Most of you have experienced a change in thinking about people with disabilities as you've read this novel. Describe how your thinking has changed about people with disabilities, and the idea of disability in general. Min. 100 words.
My thoughts on disabilities are that people with disabilities aren’t that different at all they are normal humans too just not able to do some things us “regular” people can do its not much of a difference between us and them but what I don’t understand is that some people don’t like people with disabilities they can still get along with others and become friends but some people don’t really realize that which probably makes them lonely because they barely have any friends and also sad that everyone stares at them because first of all are disabled and second of all being helped from helpers. I think they should also be treated like a real human than just a baby.
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Brandon
11/5/2013 07:40:46 am
my thinking of disabled people now is that i can understand how they feel and how they sort of see the world. Like you don't have a treat a disabled person like a baby. You don't have to be like YAY YOU DID IT!!! gold star for you jimmy, nothing like that. I think that disabled people are normal people but just special in a way. Like Stephen Hawking no one thought of him as a dumb person because he wasn't born like that. Everyone thought he was normal but just couldn't move. So i think that disabled people are like normal people but just unable to do things in a specific way. Maybe it might have a to be a bit easier or a bit less complicated. This is my idea of the concept of disability
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karan
11/5/2013 08:51:36 am
I think people are disability can be like us to. Some people are better than others. It's like Melody she is very smart, some are very athletic. Disability kid can become like us but they would need special tools to help them carry a good life. Melody is almost like her friends she can talk form her lap top and she can walk from her electric it wheelchair. I bet at the end of the story Melody come talk and walk with her friends and family members.
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Aaron W
11/5/2013 08:52:11 am
Before, I think that people with disabilities are all weird, so or does weird thing and being sent to room H5. And also there’s nothing exciting there, that making snowmen are a big thing and people with disabilities can’t make friends with people who don’t have disabilities like when Melody meeting Rose was a really big honnor at the beginning of the book. But now I think that people with disabilities should be treated the same way as people without disabilities because they can be the same in another way an example is in the competition Melody got about the same right answers as the other people.
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arman !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! arman !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11/5/2013 09:23:29 am
I think people who are disabled could actually make a difference in our lives. I used to feel scared and bad for kids who were disabled, because they did probably have greatness in them but just couldn't show it. Melody has encouraged me a lot from her smartness and her "words" off the medi talker. At first when I heard about Melody I kind of got bored and didn't want to hear the story anymore. Now I just feel proud for Melody. I feel proud for Melody because of her great skills on trying not to give up. In the first few chapters I felt some transforming on Melody with her great skills and how she worked her way through without giving up. Melody has encouraged me on thinking that she is great and wouldn't give up. I now learn even if you are disabled never give up and keep on trying. Be smart and if someone bothers you or makes fun of you just ignore them. If you can talk ,move, etc. Help them "disabled ones". I transformed the feelings and want to meet Melody for a change.
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GURVIR
11/5/2013 09:27:49 am
By reading this book, overtime my thinking has changed because I always used to think that disabled people are never going to be smart or that disabled people are nothing. Bur after reading this book my thoughts changed if a flash. My thoughts changed because after hearing that Melody made the wiz quiz team and got the highest mark out of everyone, that proved to me that Melody is smarter than me and disabled people are not nothing. In general, I think if your disabled your life isn't over because Stephen Hawking was disabled and he still became a scientist. So to me in my opinion, disability is nothing.
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Alysha
11/5/2013 09:33:26 am
How my thinking has changed about people with disabilities is that when people are disabled they have it for their rest of their life. Disable kids cant do much with their lives, but we can. Disability comes when your born and it never finishes and just keeps going till the end of your life. People have disabilities and they can change but some can't if their disability is to strong and unable to heal or make it go away.79 There are alot of disabled people in this world but no one can do anything about it or help the cause.
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maggie
11/5/2013 09:51:33 am
I think that when people with disabilities is that smart it is awesome. It is hard when you can't talk because you will think about a lot of things but you can't talk to people with your real voice you have to talk with the tablet.Then but once your on a national team people will like you. I would wonder what they are thinking of me and other people.And what would I do for my first impression and so I don't embarrass myself in front of the disabilities person and i would play with them and sit with her or him and also present him or her.
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Vickram Dhillon
11/5/2013 10:04:02 am
My thinking about people with disabilities has changed because before I used to think of them as not knowing much and because they need assistance from teachers,etc, but now what melody can do, I think of disabled people as very smart, intelligent and capable. People say never judge a book by its cover and I think that goes the same for disabled people because even though they don't look like the rest of us, they are more capable of accomplishing and focusing unlike "normal people". This book changed my views on people with disabilities in a very positive manner because now I know what they go through and what they can do for the world.
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Jovan
11/5/2013 10:06:10 am
My thoughts about disabled people have changed greatly. At first, whenever I saw a disabled person, I thought only about what happened to them, and nothing more. Now, when I see a disabled person, I think about how he/she must be feeling, how intelligent they are, and why most people stare at and treat disabled people like an outcast. The idea of disability is just that. An idea. Just because somebody is 'disabled' doesn't mean their mind is, or that they consider themselves disabled. Nobody is disabled. It's just a name somebody gave people who are born 'different', or caught a disease and couldn't function properly. In my mind, everybody is able.
