The Story of Tommy - Our Beginning
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By Linda Bidabe, MOVE Creator
In 1979, Tommy ran down the hall. It doesn't sound like much unless you knew Tommy. At that time, he was one of the few non-ambulatory students in our school.
One day I caught him wistfully watching other children run and play. Without thinking, I said, "You wish you could run with them, don't you, Tommy? " His eyes lit up and his arms and legs started churning. "Oh, Tommy, I wasn't saying you could..." I stammered. But it was too late--I saw that look in his eyes. I saw hope.
I made the first "rag-tag" gait trainer for Tommy. In it, he ran with his friends, squealing with delight. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. Like many other children with multiple disabilities, Tommy had spent his entire life on the floor, in bean bags or in a wheelchair...waiting.
As he grew older, it became physically impossible to bounce him around as we had in the past. We moved him less often. His family moved him less often. Eventually, he grew into a "chair shaped" person with contractures and joint deformities. Gravity became the bitter enemy. His bones pushed through his fragile body. He died before his 21st birthday.
That event put into motion a program we initially called Standing Room Only, then Mobility Opportunities Via Education and what today is known as MOVE International.
In 1986, using seed money provided by my boss, Kern County Superintendent of Schools Kelly F. Blanton, several colleagues and I ran a summer program with faith, muscle and some crudely designed equipment. We worked from the premise that all people learn. Our people weren't learning, so the fault had to lie in our teaching.
I took a cold, hard look at how we were spending our time and energy and then flipped everything upside down. The results were astonishing. Children written off as never being able to sit, stand or walk gained mobility. Based on these results, Blanton continued the program.
Word spread rapidly about what was happening at the Blair Learning Center in Bakersfield, California. Parents actually moved to Bakersfield to enroll their children. Within a few years, instructors were being trained in the United States, the United Kingdom and other European countries.
Each month, dedicated professionals, aided by specially-adapted equipment, provide mobility and new life to our children. With new-found motor skills, children are beginning to communicate and take charge of their own lives. They are developing friendships and demonstrating their intelligence.
This success underscores my long-held belief that children with severe disabilities can dismantle the barriers that keep them from playing with their classmates, helping care for themselves and participating in family activities.
Long ago, I was quoted as saying, "The vast majority of children with severe disabilities can learn to sit, stand and walk. Unless there is a compelling reason not to do so, they should be given every opportunity to control their own lives." Doing so represents the difference between helplessness and independence.
Today, this seems even more relevant. In the coming months, MOVE International will provide training on several levels to qualified professionals. We hope this will help address the never-ending demands from parents and professionals throughout the world.
It is rewarding to meet so many professionals worldwide who care so deeply about children with severe disabilities. Equally gratifying are those who come forward about providing help for adults with disabilities.
Many of you have already made a difference. For that and your ongoing support, I thank you. Your dedication goes far in reaffirming something I said years ago and to which so many relate today: "What a tragedy that we've all underestimated these children all these years...who knows what they can do if given the chance."
As parents, professionals and people who care, we can make a difference.
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Copyright ©2008, Kern County Superintendent of Schools 1300 17th Street - CITY CENTRE, Bakersfield, CA 93301-4533 (661) 636-4000
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