A Disabled Society by Jaxon

A Disabled Society by Jaxon - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

It all started when I was job shadowing at a special needs class. I decided to do this to learn more about the field and see if it was a realistic career path for me. I had peer tutored before but as I walked into the classroom, I became a little nervous at the responsibilities soon to be placed onto me. I was sitting beside another fellow senior named Eric. He was very shy at first, but we got to know each other. I assumed I would just be watching but the SPED teacher put me in charge of his learning. I was uncomfortable with this notion, but I eventually got the hang of it.
It was frustrating at first seeing him struggle with supposedly simple tasks such as writing his own name or reading sight words. However, as I worked with him, he was slowly getting better I learned new teaching methods and how to adapt to his mood changes. Somedays he would be killing it with his sight words or spelling and other days he wouldn’t even want to make eye contact. I learned not to take it personally and after a while we became good friends.
I joined the unified soccer and basketball teams he was on, and I had a blast helping him and a bunch of other kids succeed. There is no greater feeling than teaching someone and watching them succeed. Me and him would practice during lunch when I wasn’t too busy helping with the school store. This would help him develop physically and socially. He now yells out to say hi to me no matter what class I am in, and it always brings me great joy. He used to have to grab onto the walls whenever he walked anywhere in fear of falling but now, he is able to run down the court with ease. Watching him grow has made me realize my love for teaching and gives me fulfillment whenever I help and person with special needs.
I’ve come to realize a drastic perception change I’ve received. I used to view others like him as ‘disabled people’ but I’ve come to realize how hurtful of a label this is to me and to him. This phrases him like he is a lesser and I’m sure a lot of people are guilty of this. The correct perspective is to view kids like him as a person with a disability. He has distinct and unique traits that make up his character, his likes and dislikes, his hobbies and opinions. He is a person who just happens to have a disability. The majority of his problems stem from his environment society isn’t made for people like him and we lack accommodation for the handicapped community. A wheelchair doesn’t ‘disable’ someone the lack of wheelchair ramps and other accommodations do. If I would’ve just looked at his disability like old me might have then we wouldn’t have become friends, and I wouldn’t get to know how funny and kind he is.
I no longer see two distinct categories of disabled and ‘normal’. Instead, it is a large spectrum with a lot of different types of people with different strengths and weakness. Variety is the spice of life after all, and no one is perfect so we are stronger together as a society. If you don’t share this philosophy I urge you to look into your heart and ask yourself why not? In order to better ourselves we need to further our knowledge and understanding each day and spread love to everyone.