eSpecially Ben

You’ll have to use your imagination for this football game. Too many kids in this video for me to post publicly. Scene: Ben and his class were invited to participate in a field day called, “Victory Day,” at another local high school. Ben was given a yellow shirt to wear for the day. Action: The teams are in formation to hike the ball. Ben gets the handoff. A teammate is ready to roll Ben down the field while his teammates block the opposing players. One player leaps at Ben but misses; Ben is rolling too fast down the field. Ben fumbles the ball but a teammate quickly retrieves it and puts it back in his hands. The announcer yells, “He’s in the end zone!” The players cheer! Note: Students' faces are blocked to protect privacy.

Hello, my name is Kynna Burney. I met Ben my 7th grade year of middle school in gym class where we were able to pick our peer buddies for the year.  In the gym class we were picking our buddies. Everyone was going for Ben but Ben wasn’t going for them. Finally, when it was my turn, I went for Ben and he immediately lightened up and was extremely happy. He is nonverbal, so he started getting loud, almost like a scream, and flapping those hands letting them know he wanted me. It was like we were meant to be.  Everyone was surprised as to why all of a sudden he was so happy to be with me because when I tell you he had a mean face on the whole time (LOL) but as soon as I started towards him that frown turned upside down. It was like he had me already picked from the time he saw us lining up. He was just waiting for me to come over. From that day, I continued to visit him in school and go on field trips with him. Our bond just kept getting stronger by the minute and even once we left middle