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Anthony
11/5/2013 10:08:46 am
Before I read the novel I thought that disabled people couldn’t think and learn as well as other people and didn’t have much going on in their mind because their mind was limited. When I read the book my thought changed because Melody, even though she was disabled she was able to keep up with all the “regular” students and be as smart if not smarter than them. Melody’s mind was filled with many things after and before she was able to speak from a machine, everything she thought about and wanted to say was in her mind just waiting to be heard. I think disabilities make it unfair for the person who is disabled, unlike everybody else who can eat food by themselves disabled people like Melody can’t do what the “regular” kids do and they have to be fed like a child even if they are 10 to over 80 years old.
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Harman
11/5/2013 10:16:22 am
My thinking changed about people that are disabled has changed. Now I think of them to be unique. They don’t give up and they will always try to do something they cannot do. For example: Melody wanted to express her thoughts and she wanted to talk to people too. Now she can but Not from her mouth but through a computer. I now think that disabled people should be respected more in schools and in public. They should not feel like they are different from other people. All people are equal. None are the best and none are the worst. Everyone is unique in their own ways.
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Sufyan
11/5/2013 11:31:18 am
Some people with "Disabilities" such as Melody aren't disabled because they have abilities and my thoughts transformed because I thought that people who were disabled weren't very talented or smart and Melody proved us wrong by being the smartest kid in her whole school. I thought that people with disabilities didn't have feelings and they weren't able to understand things, but now I think otherwise because of the novel.
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Navraj
11/5/2013 01:05:43 pm
Before, I used to think that if a person couldn't use a body part properly, they couldn't think properly, they wouldn't care if they were ignored, and I thought that they were straight up stupid. But I was wrong. Now I realized, it doesn't matter if you have working body parts or not. Every one is smart, in their own way. You could be smart while playing video games, while playing sports, or even be smart while goofing off. The same goes for people with disabilities. They are smart too, but they just can't show it like us. So the world better understand and stop treating those poor people like outcasts, and everyone should stop calling them disabled people! They are regular people with a gift. And everyone should stop discriminating those people.
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Divya
11/5/2013 01:20:59 pm
Before I read this book I felt sorry for the disabled kids and how they can't play, jump around and walk or talk very well. I also thought that they couldn't do anything by themselves. My thinking has changed about people with disabilities because now I know that they can do many things like us. They can ride on modified wheelchairs, use special computers and participate in some sports activities at school or in a competitive league. They also compete in the Special Olympics, which happen at the same time as the regular Olympics. They also receive actual gold, silver and bronze medals.
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Sanam
11/5/2013 01:41:56 pm
Disability means that you are not able to do anything physically. My thinking of people with disabilities has changed drastically. At first I thought that people with disabilities aren't able to do anything in any way. But now my thoughts have changed since we started reading this book. People with disabilities maybe can't walk, talk, or move but the thoughts that they have are more brilliant then our thoughts. People with disabilities are very smart. Even though they aren't capable of showing anything physically they can do it in their brain and show it by somehow communicating to the other person.
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Riya
11/5/2013 01:57:18 pm
I used to think that disabled people couldn't do very much. It depends how they were disabled, like if they were in a wheel chair, paralyzed, mentally disabled, etc. I used to think that they weren't able to do almost anything. Now, I think pretty differently about people with disabilities. It has changed because of melody, all thanks to melody. At the beginning melody seemed just like a helpless little girl, but as we read through the book, that has changed. Because even though melody is disabled, she still is mentally intelligent. Melody got to be in her schools quiz team, and she even won and gets to go to Washington D.C. That basically proves that melody isn't just a disabled girl, she is intelligent and can accomplish things. I used to think people with disabilities are different than what's called "regular" people, but now I think that they are just like anybody else but slightly different, maybe even better like melody. Disability just means without ability. If a person is disabled, that just means they don't have the ability to so something, that doesn't mean they're much different from anyone else. I am very proud of melody for doing what she's doing especially because it's hard for her to do it.
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John Banga-Banga
11/5/2013 02:04:14 pm
Before I used to think Melody/Disabled people cant store information in there head. Now I see what Melody has gone through people making fun of her saying her computer is giving her answers, all the disabled kids had to stay in a group of all the disabled kids and I wonder if they all want to be together they have feelings. Girls make fun of Melody and teachers think she can't do things but now she showed everybody. She may not notice this but the way she is getting good marks to me feels like just because you are disabled does not mean you can't accomplish things.
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Chris
11/5/2013 02:13:15 pm
I use to think that special people were retards, nothing from God except his leftover pieces to forge others, but now what I thought was stupid thinking we were better and more developed than idiots like them. I was wrong. After listening to this extraordinary book that we are still reading changes my whole perspective on disabled. I learned that special people are just human beings like everyone else who just need some help and encouragement on the way of life. I was foolish like that and it was just plain rude on what I always thought that we were like super humans and they was just stupid. It turns out that we are all the same and was all created who all of us were created as equals, not different. I believe that disability is just another word for encourage or help along the way and that's what makes us the same because we can be independent but can need help at the same time.
