Chapter 7
After that day, things just seemed to fall into place. Stephanie and Melanie had talked with the elementary school principal about doing a presentation about disabilities (mainly cerebral palsy) for the kids. The girls had named their presentation I'M A PERSON FIRST.
The day came all too fast.
Stephanie stood backstage with her back to the curtain, her heart pounding. She could feel cold sweat trickling down her face. "Melanie," she whispered. "Do you really want to go through with this?" Melanie nodded. "Yes." She replied steadily, though her legs were shaking so badly she could barely stand. Suddenly she doubled over with a cry of pain and gripped her leg below the knee. "Melanie!" Stephanie said, alarmed. Melanie looked up, her face pale. "It's just a muscle cramp." She whispered, a little breathless from the nerves. "I get them sometimes in my legs because my hamstring muscle is so tight." Stephanie vaguely remembered from health class that the hamstring muscle was a muscle in the leg, stretching from the thigh to the knee, and helping to flex the knee. So that's why Melanie walks with her legs so bent. Stephanie thought.
Melanie plopped down in a chair and started massaging her leg. Suddenly they heard the school principal saying "And now here's Stephanie Tanner and Melanie Finegold with their very special presentation."
Stephanie grabbed Melanie's arm. "Mel! That's our cue!" she hissed, helping Melanie to her feet. The two girls looked at each other with nervous eyes, each saying silently This is it. Then the curtain rose, and Stephanie began the presentation.
"You might know someone with a disability." Stephanie began. "That person may be a friend, a classmate, or even an adult that you know. But when you think of someone with a disability, what do you really think of? Do you think of the person, his or her personality? Or do you think of the fact they walk with crutches, or use a wheelchair? A person with a disability is just someone that's different from you. They like the same stuff, do mostly the same things, and have the same concerns.
That's why I've teamed up with one of my best friends, Melanie Finegold. Melanie has cerebral palsy, a type of physical disability, and she walks with one crutch. But Melanie has thoughts and feelings, and that's why I think of when I think of her. A person with a disability is a person first and someone with a disability second. That's why Melanie and I have named this presentation A PERSON FIRST!"
Melanie came out, and the audience applauded. Over the next hour and a half, Stephanie and Melanie explained many things about people with disabilities, and even had a hands-on part where volunteers got to come up to the stage and try out manual wheelchairs and try on leg braces. They also explained a bit about how to treat a person with a disability.
"Don't stare at a person who uses adaptive equipment like a wheelchair or crutches." They told the kids. "It's rude. One of the reasons it is rude is because for a person with a disability, their equipment is like a part of them. It would be like somebody staring at you because you have freckles, or you have green eyes. It's just not right." Soon the presentation was over. Stephanie and Melanie watched as the kids filed out and hoped that they had taught those kids something with their presentation. The two girls hugged. "We did it!" They said.
A/N: Hey everyone! This chapter is basically out of my own imagination. I have thought about doing a presentation for the elementary school kids, but I haven't actually done it. PLEASE keep reviewing! Your reviews inspire me to write the next chapter, even if I don't really feel like writing that day. Special thanks to Kayla for all the great tips!