Students with cerebral palsy graduate from elementary school

The graduation march played as pupils from the P. Gomez Elementary School in Manila went on stage. Although eighteen-year-old student Sarah Lunas could not hear the iconic march playing in the background, she proudly walked to get her diploma as the rest of the graduating batch gave her a warm round of applause.   Sarah was one of the students afflicted with cerebral palsy who graduated from this elementary school on Wednesday. Bebelyn Nesperos, Sarah’s teacher in special education (SpEd), commended the student for her dedication.   “’Yung ibang batang walang kapansanan, tamad gumawa ng assignment. Makikita mo talaga sa kanila ‘yung kagustuhan nilang mag-aral,” Nesperos said in a television interview aired in “Balitanghali” on Wednesday.   Parental support Through sign language, Sarah said she wants to follow her teacher’s footsteps, so that she too may be able to teach students with special needs.   The medical website MayoClinic.com describes cerebral palsy as “a disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture that is caused by injury or abnormal development in the immature brain, most often before birth.”   Nineteen-year-old Eiji Cruz, who also has cerebral palsy, meanwhile, could not hold back his tears when he talked about how he waited for 14 years to finish elementary school.   “Tiyaga, sipag at saya ng pag-aaral. Hindi ako nagsisisi na nangyari sa akin iyon. Handa akong maghirap pa para maabot ang pangarap ko,” he said.   For Eiji to be able to do this, Nesperos said his parents should always support him.   “Para sa mga magulang na may anak na may kapansanan, ipagpatuloy niyong mangarap para sa kanila at ilagay ninyo sa inyong isipan na hindi hadlang ang kapansanan para sila ay mabuhay ng normal at maging maunlad sa darating na panahon,” she said. —With Andreo Calonzo/VS, GMA News