Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A creature with special abilities

My first trips were not too far from home, we used to go to buy cookies and my chicken meat. It was interesting to see other dogs, but since those days  the best  of our walks is when people look at me and say: oh, how nice puppy with a black ear!.  I have seen that same expression with more than 10 different languages. Invariably people look at me and smile.

Mom teaches about neurodevelopment and basic processes at a public university. Sometimes she took me to talk to their students. She used to let them see me enjoying around and they could play with me while mom watched them closely, talking and interacting with me. Everybody smiled at me and naturally said some words, but minutes later almost inadvertently, mom used to say clear and loud that I was deaf. It was like changing a photography, because then their faces changed dramatically their expressions. It was that look of pity that I saw in my vet the first time I visited him.

Mom strongly believes that it is not important what we are, if what we are capable of becoming. She explained to students that before being deaf, I was Bubu, and nobody should minimize my abilities. Still being deaf, I had been able to play with them and exchange emotions, so from where I had, I would learn many things and it was the same that children expected from professionals of education. They don't need to show them pity, but to give them support.

And yes, I can not hear, but I see very well, and my nose is fairly well developed. I can smell chicken with rice from km away!, Mom says it's one of the characteristics of the creatures with different abilities. When an area of the brain decreases, others naturally, become over expressed.

So I discovered television. I liked to watch TV for hours!, Of course, mom  found out my favorite shows,  because that kept me quiet while she was studying. She used to say that television was a bad nanny, but what could we do?, it Was fun!.

The other advantages of the vision is that I can see when people talk, Mom says that's why deaf people can learn to talk, because naturally persons see when someone else is speaking, it is a need of the brain. And that's how I learned to bark, it took me  a little longer than usual, but I looked Nannys and  Edward barking, I saw the movement of their bodies and the expression on their faces, and one day my throat produced a sound, and Mom jumped so happy!, her smile completely crossed her face ... so I tried again, and the joy was repeated  ... it was a matter of reinforcement, until I learned  clearly to bark to tell the world who I was.

After learning the action I began to use it. But I discovered that not everyone understands. When I want a kibble, I bark to it saying very clear: come cookie, come ..., but they do not obey me!, I have to be very near to them to explain patiently: Bubu wants to eat YOU. They are so disobedient!.

I also bark when I see other dogs. I make it strong so they know who  Bubu is. But when I trust them, I smell them. My sense of smell let me to know them better, I know it's strange to humans, but the smell is also important for them. Through the smell, baby humans can recognize their mothers, but lose that quality to give priority to vision and hearing. While it is true that dogs and cats are more sensitive in that area.

My world is visual and olfactory, and there us no way to hide my food when it is ready or when it is time to go out and enjoy a walk, I  just need to see my harness and my leash. I know very clear when mom is angry or happy. I know when she is not feeling well and I must give her room. I remember her returning from the hospital smelling of drug when she had to go through chemotherapy. Nobody had to tell me she needed to be alone, so I happily stayed to sleep at my grand mom’s house.

I also know when mom or dad will give me medicine, or when it is time for my insulin shot...  I can not only smell it, I see their faces, they nervously smile at me trying to encourage me, but I know that everything will be fine. After all, that gives me the chance to have more stories to tell...

So when Mom's students talk about  special educational needs, and  believe that everyone has the right to learn, they are not completely right,  because not ONLY  everyone has the right to learn, but also the ability. so when they are  looking for what children can't  do, in reality, they should look for what everyone is capable, and in that sense, we all are special.


If you would like to know more about mom’s writing you can visit her web site: http://www.almadzib.com
Para la versión en español, da click en la parte superior derecha


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