Pictured here is Tanya Ortiz Guzman. A lively and intelligent little girl, she was born deaf and cannot speak. About two years ago, her mother, who was pregnant at the time, suffered a ruptured gallbladder, and tragically she and her unborn baby died as a result. Tanya’s father, faced with raising Tanya and her two older brothers, left the house and has never returned. So the children moved in with their grandmother, Abigail.
Abigail came to us asking if Tanya could attend our Montessori school at the Food Bank. There was no way Abigail could afford sending her little granddaughter to a special school, but Tanya is very smart and interested in everything. Her grandmother wanted her to have a chance at an education. “I know she can learn if someone taught her,” Abigail insisted. “She just needs to be given a chance.”
Not being set up to teach children with special needs, our teachers discussed it amongst themselves and decided that they wanted to try and help Tanya. Veronica, one of the teachers, offered to get training. So she started attending classes to learn sign language and then started to teach Tanya how to sign. Veronica is also being trained in how to integrate children with special needs into the classroom with the other children.
She’s doing a great job. The other day I went to visit the classrooms to see how things were going. Tanya was signing to Veronica the sign for “play.” She had finished her work and wanted to join the other kids on the playground outside. After checking her paper, Veronica signed, “Okay. You can go play now.” With a huge smile, and a little excited jump, Tanya skipped outside to join in the fun. It was heartwarming to see how the other children welcomed and included her. She fits right in, and many of the kids are picking up sign language and are able to communicate that way with Tanya.
We have recently been asked to accept a little blind girl into the school, and Veronica agreed to go to another class to learn how best to teach her. “It’s very difficult, and there’s a lot to learn,” Veronica shared, “but it’s wonderful to have the tools needed to teach these girls.”