Teacher's Special Education Program MOVEs Kids Ahead

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains.

Story written by Katharine Blossom Lowrie.

In 1971, Gloria Osorio began working as an assistant at Charles Leroy Lowman Special Education Center, a school for the disabled in North Hollywood. Inspired by the students at the school, eager to help them, she attended Los Angeles Valley College at night, finally earning her teaching credential in 1994. 

As fate would have it, Gloria, who married in 1977, had a son, Patrick, who turned out to be severely disabled. At the age of 3, Patrick became a student at Lowman and attended until he was 22 years old. He currently lives with his parents in their home in San Fernando. A nurse tends to him during the day so Gloria can work.

Something of a legend at Lowman, Gloria, 60, runs Mobility Opportunity Via Education (MOVE), a program that is activity-based and keeps the students moving, standing and walking. 

As she has said in the past, "We're not big on keeping kids in their wheelchairs. We want them to have a life, because if you have movement, even if you can't talk, you have a life." 

She also holds a weekly beauty salon for female students, and even arranged through the Art of Elysium charity to bring in professional makeup and hair stylists. Top among her priorities is getting students to participate in as joyful life as possible. That includes encouraging things like oral feeding, one of the tasks she was once led to believe was impossible for her son.

Here, Gloria shares the most challenging parts of dealing with the disabled.

Q. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve taken on? or, What's a goal you're trying to achieve right now?  My biggest challenge has been the belief that the severely disabled — if supported properly — are able to participate in the basic activities of life, simple tasks like clearing one’s throat, breathing comfortably, and eating orally. 

Even when these people are said to be "too medically fragile" to accomplish such things, it is my belief that the body wants to heal itself and that belief causes me to always work toward that end.  As a teacher, I feel that we need to realistically assess our students' needs, but strive to get them to the next level, regardless of their apparent limits.

Q. What inspired you to take on this challenge?  or, How do you plan to achieve this goal? I was inspired initially by my many students at Charles Leroy Lowman Special Education Center. Because so many required the support of suctioning and breathing devices, not to mention feeding tubes, I knew this would gravely complicate their ability to participate in a multitude of social events, certainly in any type of eating/dining situation, which is how most of us interact with loved ones. 

Then my firstborn son came into the world disabled and had many of the same issues as my students. Most important to me was his comfort and, if possible, feeding him orally. Because of his inability to keep his body and head upright, we eventually had to resort to support devices, but I was able to feed him, and he entered the Lowman Center at age 3. 

After graduating at 22, we wanted to enroll him in a adult day program in the community. I found one, but there were many concerns because of Patrick's seizures and eating problems, which necessitated an adult holding his head in proper alignment in order for him to swallow properly. Because of this, they ordered a swallow study, which he failed miserably. They insisted he be fed through a feeding tube. When I asked if I could feed him, I was told it wouldn't make any difference. Since I had been feeding him orally for 22 years, I wondered why he wasn't dead by now. Fortunately, Patrick’s doctor was supportive of my choice to continue feeding him as I always had. 

Q. Did you succeed? My son is now 34 years old and still eating orally. Does he eat perfectly or independently? No. But it is a pleasure to feed him and know how much he enjoys real food. I also have been blessed by knowing so many teachers and people who view the disabled as able human beings. They continue to teach forward, always with caution, of course, but forward nonetheless.