Casey Rohrer, an 8-year-old Hermosa Valley School student with cerebral palsy, has won a trip to the “ultra-accessible” Morgan’s Wonderland theme park in San Antonio, Texas, as second runner-up in an online contest by the networking resource weareteachers.com.
Casey’s finish in the contest, which includes his high ranking in online votes, also earned as much as $1,600 worth of educational equipment for his school.
Thanks to Casey, he and his family win a two-day trip to the 25-acre park, built specially for adults and kids with special needs, plus airfare and hotel accommodations.
Nearly 250 teachers nominated a student and his or her family, and WeAreTeachers was flooded with more than 56,000 votes in three weeks.
A panel of judges reviewed the top 10 vote getters, and selected the grand prize winner and runners-up.
Casey, a Valley third grader with “a genuine smile and infectious laugh,” is unable to speak or walk unaided. He uses a Tobii C12 communication device to access his academic subjects on pages, take spelling tests, “read aloud,” and take part in classroom discussions.
“Thanks to Casey, the students and staff at our school have developed an enhanced sense of empathy and understanding about his disability by learning to interact and involve him as they would any other child at school,” said the school’s Jeannine Madden, who nominated Casey for the contest.
Casey’s entry was featured on easyreadernews.com last month while the voting was under way.
“Casey’s mom, dad, younger brother and extended family are incredibly supportive of his participation in the many different activities children living without disabilities do every day,” said Madden in her nomination papers for Casey.
“They work tirelessly to involve him in activities with his peers including playing on a baseball team, attending summer camps, birthday parties, and many day and weekend trips where he can experience the world,” Madden wrote.
“Casey and his family are proof that just because a child has a disability, even one that precludes him from communicating on his own and moving about on his own, they can still experience all that life has to offer. This continual and positive exposure will help Casey find his place in the world.” ER
