Ghost Boy Case Study

Ghost Boy Martin Pistorius was diagnosed with a degenerative illness when he was 12 years old. He was unable to move or communicate. However, not many people knew that he was fully aware of the world around him. He described the time when his mother told him that she hoped for him to die. His mother was not aware that he understood it and fully regrets saying such a horrible comment. Martin still remembers that comment to this day. He also described how facilities that were supposed to care for him mistreated him verbally, emotionally, physically, and sexually. Any place that he went abuse was present. He either had it done to him or saw it happen to other people. Many of the caregivers that he had were great, but not all. As he grew older

You never know what a student with a disability’s full potential may be. They may be able to understand everything that is going on in the world but may not be able to show that they know, just like in Martin’s case. Teachers will also have to make sure that their colleagues are advocating for all students. If a teacher sees a colleague doing something wrong with a student then that teacher needs to step in to help the situation. It is my job to make sure that all teachers, whether they are in special education or not, understand that each student is an individual that can achieve great tasks. They will need to understand that we do not know if the student understands us or not, but let’s always assume so. That means watching what we say around them, what we do, and how we take care of them. Like the comment Martin’s mother made about wishing he would die, we do not know if a student would understand that or not. That comment from his mother stayed with him for years to come. I do not want to be that person that says something negative that will never get out of a student’s mind. I want to be the teacher that they remember as always being helpful and who always encouraged them to succeed. I will also have to watch out for other students in schools that could be picking on the disabled student. Hopefully this would not be a big problem, but there are many