Written by Tom and Mary Ellen, for Shawn's Member Spotlight for his Health Plan June 13, 2009
Thirteen year old Shawn loves to attend special classes at Kingman Middle School and receives additional after-school work with his DDD helper, Miss Aftin.
Shawn was a little over a year old when it became apparent that his development was delayed. Shawn was nearly two before he walked. At three, he began preschool and was diagnosed as Mildly Mentally Retarded. However, as the years went by, Shawn seemed to regress rapidly. It has since been discovered that, without medication, Shawn has constant seizures. Occasionally, these seizures can be observed, but most of the time they are internal.
Whenever Shawn and his Poppa get a chance to take pictures together, Shawn takes as many as he can, as quickly as he can. He’s actually pretty good, too! During a visit to the Phoenix Zoo, Shawn took a picture of a flamingo that earned a huge, yellow “Best of Class”ribbon in the Mohave County Fair, competing against normal-ability children. He sold his picture as well! His Poppa likes to tell people that he’s made more off of his one picture than Poppa’s made on every picture he’s ever sold—combined!
Shawn loves to sing and listen to music. As a matter of fact, Shawn learned to spell his name by singing it. Sunday morning church services are a special joy as Shawn joins in with the worship and praise music for all he’s worth. His sister and cousins take special care to help him in Youth Church, and everyone loves Shawn, “that cute kid in the hat who likes to sing.”
One of Shawn’s favorite friends is a professional entertainer, Earl Turner. Shawn has been going to his show since his seventh birthday, when he got to see Earl perform in a real resort showroom. Now, several shows later, Shawn gets recognized from the stage, and even gets handed the mike once in awhile. After one show, Shawn told Earl he wanted to sing on the stage. The show was over and the stagehands were setting up for the next show. “Everyone out of the way!” Earl shouted. “Shawn and I want the stage!” Earl cleared everyone off, and he and Shawn sang a song together and got lots of pictures taken. At the last show that Shawn went to, his sister, Alex, who had finally turned seven got to go. Shawn told Alex that she could be Earl’s friend, too, but that he was Shawn’s BEST friend.
Shawn loves to “read” using his Leap Frog Tag system. He’s read some of his electronic books dozens of times, and seldom misses any of the comprehension questions. He entertains himself at length and can recite several of the books from memory.
Shawn’s a sweet, loving child who is happy with his family, his school and his friends. His mom, Kat, says, “I’m the luckiest mom in the world! My son will always think that my dancing doesn’t look goofy and my singing’s always beautiful!”
 |
| Shawn with Earl Turner |
