More Than “Special”, The Reason I Want To Become A Lawyer

My mother has been a special education teacher for the past 25 years. The dictionary defines special needs as, “particular educational requirements resulting from learning difficulties, physical disability, or emotional and behavioral difficulties.” Society has a tendency to alter the definition of special needs. You see, to the majority of the population, special needs is often given this negative connotation. Even though the term is broad, the special needs community is too often regarded as very low IQ individuals who cannot perform at the same level, in any aspect, as the general population. I am writing this article in hopes of reaching out to the portion of the population that is too quick to judge, or misunderstands those with special needs.

I want to become an attorney that advocates for the rights of the special needs community for two reasons: an inspiration, and a calling. As I mentioned before, my mother is a special education teacher. That being said, I have been blessed with the opportunity to grow up around special needs children. My inspiration was always my aunt Linda. She is the loveliest person to be around, she just happens to have Down syndrome. Growing up around Linda encouraged me to “be the change” in this world. Witnessing the ill-treatment of members of the special needs community first hand had ultimately become the fuel to my fire, it gave me my calling. I have not spent as many years with Linda as my mother has, nevertheless I share my mothers pain in that Linda is not always treated fairly. Linda has never missed a birthday of mine, not in 19 years. I can always count on a 1-2-page letter, signed and dated, and usually attached to a drawing or painting that she personalized for me. Not only that, but Linda always asks to speak to me when she and my mother talk on the phone. When was the last time that you had someone in your life so eager to find out how you are doing? She does this out of pure innocent love. On top of that, I can think of countless more times where Linda has committed some random act of kindness for me or someone in my family without expectations of anything in return. You see, most people see her for her so called “disability,” but I am here to tell you that her capacity for love is in no way below average. That her ability to convey kindness and selflessness is not subpar, but in the top 1%. That if the people who look at her funny in restaurants spent half an hour with her, they would forever be effected. It is not right to pass judgment on someone based on a pseudo predisposition.

The other direct inspiration is one of my oldest and closest friends. He is kind, he is brilliant, and he happens to have autism. Initially, one may think he has poor social skills, but its not that his skills are poor, rather they are just different. The truth is, people do not understand him. Like with most things in life with which we don’t understand, it is only by giving them a chance that we can make any real progress toward a level of understanding. If more people took the time to get to know him, they would learn that he is a math genius. As an engineering major, I specialize in advanced mathematics, with that being said, my dear friends skills are far beyond mine and always have been. If you spent a little bit of time with him, you would learn that he is incredibly goal orientated and driven. His goals may be to learn about airplanes, or to develop a strong knowledge of marine life, but what you don’t realize is that he has the ability to retain several textbooks worth of research in his immediate memory. For example, I was slightly embarrassed the other day when I caught a fish in Elephant Butte Lake and had not the slightest idea of what it was. I thought about an internet search, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. In an effort to impress the friends I was with, I snapped a quick picture to my dear friend, praying he would reply promptly. I received a two paragraph reply only minutes later telling me the name, scientific name, brief history and current population of the species in the region. He was happy that I was seeking his expertise and I was happy that I no longer appeared ignorant.

The point is, those old cliché sayings that, “you shouldn’t be too quick to judge,” or “you should never judge a book by its cover,” have very valid points. When I look at my aunt and my dear friend, I see the light. I can see past the so called negatives that society emphasizes on, to the amazing qualities that are quite apparent when you get to know them. I only told you of those two amazing people in my life, but the truth is they are all around us. I hope it is now clear that there is a lot we can learn from those with disabilities, and I hope that I can one day defend the rights of those who are too often neglected.