"Mom, look at 'dat boy, over 'dere..."

[gr8mommy]

Pumpkinboy....Thanks so much for sharing that story! It really made my day. I have learned over the years that most of the children are really just curious and don't really mean any disrespect by "staring." Kids are just inquisitive creatures...how else are they going to learn if they don't ask???

In all honesty, it's the ADULTS who are usually rude and insensitive! If we could all be as accepting as most of these little ones.......

 

[scottsod]

great story having both a 11 yo with cp and 3 and 4 yo who are the ones asking the questions i can relate!


the best ever add on to my sons wheel chair was hub caps
he has wheel of fortune wheel covers

they are soo cool and instead of staring at him everyone from kids to grandparents stare at the wheels and say wow that kid has a cool wheelchair
plus he has light up front caster makes for his own electic light parade!

it was the best 100 bucks we ever spent!
check em out on coolhubcaps. com

they have lots of styles from kids to adults and even for small push wheels

there a great ice breaker and everyone can talk with out feeling embarased !

 

[MaleficentFan]

Thanks for posting this. I'm not usually on this board but the title caught my eye. I've thought about asking over here about exactly what to say to my children, especially my daughter who is very observant and curious

Same here... very sweet story! Our dd was born with a port wine stain on her face... it's fairly prominent. (She's had some laser treatments but it's still visible) We were in the City Museum in St. Louis a few weeks back and a little boy, about 6, asked what happened to her face. We've gotten used to this question from children... so we gave the stock answer "oh, it's just a birthmark". His answer made me smile... "COOL. All I got was freckles!"

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

OMG and we all thought the worst, so did his mom. Very cute.

 

[EllaDisney]

That was a very sweet story. I have a 2 year old daughter with Down syndrome who is missing all the fingers on her left hand so I know the 'stare' all too well.

 

[Bitsmommy]

As a sibling of several brothers and sisters with disbilities and a Mommy of one with disabilies as well... THAT STORY MADE MY DAY!!!

 

[snyderla]

Thanks OP for starting the thread with your story, and thanks for all the stories that have been added. I needed a smile today!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Glad to see all of the interest in my pumpkinboy's story. We all had another lovely trip to WDW for a delightful 11 days leading up to Labor Day. As usual, he made friends every day, despite being non-verbal. Little kids were curious about "What happened?" and the littler kids wanted to know how his "cool ride" worked. Disney really is the easiest vacation for us, and many others with family members with disabilities (as evidenced by the multitude of folks with disabilities at WDW). This is why my boy has been there 13 times in his 12 years on this earth. "Like Pinocchio becoming a Real Boy" is how I describe little master pumpkinboy's arrival at Disney.

 

[Escape2Disney]

Thank you so much for posting the stories! When kids are curious, I'm always happy to answer. It's often so clear that they just want to understand. Very rarely is there anything malicious in their questions.

You handled it all beautifully!

 

[Deesknee]

Thank you all for sharing your stories. My dd is the curious one. I try not to deter her curiosity, but don't talk about what I don't know. We happen to believe in God, so I just say God makes everyone different. It's not polite to stare. I've always wondered if that's okay with the families. I have had some families approach us and have been wonderful enough to explain what their particular disability is.

That said some of your stories remind me of a joke I heard years ago. A little boy stops coloring to ask his mother how you make love. The mother commences to explain the birds and the bees. After much detail she asks the child if he has any questions. His reply....does it start with an L.

 

[lovetoscrap]

What a great story!!

I have decorated my scooter with rhinestones in the shapes of hearts, a butterfly and of course a tiara. It is very sparkly! And I have lights on my wheels but those don't get seen much.

Of course the sparkles often catch kids attention and they will point or say something. I often see the parents look uncomfortable because they think their child is pointing at me. I always say something to the kids about my "pretty sparkles" and often let them come over and touch if they want to. I have asked ones in strollers if they think they are faster than I am. The parents are usually relieved. And sometimes the kids ask why I use the scooter and I just tell them that I have boo-boo feet so I can't walk very well. When I had the CamWalker I would just tell them that I hurt my foot and wear it to help it feel better.

Well, except the time I was subbing at DD's Middle School and I told the boy that asked "what happened" that I had been in a skydiving accident. He told the others and the rest of the day kids were asking DD if I was really hurt skydiving and how cool that was! Her close friends that know me thought it was so funny.

I actually get a whole lot of adults that stare and make comments too about how cool my bedazzled scooter is. My older dd gets so embarrassed and often says that she wishes she could have a nickel for every comment I get so she could be rich. I love the smiles and positive reactions that the decorations get.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

This made me think of my aunts daughter who was staring at a lady and her husband who were using sign language. Being me, I got up, walked over and fingerspelled Where did you get the cool purse? The lady was so thrilled that someone else cared enough to come over. We ran into her a few other times during the day and had lots of fun signing together. I even taught the kids some basic things to say.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

That said some of your stories remind me of a joke I heard years ago. A little boy stops coloring to ask his mother how you make love. The mother commences to explain the birds and the bees. After much detail she asks the child if he has any questions. His reply....does it start with an L.

When I was 9 or 10, my Mom and I were sitting and going through cookbooks. As I went through the egg and cheese section of my cookbook, I looked up and asked my Mom, "What's a quickie?" Well Mom turned 10 shades of red, and started sputtering...and then looked down and said OH QUICHE!! You want to know about quiche!!! Its kind of like an egg custard, dear!

 

[mbb]

Big hello to Caleb!

WDW is where we first felt like a "normal", "typical", "regular", fill in your favourite word, family.

We have twin boys, both amazing kids, who cope with ASD every day.

What a total relief to see other families with kids screaming, melting down, tantruming, oh, we were sooo happy!! LOL!

Sure, we got stares with our tantrums...but DH and I purposed that when we did, we would smile at them, and say:

"Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth!"

People would generally then ignore us

So, picture it...
We're on the ferry leaving the MK at 11:30 in the morning.
We always leave when the crowds are starting to stream in.
We are four of *maybe* a dozen other people total, on the ferry.

One of the other small children is starting to wig out in his stroller, his (god-love-'em) parents would rather keep him restrained.

Our boys are getting upset that this little boy is just NOT HAPPY! MOM! DO SOMETHING to HELP HIM!!

Ferry is pulling up to the dock.
500 people waiting to board??

Other child is really losing it.
Our children, now feeling more and more upset...

600 people?
700 people?
All crammed in the holding pens, there are more and more coming, as they see the ferry pulling up!!

At the top of his lungs, completely oblivious to the hundreds of people within earshot..our youngest hollers:

"WELCOME TO THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!!!!"

We heart Disney

 

[weswife]

Great stories! I too try and educate at a level of understading. My DD has spina-bifida and hydrocephlaus. Always lots of looks and whispering. Now that she is a young lady (17 yrs) I find it not as bad. When she was younger we had alot more questions and looks.

My favorite story is kind of different but wanted to share.

DD was 5 starting school. We did let her go on the bus and met her at school. My Dad had to follow the bus, with me of course! Dad was so worried kids would ask questions or make fun of her. Dad did not want her feelings to get hurt, me either of course. Anyway, she got off the bus and went into her class. One little girl came over and asked, "Whats wrong with you?" I took a deep breath and look at Dad. Dad is almost crying1 My DD never looked at us and with the quickest reply I ever heard she said "Nothing, why do you ask!" Dad and I exchanged a smile, ( Her reply meant I am not sick, nothing is wrong!) It was such a moment in time! Dad tells everyone this story! Now my DD is in grade 12! Its amazing! She may not know all the school stuff BUT can teach others so many things! Just wanted to share!