long months. The main difficulty is that she cannot communicate directly with her charges since they cannot talk, and some cannot see. Tatarska has observed changes in her own attitude and that of the parents, once the children have begun to learn new skills. The smallest things make them happy, like when a little girl whom Tatarska had been taking care of for some time started to recognise her and hug her.
Podgórska works in an integrated kindergarten where healthy and slightly handicapped children learn together. She adores her job and says she would never change it for another one.
"I have fun and satisfaction working here," she said. "The children don't pay any attention to physical or mental differences. The healthy children take care of the handicapped. It is a chance for both groups to develop."
The disabled children have a chance to learn from the healthy ones by imitating them. Because Podgórska works with slightly disabled children, the results of her work are more quickly visible. Sometimes it happens that the disabled children are more proficient than those who suffer from no handicaps, simply because the parents and therapists expect much more from them.
"Disabled children have a positive attitude," Tatarska said. "They do not have the masks that we often do. They say what they feel, what they think. They have no barriers."
As for Podgórska: "Mentally handicapped children always put their hearts into what they are doing. They are immensely spontaneous and eager to do everything that I suggest. The most beautiful moment is when a disabled child hugs you and says, 'You are the prettiest, and I love you."
Handicapped children feel the whole range of human emotions, such as sadness and joy. They dance, fall in love, hug each other and make plans for the future. Podgórska recalled a girl and a boy both with Down's syndrome who fell passionately in love. When the girl would get on the bus, the boy would knock on the window to say good-bye, and when the bus set off, he would run after it. "Which one of us would do the same?" she asked, smiling.
Podgórska and Tatarska insist that society at large does not respect their work. They are not regarded as well-educated specialists, and handicapped children are pushed to the margins. Too many see such dedicated teachers as baby-sitters. And yet, they teach the children in their charge the art of life.
Handicapped children should become part of our reality. They have not appeared from outer space. They just need to be accepted, and they will give you all the love in their hearts.
For me there is no other side to the mirror after all. Just this one.
For more information, contact:
Przedszkole Integracyjne Number 45,
ul. Lenartowicza 4, tel. 844 0829,
e-mail: pi45@firma.pl, www.firma.pl/pi45
and Ośrodek dla dzieci niewidomych i słabowidzących ze sprzężoną niepełnosprawnością,
ul. Kopińska 6/10, tel. 822 0344,
e-mail: tecza@idn.org.pl, www.idn.org.pl/tecza.
But superstitions abound. An example: don't watch programmes about disabled children or you may give birth to one. So, what about those who work with handicapped children? Just like Alice in Wonderland, I decided to step into the mirror to see another world about which I knew next to nothing.
I met my guides. Both have master's degrees in special education. Izabela Podgórska is smiling and vivacious. She laughs a lot and has a wonderful and contagious sense of humour. She told me she always had a place in her heart for children who have been rejected by society.
Ewa Tatarska is relaxed and cheerful and enjoys painting and sculpturing. She could have been a successful art student, but instead chose to work with children. She decided to study special education before the start of the academic year, when she went on an adaptation camp for first-year students. There she got to know a little girl with Down's syndrome, who transformed her life.
Tatarska cares for the most severely handicapped children. The job is immensely challenging, and requires a great deal of patience, especially when teaching the kids skills which are taken for granted by other children. Often the results of her work appear only after many long months. The main difficulty is that she cannot communicate directly with her charges since they cannot talk, and some cannot see. Tatarska has observed changes in her own attitude and that of the parents, once the children have begun to learn new skills. The smallest things make them happy, like when a little girl whom Tatarska had been taking care of for some time started to recognise her and hug her.
Podgórska works in an integrated kindergarten where healthy and slightly handicapped children learn together. She adores her job and says she would never change it for another one.
"I have fun and satisfaction working here," she said. "The children don't pay any attention to physical or mental differences. The healthy children take care of the handicapped. It is a chance for both groups to develop."
The disabled children have a chance to learn from the healthy ones by imitating them. Because Podgórska works with slightly disabled children, the results of her work are more quickly visible. Sometimes it happens that the disabled children are more proficient than those who suffer from no handicaps, simply because the parents and therapists expect much more from them.
"Disabled children have a positive attitude," Tatarska said. "They do not have the masks that we often do. They say what they feel, what they think. They have no barriers."
As for Podgórska: "Mentally handicapped children always put their hearts into what they are doing. They are immensely spontaneous and eager to do everything that I suggest. The most beautiful moment is when a disabled child hugs you and says, 'You are the prettiest, and I love you."
Handicapped children feel the whole range of human emotions, such as sadness and joy. They dance, fall in love, hug each other and make plans for the future. Podgórska recalled a girl and a boy both with Down's syndrome who fell passionately in love. When the girl would get on the bus, the boy would knock on the window to say good-bye, and when the bus set off, he would run after it. "Which one of us would do the same?" she asked, smiling.
Podgórska and Tatarska insist that society at large does not respect their work. They are not regarded as well-educated specialists, and handicapped children are pushed to the margins. Too many see such dedicated teachers as baby-sitters. And yet, they teach the children in their charge the art of life.
Handicapped children should become part of our reality. They have not appeared from outer space. They just need to be accepted, and they will give you all the love in their hearts.
For me there is no other side to the mirror after all. Just this one.
For more information, contact:
Przedszkole Integracyjne Number 45,
ul. Lenartowicza 4, tel. 844 0829,
e-mail: pi45@firma.pl, www.firma.pl/pi45
and Ośrodek dla dzieci niewidomych i słabowidzących ze sprzężoną niepełnosprawnością,
ul. Kopińska 6/10, tel. 822 0344,
e-mail: tecza@idn.org.pl, www.idn.org.pl/tecza.
