Kaelyn attended the school’s Trunk-or-Treat celebration dressed as the princess angel she had wanted to be (AI image)
A group of 25 eighth-grade students at her school came up with a solution that allowed her to take part in the celebrations exactly as she had imagined. Their work was completed in time for the school’s annual Trunk-or-Treat event on October 10. On October 10, Kaelyn attended the school’s Trunk-or-Treat celebration dressed as the princess angel she had wanted to be.
The Florida schoolgirl wanted to become a “princess angel”, but she was worried about how her wheelchair would fit into the costume. Kaelyn, who studies in fourth grade at Babcock Neighborhood School in Florida’s Charlotte County, has congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS), according to People Magazine. It is a rare genetic condition affecting the nerves and muscles, according to the Mayo Clinic. Lori McLain, the school’s STEM director and teacher, told People that Kaelyn regularly spent time with the older children while they worked on the design. Eighth graders could have treated the costume as another school assignment, but instead made the experience personal by involving Kaelyn throughout the process, according to them.
For nine-year-old Kaelyn Goodman, choosing a Halloween costume was not simply about finding the right dress or accessories. Kaelyn uses a wheelchair when her muscles become tired, and her parents say it helps her remain independent. Instead of treating the wheelchair as something that needed to be hidden, the older students made it the centre of her Halloween costume. They designed an angel throne around it, complete with wings, while allowing Kaelyn to choose how she wanted it to look. The costume was developed through Babcock Neighborhood School’s Project-Based Learning initiative, which encourages students to apply classroom lessons to practical situations. She was so interested in the project that she sometimes gave up her recess to join them. Her wheelchair had been transformed into a throne, with the design reflecting the ideas she had shared during the project. For Kaelyn’s parents, the project showed that the students had looked beyond their daughter’s medical condition and taken the time to understand what she wanted.