I've often thought, when faced with some unrealistic expectation for my kids' achievement, that the powers-that-be must have a magic wand somewhere.
When they expect a special-education student who's learning at a fifth-grade level to suddenly succeed on an eighth-grade standardized test, for example. Or ignore a behavior plan yet expect the predicted behaviors not to spring forth. Or anticipate that a child with limited language skills will be able to explain complex feelings and motivations. They must have a magic wand if they think this stuff's gonna happen, right? How handy that would be.
So when I got an email yesterday about a contest from Borders bookstores, inviting me to invent a magical fairy and win a week at Walt Disney World and a night in Cinderella's castle, my first thought was: Well, of course. A disability fairy! A tiny creature to wave her wand and take away the bad magic that holds our kids back, or turn certain unhelpful professionals into frogs!
Alas, the contest isn't for moms who want to make trouble. It's for children ages six to eleven, who are asked to draw a picture of a fairy and give a 50-word description; in addition to the Disney vacation, the winner will see his or her creation added to a planned book of Disney Fairies.
Still: How cool would it be to have a special-needs fairy fly into the mix? My kids are outside the age group, but if you have a little one with enough disability awareness to dream up, say, a diabetes fairy or an asthma fairy, a wheelchair-flying fairy or a fairy with ADHD, whatever sort of fairy might address the challenges and gifts of your little one's particular special needs ... why not give this contest a try?
I have no idea if such a fairy could win, but I'm pretty sure she could kick the butts of those sweet little flitters who are all about stardust and rainbows.
Meanwhile, if you had a magic wand, what would you do with it? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Note: As Leah points out in the comments, the contest's official rules incorrectly stated that parents had to be Borders Rewards members by March 25, 2008. This has since been corrected: The actual date is April 22, 2008, so there's still time.
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Please note that in order to enter the contest, one parent must be a “Border Rewards” member prior to 3-35-08. Darned…I so wanted my daughter to enter this! She’s 11 and has Down Syndrome. We would give her fairy an extra wing (like my daughter has an extra chromosome) and her want would reach right in and touch the heart of any disabled child who was feeling alone, frustrated, or otherwise troubled, and put a smile on his/her face!
My special-needs fairy would go around to everyone, gently tap them on the shoulder with his wand, and Poof! Now we could all be aware of different needs, we could all recognize that each of us follows a different path, we all have different limitations.
I was thinking last night of a young man I knew, how if I met him today I’d wonder what learning disabilities he’s got and if they can be identified so he can work with and around them to succeed, and how I didn’t know anything about learning disabilities when I was the young adult who’d met him. I wanted to help, had no idea how to do so, except to listen and accept.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all understand that we’re all of us different?
After reading Leah’s comment, and noting a discrepancy between the official rules and the contest’s Web page, I contacted Borders and let them know that the date on the official rules seemed incorrect. It has since been changed to April 22, 2008. So there’s still time to join (and free to do so) to make your kids eligible for the contest. Thanks, Leah, for bringing that up!