I love that Kayla can be academically successful when her teachers incorporate her learning with hockey. My Hero by Kayla Kruk Who is the best hockey player ever? My hero’s name is Sydney Scobee . She is a goalie on the Minnesota Gophers team. I met her when she was at UVM on the women’s hockey team. She was the goalie on the UVM team. Scobee is my hero because she is brave and kind. Scobee is my hero because she is brave. Being a goalie and blocking goals takes a lot of bravery because other players are shooting the puck right at you. You have protective equipment on but it is still scary. Brave people help people. Brave people do things even if they are scared. Brave people do things even if other people might laugh at them or make fun of them. This shows why Scobee is brave. Another reason Scobee is my hero is because she is kind. Scobee is kind because she helped me make sure I was a part of … [Read more...]
Connections at the rink
With the UVM Women’s Hockey season opening this weekend, I thought it was appropriate to share some insight regarding the connections and friendships that have formed over the years. Whenever you go to a UVM Women’s Hockey game, you will see one spectator sitting in the same seat game after game. You will see her at the rink an hour before the game begins, chatting with players before they get dressed, talking with the maintenance team, giving players high fives and riding the zamboni. All this happens before the game even begins. This routine has been going on for over 6 years. For the first two years, she was the only fan sitting in that section. But during the third year, a family with two girls sat next to her. This was not the norm so Kayla was taken back. In her world, it takes a lot of time to adjust to new situations and engage with new people. For the first two years Kayla would have limited interaction with the … [Read more...]
In Kayla’s Words
I came across this piece of writing while going through Kayla's 4th grade school work. I realized that she was studying Temple Grandin but never knew she had written a beautiful piece. "I read the book: The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin. It is about a girl named Temple Grandin. She was a girl that had autism. She didn’t talk until age three. She likes cows and animals. She liked science. She had a teacher that helped her along the way. When she was on a farm it was less stressful because she liked animals a lot and they calmed her. When she grew up she was a big speaker, and helped people learn to go through challenges even if they were scared. While I was reading this book I noticed that I have a lot in common with Temple Grandin. One thing that we have in common is we do not like crowded places and loud sounds because we don’t like a lot of people around we are sensitive to loud … [Read more...]
For the first time…..
Kayla has loved attending the kids club at the resort we stay at during our summer vacation. She loves the staff, the activities that are offered, and swimming in the pool. Out of the dozens of times Kayla has attended the kids club during our summer vacation, she has never connected with another peer. Given the short amount of time the program runs and the various kids participating, it is difficult for her to navigate and make those connections. This year when I dropped her off she was greeted by a young girl who kept asking her questions and invading her space. Kayla began to shut down and didn’t want to stay. I had to politely tell the young child to give Kayla some time and she will begin to talk to her. When the child gave Kayla her space, Kayla slowly transitioned into the program. For the first time, I left not knowing if Kayla would make it through the day. When I picked her up at the end of the day she … [Read more...]
Smooth Sailing
Do you know that you can access TSA Cares if you travel with anybody who has a disability? I was made aware of this program through a friend who has used it several times with her daughter. Kayla has a difficult time going through security. Between her AFO’s, headphones, inability to talk to people she does not know and anxiety to new situations, going through security can be a nightmare. We decided to test out TSA Cares and see if it would help Kayla transition easier through security. We used it while traveling out of Boston during April vacation and unfortunately did not have a great experience. For some unknown reason the information did not get passed on, the airlines had no idea what TSA Cares was, and the security checkpoint wasn’t that helpful either. With thousands of people traveling every day, I realize that information can get lost and things might not be in place when we arrive at the airport. I decided to give … [Read more...]