Disabilities advocate speaks to Broadwater Elementary students in Helena

Mar. 22—Broadwater Elementary School hosted a disabilities advocate on Thursday who spoke to a second grade class about the importance of understanding disabilities during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

Theresa Gardner, 49, spoke to Gabe Furshong's class, where students prepared questions and had an opportunity to learn about disabilities.

Gardner was diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy at 15 months old and said she has never let he disability define her.

Growing up, she faced bullying from other students in her classes, but did not let it get to her and understood that she was born that way.

This is for people to be aware and learn about disabilities, Furshong said to the class.

In 1977, Furshong's father taught Gardner in preschool at 3 years old in 1977. She graduated from Helena High School in 1994.

During the discussion, she said she was grateful to speak to the class and the others she has advocated in over the years. Since she was little she said she always wanted to help people with disabilities, while informing others in the community about the issue.

Gardner received her first wheelchair at 3 years old and got a power chair at 8, which she loved to go fast in.

She said her current chair hits a top speed of 6 1/2 mph on pavement, but her wheelchair was always seen as a part of her body.

The first time she had a power chair she ran the battery down to zero because she was excited she did not have to ask others for help to push her around.

When she was in school her teachers would tell their students to not touch the chair unless they were invited to.

In first grade, her teacher set up a program where students would help Gardner get around to wherever she needed to be in the school. Before her schools had elevators some of her teachers would carry her up and down the stairs making sure she made it to class and activities.

She told the students in the class at Broadwater that it is OK to ask why someone is in a wheelchair because in her opinion that is better than assuming and not understanding.

Gardner emphasized that it is always OK to make friends with other kids who have a disability and they should never be afraid to say hello.

"Just because someone has a disability does not mean you have to shy away ... it's not contagious," Gardner said.

She has worked at Ability Montana for 28 years, answering phones and helping other people with disabilities find the resources they need to live their lives the best they can.

She speaks at the state Legislature as an advocate for programs that support people with disabilities like Medicaid, because without that she could not get the help she needs to live her life like many others, she said.

About 40 students shot their hands in the air to ask questions and one student asked, "How does it feel to be in the chair?"

Gardner said sometimes she feels imprisoned in her body because she can't do things she would like to do. But her mother told her growing up to never say she can't do something unless she has tried it before.

Students asked "How do you drive, how did you play and can you go in the water?"

Gardner answered all of the students' questions and told them she was getting a new wheelchair on Friday when they asked more about how the chair worked.

Gardner and the class finished with the class's version of a thank you with a "narwhal handshake" as they all exited for recess.

Her visit coincided with Gov. Greg Gianforte's signing of a proclamation on March 19 declaring March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

"Disability is a natural part of the human experience that does not diminish the rights or potential of individuals with developmental disabilities to live independently and to fully participate in and contribute to their communities," the governor stated in a proclamation.

Sonny Tapia is a criminal justice and education reporter for the Helena Independent Record.

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