Disability Positivity

My High School Experience Story

Throughout my educational journey, I have faced different barriers that prevented me from engaging fully in the traditional High School experience, This is when I first heard of special education. Special education programs and services are designed to meet students’ individual needs. These programs support students with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, autism and more I have a physical disability which impacts my ability to function everyday.. My weakest subject  in school was math, and it was because of the dedicated staff supporting me at the time, that I was able to pass the class. . The teacher and support staff were able to change the way they were teaching in order to get me to learn the material better.

In 2015,I graduated from Park Lawn, the school I attended before looking into the different High Schools I could go to. One of the main reasons I chose Park Lawn was because that school had an integrated special education program for students with physical disabilities. I would still go to regular classes, but would go to the ISP Room when I got off the bus for extra help with my schoolwork, educational needs and personal care needs, like using the washroom.

When it came to finding a High School, my parents wanted to find a similar learning environment to Park Lawn since that seemed to be successful in the past.  We had quite the experience trying to find one that would work. My parents had to talk to lots of people about what we were looking for, do some research and go on school tours. After a lot of time and research, my parents found and toured Monarch Park Collegiate.

Monarch Park Collegiate worked similarly to Park Lawn, but the biggest difference with Monarch was that it was semestered and had lots of ways for me to get involved. I was part of the Accessibility Team, Student Council and Jazz Choir. Monarch was a great school, and I was happy that I could learn like every other student with support from the integrated educational program in the Mobility Resource  Room.

After graduation, I wasn’t  totally sure what next steps would look like for me or how I was going to get there. I was still used to having the everyday structure of going to school. All that changed when I completed High School. I went through a transitional period where I took some personal time to reflect and wonder if I could put my strength of helping people to use.