Tonight I went to my first Best Buddies ball, which is a dance for kids with special needs. Many people came from different places around Connecticut. I was able to communicate with many different kids with special needs who were having an amazing time at something that literally has such a positive impact on their lives.
After the party was over, I had the chance to speak with some of the members from the “Kandoo Band,” which was a band formed in 2007 by adults with Williams Syndrome. One of the members, Robby, started talking to me about how he loves to play for Best Buddies because he loves that people don’t care about how other people have special needs. I told him that I hated when people judge others by if they have a disability or not. He said something that really stuck with me. He said, “It makes me angry when people look at me with a disability.”
Everyone is different and has their own way of looking at things. And we all know that judgement can hurt. But being judged for something that you can’t help can be really hard. Everyone should feel equal no matter who they are.
To attend this dance tonight and see these kids smiling and laughing just makes me incredibly happy. I think people truly do need to take the “diss” out of the “disability.”
