Of dancing the cha-cha and more

"Charles is dancing the cha-cha!"

All the other teachers dropped what they were doing and rushed towards the classroom where Charles was dancing. Everybody was excited!

One wonders why a 12-year-old boy dancing the cha-cha is such a big deal. But, Charles is no ordinary boy.

Charles was diagnosed as having seizure disorder when he was two-and-a-half years old. Prognosis was rather bleak and the neurologist said that there was a possibility that Charles might never learn to speak or walk.

Charles went to special schools and even for one-on-one special education tutorials — unable to attend school regularly because of his seizures.

Over a year ago, Charles had a severe attack. Miraculously, he recovered and his seizures have lessened. In fact, for most part of the year, he did not experience any seizure during his waking hours.

When Charles first came to Maryridge School last year, he had difficulty walking by himself and had to be assisted by two yayas. His attention span was very short. He was disruptive and even tended to be violent. He would grab a classmate’s notebook and tear off its pages. There was a time that he hit his teacher for no apparent reason.

Maryridge School offers a conducive environment for children like Charles. The school has a pre-vocational program for adolescents with special needs including those for whom regular secondary education is no longer an option. Students are taught functional literacy and numeracy skills but are also trained in practical life skills and pre-vocational skills. Part of the students’ routine is to perform household chores like cleaning, washing and cooking. They go to the supermarket to buy groceries, prepare snack food and sell these to their schoolmates and teachers. They are also taught gardening and a variety of arts and crafts activities. He also has lessons in music, dance and drama.

"Charles is more orderly now. He performs simple household chores and reminds everybody about their duties and responsibilities," Charles’ mom says. "He also has more discipline. Charles has lost some weight because he takes walks everyday. And he no longer complains when I tell him not to eat too much."

Today, Charles doesn’t need much assistance while walking or performing his tasks. He can even dance the cha-cha!

Truly, Charles is proof that miracles happen everyday.

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Maryridge School offers classes for pre-vocational classes for pre-adolescent special children. It is also open to functional and verbal children who have been diagnoseed with autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), global delay and other disabilities in reading, writing and learning. For inquiries, call 829-18-71. Maryridge School is located at 64 F. Cruz St., BF Homes, Parañaque, beside the Presentation of the Child Jesus Church along Aguirre Ave.