This year, it is very easy to find news about schools, and other organizations, that held proms specifically for the students who had special needs. The purpose is to create a special night for the students who typically don’t end up going to their prom. The events in this blog have already happened. However, parents might want to keep them in mind for when their child is old enough to go to prom.
In Tennessee, the Collierville High School hosted a prom for special-needs students with mental or physical disabilities. They started doing this in 2008. The students plan the event. This year, they selected a Mardi Gras theme. The students bake cookies and sell them in the school lunchroom to raise funds for the prom. More than 50 volunteers helped with this, and almost 75 volunteers showed up to act as dance partners, or to help wherever they were needed.
In Charleston, West Virginia, a non-profit organization called Dream Makers reached out to various celebrities in order to gather donations of gowns, shoes, and accessories that can be worn by students who could not afford to buy what they need to wear in order to attend prom. Jennifer Lopez donated five lovely prom dresses to the cause. One of those dresses was worn by a special needs student who was going to her high school prom.
In Bellevue, Kentucky, ten students who have special needs, and who were seniors, attended their prom with the rest of the school. Ten peer tutors accompanied them as their dates. The purpose was to make a memorable night for the special needs students.
In Cleburne, Texas, special needs students from seven different schools enjoyed their very own prom. It was sponsored by the Cleburne Elks Lodge. The prom was for special needs high school students in their teens and early twenties. The theme was “Up, Up and Away”.
It was made possible the Promise Grant, which is from the Elks National Foundation. The Elks want to provide the same grant next year, too. Students from a functional living class attended. Some have severe and profound cases of mental and physical disabilities, and some are non-verbal.
In Texas, a mom decided to go all out in campaigning to have her daughter, Brandy, elected prom queen. Brandy was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy from the waist down at age three.
Brandy’s mother had a billboard made that asked students to vote for Brandy for prom queen. The mom also made homemade fliers and hung them up at her daughter’s high school and at local businesses. The campaign did not work, and Brandy got teased about the billboard. She is still going to prom, even though she won’t be crowned queen.
Image by Kate Borkowski on Flickr