Bonnie's New Home

[Mischa]

(sorry the response took so long, I have a 4-hr long class on Monday nights)

"It's worth a try, teaching her sign language. They never really said it was an option at her school. She's in a full-time cognitively disabled class at school. I'll look around online, I'm sure there's something that I can find that I can teach her to sign."

Claire walks back to Bernie and Bernie lifts her up.

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme nods. "Yes it is worth a shot. What does Cognitively disabled mean?" She thinks for a moment. "Have you thought about getting a teacher to teach her how to sign? There was computer programs out there that will help teach her or DVDs."

[robehouse]

"Instead of looking at your weaknesses, why don't you look at your strengths. You are good at taking care of the girls. Alright sometimes there are obstacles in your way. You need to think of ways to get beyond these obstacles. If you would like I will start letting your dress yourself and only step in when needed."

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme nods. "Yes I'm good at taking care of the girls. They listen to me or use to until I became a little girl like them. Now i'm not sure they will listen to me anymore." She shakes her head. "I already tried to dress myself. I couldn't do it. I couldn't left up my bottom high enough to get my pants on and off. I tried to button my shirt and I couldn't do it. It is like my fingers can grasp small objects like buttons. So I can't dress myself." She sighs and looks over at the girls.

[Mischa]

"Cognitively disabled means that even though she is 11 years old, she has the mind of at most a two year old. We've never been able to toilet train her, and she still sleeps in a crib. I hand-made her second crib after she outgrew her first when she was five. Since then I made her two more. I'll look into a private sign language teacher, maybe that would help her learn to communicate faster. I'll look into the CDs and DVDs for myself, she doesn't focus enough to watch television for very long."

Claire gets restless, so Bernie walks over to her chair and pulls out a bottle of apple juice and gives it to her. "We give her bottles because she tends to spill even with sippy cups."

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme nods. "Oh I see. Except for the potty training part. Claire sounds like Bonnie and her sisters. They sleep in cribs and drink out of bottles. Does Claire set in a highchair when she eat and can't she feeds herself or do you feed her?" She nods. "Well if she doesn't focus on TV for very long. A DVD might not work as well. Maybe what Claire needs is to be around normal kids and interact with them." Jayme blushes. "I didn't mean that the way it comes out. I didn't mean to imply that Claire isn't normal. What I mean maybe set up some playdates with parents who have kids around Claire's age. That might help Claire learn to communicate faster and might help her come out of her shell."

[Mischa]

"I know she's not normal, but then again, what is? I've accepted my daughter as she is, and that she'll more than likely never make it to college, but I'm perfectly fine with that. She was dealt her hand, and she's playing it beautifully. There aren't that many others with developmental disabilities at the level Claire is, though. Most of the children in her class are either more advanced than her or more severe."

[robehouse]

"You are also the only one who understands Dinah and Angel. I can't speak sign language and I need you to communicate with them. Do you think you could teach sign language?"

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme nods. "Yes I agree. What is normal? Being normal is highly overrated. It is more fun to be a little cracked. Yes I think she is playing the hand she was dealt beautifully." She nods. "Oh I see. So there is no one in her class who is like her? That is terrible in a way."

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme shakes her head. "I'm not the only one. Bonnie can understand Dinah and Angel." She nods. "Yes I can teach sign language to anyone who wants to learn."

[robehouse]

"yes, but they always look for you when they need something."

Tracy walks over to the girls. "Do you want to stay here with these baby animals, or do you want to watch the gator jumparoo show?"

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme nods. "Yes I know. Bonnie is usually never around when they need something. So it is easier to tell me than go and find Bonnie. Then have her tell you."

The girls looks at each other. "Gators. Will Chief Osecola and Renegade be there? Bernie said that Chief Osecola liked fighting with the Gators. Sometimes he wins and sometimes they win,but either way. They always come back to fight again."

[robehouse]

"See, you are important to the girls."

"I don't think chief Osceola is going to be there today. Seminoles are famous as alligator wrestlers but He stays around the school. Okay, lets get going."

Tracy starts leading the girls out of the area where the baby animals are.

"Nice meeting your daughter, Bernie. I guess we will be seeing you again tomorrow."

[baby_snow_white]

April nods. "Mommy, can we go see Chief Osecola tomorrow? I know you said it was a 3 hour drive,but if we start out early in the morning. We can spend all day there and you can drive back home that night." The girls line up and follow Tracy to where the Gator show was at."

