LCHS Students Find Friendship Like a ‘BOSS’
Making friends as a toddler can be simple; swap a plastic toy and suddenly, you’re inseparable on the playground. Making lasting friendships in high school, however, is never as simple. Juggling homework and home life can lead to friendships taking a backseat. Making friends can be even more challenging for students with learning disabilities. For teacher Casey Sidebottom, there was a gap to be bridged. That’s how the Buddies of Special Students (BOSS) club came to be.
“I felt like my students needed more opportunities for inclusion outside of just being in general ed classes with their peers,” she said. “While attending classes is important, I wanted to create an opportunity for my students to formulate more meaningful friendships with others.”
Those meaningful friendships hold power — more than most people realize. UCLA clinical psychologist Daniel J Siegle noted that teenagers are genetically hardwired to look for company amongst peers. (This should also be a sigh of relief for parents of teens who don’t understand why they’re not “cool enough” anymore.) Social acceptance and rejection take up more brain space during teenage years than at any other point in our upbringing. Why? Because teenagers look for ways to prepare for leaving home, and they’re naturally inclined to look for people they can trust outside of their home environment.
One of the most important things we can do to help children mature is to give them the opportunity to make lifelong friends. For many students with learning disabilities, this is not an easy task. This need for acceptance and friendship goes for both neurotypical and atypical students — but the latter is a group often left out. Sidebottom said the BOSS club gives space to help close that gap.
“Establishing BOSS club has allowed that idea to come to fruition-they interact with their peers in a comfortable environment and get to focus on having fun together and finding commonalities,” she said.
Inclusive programs like BOSS speak to a much higher success rate in schools — sort of a “rising tide lifts all boats” scenario. Inclusive education systems provide a better quality of education for all children in a school system. It’s also instrumental in changing discriminatory attitudes, emphasizing respect and understanding when students of different abilities can hang out together.
“I have met some amazing kids through BOSS club!” Sidebottom said. “Three of our girls that graduated last year actually came back on the first day of school (their college move-in day) to say bye to the kids and wish them a good school year. Talk about heartwarming!”
For Sidebottom and administrators throughout the Bluegrass working with students with disabilities, the goal is simple: see the person.
“I hope that this club teaches students compassion and gives a little insight into just how amazing my students are and what they have to offer,” Sidebottom said.