Magazine

"Indiana Teens with Autism Crowned Homecoming King and Queen" was written February 14, 2014 by Nicole Weisensee Egan for People magazine. Two high school students in Indiana are crowned homecoming king and queen by their fellow classmates this year during the halftime of a basketball game. Seth Knox and Kelsey Roeser are both 18 and have autism. The student body president describes how great they are and how they are always up lifting.

I chose this article for one of the main reasons I have chosen others, it shows that students with disabilities still are human and can still take part in normal high school activities. Reading about these two people with autism and what their classmates did for them and voted them into the homecoming king and queen is very touching and inspiring. I love reading about good deeds that people do especially for people such as these who absolutely love being normal and loved. I'm hoping to use this in my paper to help stress how important it is to give these students the same opportunities as abled students.

Newspaper

"Special Olympians laugh, play, celebrate" written by Olivia Neeley on April 12, 2013 was published by the Wilson Daily Times. This article displays several children and the pride they experienced on this day. Last year the Special Olympics were held at Hunt High School in Wilson, NC. Many Students from all schools came out to participate and volunteer in the games. According to D'Shia Bennett from Winstead Elementary School, "I did awesome". Throughout this article there are many quotes of young children that are showing their pride in what they have accomplished. 

I chose this article for many reasons. Last year I was a senior at Hunt High School and I worked side by side with the assistant principal, Ronnia Cockrell, who was also in charge of the Special Education Program at Hunt. I took on a big responsibility and helped plan and organize this big event. This article demonstrates that although these students have disabilities they are able to compete in events and resemble the human characteristics that are often thought not to be there. I know that this is a positive aspect that I can use and that will show the feelings of these fantastic and inspirational people. 

.org

Michael Laharty does a series of short articles, Michael Laharty, Special Education/Secondary Transition, writtien in 2008 on "TEACH California". There are many different questions that he has been asked and he gives his perspective or advice as a special needs children. In one of the short articles he talks about what he likes best about being a special needs children. He describes the feeling of the challenges and rewards that the children face and having the students see the possibilities.

I think that this article will be a positive influence on my paper and will help me show the good in working with special needs children because they have a lot of possibility if you give them a chance. I really like that he answers these questions from his point of view, a teacher. He talks about challenges as a teacher but also how he meets his challenges.