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Gurkaran
11/5/2013 02:17:32 pm
Before I read this book I thought disabled people couldn't do everything a normal person could do and that they wernt that smart. Now that I have read the book I now thats completely wrong. Just because someone cant use their whole body doesnt mean they they cant use their brain. Melody is very intelligent and has many thought she wants to share. Also Melody may not be able to do everything "normal" kids can do but that doesnt make it a bad thing. Reading this book has showed me that disabled people arent stupid and that they feelings too.
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Karmin
11/5/2013 02:20:42 pm
Many people, without realizing it, hold prejudices about disabled people, such as misjudging a person’s abilities. Another example is the making of unjustified assumptions about someone’s quality of life. During the course of the book my thoughts about disabled people have definitely changed. Like many others, I did as well underestimate the disabled to some extent. In reality, we all do. Seeing Melody overcome significant challenges and lead to a pathway of achievements has really astonished me. At first the novel got me thinking that Melody is living such a harsh life and the experiences she talks about are pitiful. It had been stated her body was stiff and uncooperative, which had forced her to use a wheelchair. Her mind works well, but she cannot speak. She cannot express her thoughts and opinions, even to her parents. Hence Melody has to fight to get what she wants. Melody had a bad teacher named Mrs. Billups, who takes six months to review the alphabet with the students and plays baby songs each morning. One day, having had enough of Mrs. Billups’ routines, Melody had a tornado explosion that caused the other students become unruly. Mrs. Billups calls Melody’s mother, who tells Mrs. Billups what Melody is able and unable to do and tells her that Melody being unable to express how she felt about the repetitive routine had no other choice but to behave in this manner. Eventually, Melody is given a computer that helps her speak and communicate in a regular fifth grade class. Melody then earns her way into participating in a trivia competition. Now I feel that you should look at the abilities of a person, rather than their disabilities. I have also seen that kids with disabilities are just like their peers. They want to be accepted, to have friends, to be included in the social life of the school. Melody faces the pain of being ignored and overlooked and may not have all the abilities that we have but that doesn’t mean Melody doesn’t have feelings and hopes. The novel reminded me of the humanity we all have inside of us. We all are able to accept ones differences, but we choose not to. I feel that all human beings are more alike than different. I never thought of seeing myself in that wheelchair and thought of how it would feel when everybody looked at me differently, like I was the odd one out. Trust me that thought would not conclude with a happy ending. Melody simply wants a friend. She longs to be like the other kids at her school. She is overjoyed when it looks like Rose will be that friend. It hurts and angers her when kids like Clair and Molly make fun of her. And it devastates her when she realizes she’d been left behind on purpose. I think the portrayal of the children, and the teachers in the story as well, give a realistic portrayal of the reality of how people treat the disabled in social situations. From the people in the mall, to the doctors who should know better, human beings are often unkind, sometimes rude, but you should never look at the negative aspects of anything whether it is a painting on the wall or the front cover of a magazine, you should always look at the bright side of things. Instead of thinking of the disabled as unable, I see them as equal and able to do anything. Some may climb a mountain with no legs and others with two. The point is someone who has challenged the odds; despite his/her disability was able to do the incredible. Even someone who is able-bodied faces challenges and some disabled people do as well. Why are disabled people judged more than able-bodied?
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Livia
11/5/2013 02:40:13 pm
This novel called “Out of My Mind” which is about a girl named Melody who is unfortunately not able to walk so, she has to use a wheelchair and can’t communicate unless she uses her communicating board. Melody has changed my perspective of disabled people because before I just felt sorry that they do some embarrassing uncontrollable thing, they have a limit of what they can do physically, how they needed more help in some areas, and how they have to be taken care of by another. Now my perspective has changed, I have learned what emotions and thoughts that runs through Melody’s head. Like how they are embarrassed on some things they consider embarrassing that they can’t help doing in front of other people (for example Melody’s uncontrollable drooling) before I thought they didn’t really care or realized they do these uncontrollable things. I have also learned that they don’t like taken cared because they don’t like to be “babied” which I was very surprised because I before also thought that they don’t really minded it that much. I also realized how they get frustrated that they can’t just do what they want to do. My perspective in disabled people in general is that they are relatable to us because we aren’t perfect so we all have some things that we are not able to do, we all have embarrassing moments, and some frustrating moments when we aren’t able to do something. So overall my thought about disabled people is that they are just like all of us and we aren’t so different after all.
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Ria
11/5/2013 03:14:47 pm
My thoughts about people with disabilities is that they are special people that needs special care and love. Some disabled people are capable of doing things on their own and some are not. We need to help them, support them, and make them feel accepted. We shouldn't treat them differently and we should also respect them. There are a lot of people with disabilities that are very intelligent like Stephen Hawking and Helen Keller. We also shouldn't bully anyone, especially those with disabilities. Sometimes there are people with disabilities that are not even noticeable. We need to treat everyone equally and how we want to be treated.
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