The End of Bullying Begins With You

David, age 3, waiting to board the bus for preschool.

Inspiration

At age 3, David didn't walk; he scooted. He could sit on his behind and motor those crisscrossed legs across a wooden floor faster than most people could walk. Kids usually wear out the soles of their shoes, but not David – he wore holes in the seat of his pants and on the outside canvas of his high-tops, all the while keeping the triangle pattern on the bottom of his shoes completely intact.

Did I ever worry that he would walk? Sure. Did it ever make me sad? Of course. Most parents want more for their children, and I'm right there with them.

David, running the 200 meter dash.

That was 15 years ago.

Did David finally walk? He did. Before his next birthday, David was up on two legs and soon after that he starting running. In fact, by age 5, he loved speed so much that when I brought him to a store, he would run. He would race around the park. He would run during school – and not just during recess, but out the door of his classroom and through the halls. He constantly raced all over our house. When he ran, he not only smiled – he laughed out loud. His absolute joy and delight saved me from being frustrated that I had to continually chase him down and find him. As a middle-schooler he ran competitively on his school track team and he now runs with his Special Olympic team competing at a local and state level.

I share this story today on my 15th anniversary of working for PACER Center. At the same time that David starting walking, I first walked the halls of our offices. As a disability advocacy organization, we promote hiring parents of children with disabilities, and like so many of my colleagues, I have been inspired by the unique life experience of raising of a child with a disability.

It is my hope that I can continue to look at the world through the same lens as David and to always remember one of the many lessons that he taught me: It may take a while to learn how to walk, but when you do, you might start running – and you should always remember to do it with joy.