Part of our ministry is working at Escuela Las Rosas, a special needs school which works with kids of all different levels and abilities. If you’re not able to function in a classroom of 40 kids with one teacher, you will likely end up in a special needs school here. Our students here have a range of disabilities from autism, Down’s syndrome or other developmental disabilities to emotional/behavioral issues (likely stemming from trauma/abuse in the home). The classroom my teammate Bry and I volunteer in has the youngest students in the school with 6 children ages 5-9. Our teacher’s name is Daniela and she is an angel from God for these children. If you’re familiar with the movie Matilda, she is the Chilean version of Miss Honey. SPED kids are tough, even more so when they’re living in poverty and rough neighborhoods. But Daniela is the most kind, patient, and loving teacher you could imagine.
Considering Escuela Las Rosas is established in a very poor neighborhood they have very few resources to work with the children. Due to the cognitive delays and level of care these kids need, there is little formal instruction. Most of the activities are hands on learning experiences or life skills such as cooking or sewing. For the younger kids in my classroom this mostly looks like play. There are no iPads or Smartboards in this classroom. However, the engagement and connection runs deeper than I think any use of technology would offer. One day the PE teacher handed Bry and I a large piece of old silky, blue fabric and asked us to cut it into smaller, rectangular pieces. Once we had cut all of the pieces, each student was handed one and the blue fabric magically transformed into different props for play. It became a hat, a blanket, a sheet to entice bulls to run through, but best of all it became the cape of a superhero. The rest of the week we saw those pieces of blue fabric being used in each classroom. During recess different superheroes would appear each day with that signature blue cape. It was amazing to see how old blue fabric could be transformed into such a connective, joy-inducing activity.
Although the school has few resources/toys and most of them quite old and rundown, they facilitate some of the best play and laughs I’ve been apart of. I think because there is a lack of technology and high-tech resources it forces creativity and deeper level of engagement with the kids. Which is exactly what these kids need!! They don’t need a fancy iPad to play educational games on. They need a loving, committed teacher to relationally engage and connect with them and teach them how to interact with the world around them. Rather than a PowerPoint presentation, our teacher told a story with printed pages and gave out smaller versions for the students to create a timeline of the action. We made our own Play-Doh with flour, water, and food coloring. (It was a mild disaster with sticky flour EVERYWHERE). We traced letters and shapes with markers on laminated pieces of paper. We made a train out of all the chairs in the classroom. We danced to Bajo Del Mar (Under the Sea) and used yoga mats as the sea. We stacked old peach, aluminum cans and knocked them over with balls. We played with puppets made from old socks. But all these things came alive incited laughter and joy for the kids, teacher, and myself.
One of the unfortunate aspects of the lack of resources is the cheap, processed foods they offer as snacks. I’m not certain if it’s the parents that send the snacks or the school who provides them, but after our first morning recess we have snack time. Each student is given a juice box with something like Kool-aid and a package of cookies and/or crackers. Sometimes there is yogurt or a banana, but mostly it’s packages of different varieties of cookies. In Chile in an effort to educate the public on the harmful effects of unhealthy processed food, they put labels on each food item declaring the feature to be aware of. High in sugars, high in calories, high in saturated fats, etc. Some items will have 1-4 of these little black, triangular shaped stickers on it. However, this food is much cheaper and the kids enjoy it and will actually eat it. It seems like the easy, obvious option. But if you’ve done any research, kids with special needs, especially autism, function much better on a whole foods diet (just as everyone does). The sugary snacks also do not help with their regulation and behavior in the classroom. I recognize it’s the easiest, most cost effective option, but it makes me sad for them.
Most of the kids in our classroom have developmental delays I would guess stem from autism. One or maybe two of the kids struggle with emotional regulation as the primary presenting issue from early developmental trauma. One student in particular is the challenge of the entire school. On our first day we see the teacher pull out a child’s sized, green, dragon costume. The 5 year old child eagerly donned the dragon disguise and began to howl, run around, and pretend to breathe fire. Little did I know that this costume was a metaphor for his life and personality. He shall henceforth be referred to as “el dragon” (drag-own). El dragon is quite the handful in the classroom. Extremely bright, no obvious developmental delays other than emotional. Very similar to the Calo kids I work with he has zero tolerance for frustration and cannot self-soothe or regulate his emotions. Meaning as soon as el dragon doesn’t get something he wants, he flips his lid and begins screaming, hitting, flipping chairs, spitting, ripping paper, etc.
God again clearly ordained our work here and specifically put me in this classroom to work with el dragon. My work with tough kids with developmental trauma at Calo perfectly prepared me for this. I can look past the behaviors and imagine what he’s experienced that’s driving them. The first day Daniela clearly communicated to us to keep eyes on el dragon, insinuating he’s sneaky and a handful. She also said something about him having a bad home life (exactly as I had figured). Straightaway there would be instances where el dragon wouldn’t get the snack he wanted or couldn’t play with toys he wanted in that moment. The instant he was told no, he lost his mind. A scowl tore across his face as he’d knock over the closest chair and tear to destroy anything next to him. If the conflict involved any classmate, he’d rush to push, kick, or hit them. Pulling him away or restraining him transferred his anger and aggression towards you. Kick, scream, hit, spit, bite. Coming from a 5-year old it’s not too difficult to hold him and keep yourself and him safe, however he’s pretty squirmy. When retrieving him from the playground area to return him to class, I’ve gotten bit twice by him to the extent they bruised or broke skin.
Not that there’s a lot you can do to effectively manage behaviors with special needs students, but I feel good about the way the staff there handle the children. They seek to understand the situation and the reasons driving the behavior. They care for each child affected, even if just a quick check-in. But they provide intense commitment and acceptance for the child. There will be natural consequences and expectations to meet, but there isn’t outright punishment. Daniela perfectly meets el dragon where he’s at. She will always chase after him or hold a boundary she has set with him. She has worked diligently to develop a trusting relationship with him. During a meltdown she will keep herself, other students and himself safe until he’s able to calm down. Numerous times I’ve witnessed her gentle demeanor and curiosity redirect el dragon. She miraculously soothes his inner rage and fury until he melts into her arms and allows her to hold him. She will endure the screaming, block his small fists, and deflect his spit with her hand. When Bry and I were complimenting her impressive work with these kids, she replied that she simply imagines each kid as her own and that’s what motivates her.
I’ve found myself doing the same thing. It can be difficult to find the motivation and drive to endure the chaos of the classroom and the rage of el dragon. It helps to imagine el dragon as the pre-school versions of some of the kids I worked with at Calo. I already have the established love and relationship to endure soothing the fury for my Calo kids and imagining that helps me transfer that to el dragon. These kids who have endured so much are worthy of that. They’re worth the exhaustion and stress. I don’t want to be another caregiver to give in and give up. I want to go the distance and show them the depth of Christ’s life for them. Is that not what God does for us each and every time? We rebel, we fight, we kick and scream, yet Christ never leaves our side through the chaos. He picks us up until we melt into His arms.
Maybe volunteering in a special needs school isn’t exactly what I pictured ministry or being a missionary would look like. However, I’m confident that my connections and commitment in that classroom could be the closest example of the love of Christ el dragon ever experiences. I’m an image bearer for Christ there. Loving those who may be more challenging to love and understand.
Please continue to keep me in your prayers! I also invite you to pray for el dragon and the other kids, families, and teachers at Escuela Las Rosas. I will be making a video including clips and photos of our work in the school in the future, which I will post here. Stay tuned and pray for strong WiFi!