Jayme looks around. "I don't see any places for people in wheelchairs to set. This place doesn't seem to be wheelchair friendly."

Mary looks at Jayme. "Why would wheelchairs want to be friendly to this place?"

Jayme smiles. "What I meant by this place wasn't wheelchair friendly is that people in wheelchairs would have a hard time enjoying this place. The changing tables are too high for someone in a wheelchair to change anyone on. There wasn't seem to be any places for people in wheelchairs to sit."

[robehouse]

Tracy looks at the bleachers and nods at Jayme."Yes, I see that. You either have to sit in front or off to the side. I'm sorry, next time we go somewhere I will have to call in advance and find out if they are wheelchair friendly. I just didn't think about it. How about if the girls and I sit in the bleachers close to the front so that you can sit with us?"

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme nods. "Yes I guess so. I don't understand why public places are not wheelchair friendly. Do they think people in wheelchair don't like to do the same thing people who are not in wheelchairs like to do? Well they are wrong." She nods. "That sounds ok with me." Jayme follows Tracy and the girls to the bleachers near the front.

A lady comes up behind them. "Excuse me ma'am. You can't set there. You are blocking the aisle and that is a safety hazard."

[robehouse]

Tracy gets the girls settled into their seats. She hears the woman explain that Jayme is a safety hazard.

"I'm sorry, but she is with me. I need her close by in case I need help with my girls. She can move easy enough if something happens and we need to move in a hurry."

[baby_snow_white]

The lady shakes her head. "I'm sorry ma'am,but she can't set there. It is for her safety as well of that of others. If the fire marshal was here and saw her setting in the aisle. We could be a big fine."

Jayme sighs. "Ok." She looks at Tracy. "I guess you are on your own with the girls. I'll wait outside of the show for you and the girls to come out."

[robehouse]

Tracy glares at the woman. "You know, if you made this park more wheelchair friendly, you might just get more visitors. After we leave here today, I doubt we will be coming back." Tracy wanted to leave, but decided to stay so the girls could watch the show.

[baby_snow_white]

The lady nods. "It would cost too much to make this place wheelchair friendly. Besides her kind doesn't come here that often. So it really isn't worth it." The show starts and the girls watched the guy wrestle a big gator and then the guy's daughter comes out and wrestles a smaller gator. Then let's it go back into the water. The girls' eyes got big when they saw the girl wrestling the gator. "That is so cool. She wrestled a gator. The girl is almost as cool as Chief Osecola. What makes him cooler is Renegade." After the show. The girl and her dad came out to meet the crowd. The girl was wearing a Florida State T shirt instead of her tan shirt she was wearing doing the show.

Bonnie looks at Tracy. "Mommy, can we go meet the girl? She has the same kind of design on her t shirt that Jayme has on her necklace."

[robehouse]

Tracy fumes when the lady says "her kind don't come here often."

"that doesn't surprise me that wheelchair bound people don't come here."

Tracy watches the show and claps. When the girl and her father comes out, she stands up. She starts leading the girls out of the stands. She was going to start out of the park when Bonnie asks to meet the girl. Tracy leads the girls over to where the girl and her father were standing.

[baby_snow_white]

The lady nods. "Doesn't suprise me either. They want too much concessions. They don't think about how much it cost companies to do things like that. All they want is their selfish wants."

Bonnie smiles at the girl as they went over to them. "What you was going is so cool."

The girl smiled. "Thank you." The girls smile and tell her that they like her t shirt." The girl nods. "I go to college there. I'm a sophomore at Florida State. When I leave. I'll have my degree in Marine Biology. I want to work on ways to increase the alligator population in Florida. They have been dying out since the Army Corp of Engineers decided to drain part of the Everglades to keep the houses around it from flooding when it rains or we have hurricanes. Now they can't reverse their actions and the problem there is getting worse which means there are less Alligators there. As more people move in on the alligator's natural habitat. It is forcing them to find places to live other places which is why you find them in ditches,lakes,creeks,in your backyard. I do this on my breaks from college and during the summer."

[Mischa]

"Nope, they're either above or below her cognitive ability, she has nobody that she can play with. See you later."

Bernie and Claire go back to the baby animals.

[baby_snow_white]

Jayme nods. "I see. Maybe you could talk to Tracy about setting up a playdate with the girls and Claire. She might like to play with other girls who are on their level."

[robehouse]

Tracy listens to the girl talk and nods her head. She already knew most of what she was saying. She pulls a digital camera out of her purse and looks at the girl.

"Would it be alright if I take a picture of you with my girls?"