I’m Thankful For You: Our Teachers

(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Wendy Lawrence and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.)

I would like to honor and thank two wonderful teachers that have made miraculous changes in my two children. Ms. Midgett and Ms. Massey have changed our lives so much. I cannot thank them enough.

First, a little about our family. My husband and I have two children, H (5.5 years old, Autistic, ADHD), and KJ (3.5 years old and some developmental delays, being watched for additional signs of Autism). We live in North Carolina.

Ms. Midgett

First, I would like to thank and honor Ms. Martina Midgett. She was my son’s Pre-K teacher 2016-2017 and now my daughter’s Pre-K teacher since April this year. My son had been in a previous pre-k class for 2 months in early 2016 and right before school started for Fall 2016, I was informed he was being moved to another school, another teacher. At the time, it was throwing our newly-diagnosed world into upheaval. My son had aggression issues, his verbal ability was almost 2.5 years below his age, he had no awareness.

Ms. Midgett was and is an angel to our family. Something about her, some form of magical pixie dust she has, changed my son. He went from lashing out physically because he wasn’t able to communicate his needs to this boy that is a complete 180 from the boy he was 15 months ago. My parents remark all the time about “Whatever Ms. Tina did, she performed a miracle with H. He talks, and we can understand him. It’s not always ‘spooky’ or Star Wars stuff. He has grown so much, I wouldn’t recognize him as the same boy.”

Ms. Midgett now teaches my daughter in her Pre-K class and seeing KJ’s language blossom. Seeing her interaction with other children grow… before Ms. Tina, KJ ran for the hills when children tried to play with her at the playground. To see her playing and hugging other children, to talk about children as her “friends” brings tears to my eyes. And Ms. Tina’s only been teaching her for a total of 3.5 months. I can only imagine who KJ will grow to be under Ms. Tina’s caring nature.

Ms. Massey

Second, I would like to thank and honor Ms. Rachel Massey. Ms. Massey is H’s kindergarten teacher. While he grew significantly under Ms. Tina’s teaching, I wondered if he would ever learn to read or learn. I kept that deep inside, I couldn’t bear to share that thought with anyone, even my husband.

Then it happened. Where Ms. Tina improved H’s speech and play skills, Ms. Massey ignited a desire to learn. A prime example is tonight. He saw a spider in its web outside the dining room window. He was captivated, watching this spider weave her web and eat the bugs. And the first thing he wanted to do was call Ms. Massey! He then proceeded to pretend call her and tell her everything this spider was doing. Once he was done on his pretend call? He started trying to teach the spider how to say and write “S”.

She took a tiny spark, his love of Halloween, to get him to write. My 5.5 year old, who I wasn’t sure would ever write his name, can write PUMPKIN! She got him to care about the cycle of plant life: he drew individual pictures of seed to “orange pumpkin” and taught his grandparents (albeit for almost 30 minutes, on repeat).

These two wonderful ladies have changed our lives so much. I cannot thank them enough. I wish I had pictures of them with my children. They are beyond words great.

You can still nominate the doctors, therapists, teachers, friends and family that make a difference in your special needs world. Click HERE to learn how!