SALLISAW – To create space for inclusivity at Sallisaw Public Schools, agricultural students have taken it upon themselves to help their special needs classmate who has autism spectrum disorder.
Cherokee Nation citizen and freshman Cord Matthews is a nonverbal, autistic student whose classmates are taking the time to help him show livestock in his second year. His father, Stephen Matthews, is the agricultural teacher.
“Cord has to go pretty much everywhere with me (from) state conventions to speech contests to livestock shows,” he said. “Pretty much everywhere I go, he goes, and through those trips, these kids and these parents were really, really good to take care of Cord and sit with him and just kind of take care of him as I’m busy doing what I have to do.”
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects individuals in how they perceive the world around them through communication, social interactions and sensory processing.
Matthews said that when his son became old enough, he debated on letting him show livestock because of his autism.
“It was like … do we really want to venture into this aspect, and can he do it? I don’t really want to cheat him out of something because of a disability,” Matthews said. “So, we jumped out there and purchased some hogs and started working with him.”
Matthews said some of the students, like CN citizen and junior Nicci Davis, stepped up to help Cord practice and go into the ring when it was showtime.
“Nicci was really compassionate about kids, and she was compassionate about special needs,” Matthews said.
Davis said she has an aunt with special needs and knows what it’s like to help others with disabilities.
“I feel very comfortable around people with special needs, and so I was very open to helping Cord and we figured it out last year,” Davis said. “It was a learning curve. This year, I think we figured out more, especially toward the end. There was a lot of things we learned, like he has to wear headphones, and it has to be certain music.”
Davis said they also let Cord do more of the whipping and other show techniques.
“At the last show, we decided to let him whip more on the swine and try to do it more himself and us stand back and just supervise,” she said, “because in the ring, when we’re doing most of it, I felt like he wasn’t as focused. So, it was really learning how Cord is comfortable, making sure Cord is having fun and we’re not making him do this, and that he’s willing to want to do it again.”
CN citizen and sixth-grader Dakota Caviness started showing pigs for the agricultural program about two years ago, and when Cord started showing, she wanted to help.
“Nicci started helping a little bit and then I started helping, which is really special because I’ve never gotten to do something like that,” Caviness said. “It was like me and him had a connection. We like to have fun at shows and not make him stressed.”
Caviness said it takes a lot of patience, something she’s learned since she began helping Cord.
“I definitely learned patience. I’ve also definitely learned to have fun and when you get to help someone, it just helps you being more patient and stuff like that,” Caviness said.