The Story of Pumpkinhead-Part 2
Readers: Years ago, we were concerned about our daughter’s failing health and her high school special education program. We requested an out of district placement at a school for the blind to address her increased need. Our request ended in a hearing with our district. During the hearing, our daughter remained at the school for the blind ‘one on one’ with teacher.
Mom’s story:
While Kelsey remained at the school for the blind in “Stay-Put”, we held a hearing with our school district. It was not an easy process. In fact, I’d rather have seven more child births than have a hearing. Meanwhile, Kelsey remained ‘one on one’ with her teacher Carol at the School for the Blind working on her I.E.P. All special education students have an I.E.P., a list of goals and objectives. It’s a binding contract between the student and district. Previous to the blind school, Kelsey’s I.E.P. had several goals, which she repeated from year to year because she was unsuccessful in mastering them. To make it easier on our daughter and eliminate the travel time, we temporarily placed Kelsey in the school’s residential program. Therefore, the goals she worked on during the day were reinforced in the evening. When Kelsey came home on the weekends, she was happy. She was also gaining independence because she had never left home. She’d come in the door and excitedly tell us what she was doing. “I like my teacher Carol,” “She taught me to read.” “I walked with a new belt.” “I sang in the choir”. “Mom, I can wash my hair.” We’d also visit with Carol by phone and receive weekly reports on Kelsey’s progress. She’d tell us about Kelsey making friends and a boyfriend in her life. Carol was as excited as we were about Kelsey’s progress and it was happening so fast. In the past, we’d work years on simple objectives and see little progress. But all of a sudden our daughter, her abilities, her personality, and her potential were emerging. Within two months our daughter met several objectives on her IEP. Carol stopped teaching Kelsey alphabet and began to teach word recognition. Kelsey came home on the weekend with packets of index cards containing 50 words written in ink and in Braille. And she could read them. She learned to zip a zipper, a ten-year goal on her I.E.P. With Kelsey’s mental limitations and crippled hands, we thought that she’d never be able to zip. But she did and she was excited about it! She learned to tie her shoes and compete in track and field. She learned how to recognize money, to shop, and purchase personal items. She began to walk without her walker, something that we dreamed about since her first birthday. She learned how to bathe herself and shampoo her hair. She learned to read over 200 words and write the important ones. Most evident was her personality change. In Kelsey’s 15 years before the blind school, rarely did she express an opinion. Kelsey is a smile and humility all rolled into one. She is submissive, without guile, and never expresses her feelings. Whenever asked for a choice of food, activity, or entertainment, she’d simply smile or respond with, “What do you want?” The day Carol called about Kelsey’s creative writing experience, I will never forget. Pumpkinhead brought a day of emotion at our home. I’d like to share with you the teacher’s view of Kelsey’s writing Pumpkinhead: Carol’s story
When I placed a notebook on the table and sat down next to Kelsey to fulfill the IEP goal “Kelsey will write a story”, I had no idea Pumpkinhead would emerge eager to express his long-hidden feelings. “Since it’s October, let’s write a story about Halloween Kelsey. What are some creatures you see at Halloween?” I asked. “Witches and ghosts and pumpkins,” offered Kelsey. “Out of those, what do you want the story to be about?” “A ghost and a pumpkin,” decided Kelsey. “I like that,” I commented, “I have a cat named Pumpkin”. Is it a little Pumpkinhead?” asked Kelsey. “She sure is,” I said. “Let’s make the ghost have a pumpkinhead!” said Kelsey. “Great idea!” I said, “Now what did Pumpkinhead do on Halloween evening?” “He went to a party,” Kelsey offered. “Okay,” I said as I made notes on the tablet, “What happens at the party, Kelsey?” “He’s sad,” said Kelsey in a small voice. “Why?” I asked, surprised. “Because no one will play with him because he’s different. He has a pumpkin for a head and the other ghosts don’t.” At that point, I knew this story was more than just meeting an IEP goal. I was always impressed with Kelsey’s wisdom. She knew how Pumpkinhead could best deal with his feelings from growing up in a big, loving family. All the ideas, thoughts, and feelings of Pumpkinhead were Kelsey’s own, trapped inside with no outlet. As her teacher, all I did was provide a reason and the structure for Pumpkinhead to emerge. Next week-Kelsey’s story “Pumpkinhead.”

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