When the time came for Industrial ISD’s annual Elementary Track Meet, six-year-old Kindergarten student Kayelea Cabrales wasn’t sure she would be able to run. Kayelea, known as Kaye to those close to her, is autistic and has developmental delays, so she sometimes struggles with things like peer interaction, according to her mother, Heather Thomure. Something like running in front of bleachers full of people can be really scary for her.
“She takes just a little longer to grasp things than her peers and she requires a lot of special accommodations for her to do activities that are easier for other kids,” said Heather.
Because of this, her parents and teachers thought it might be best to keep Kaye out of the track meet to spare her the overwhelm of the crowd. She already had trouble running in P.E., but Heather said that if she could, they wanted to give her the opportunity, so she and all of Kaye’s teachers decided to let Kaye decide on the day of the meet whether she was up to participating.
“We saw Mrs. Alaniz, a special education aide, on Wednesday, and she told us that Kaye would only run if she ran beside her,” said Heather, “And she told her ‘I can’t be with you on the track that day.’” When Friday came, Kaye had made her decision. She wanted to run, even though it was scary. Her parents credit the compassionate and supportive staff at Indus-
see TRACK MEET on page A3 trial Elementary East for helping Kaye reach her goal.
“We noticed her speech pathologist she works one on one with, Mrs. Koenig, right there with her class on the field, and not far away Mrs. Ham, a special education teacher. They definitely had my girl covered if anything were to set her off,” said Heather.
“As she took her position for her races, Mrs. Koenig was on the sidelines right next to her telling her what to do and cheering her on,” said Heather.
Other teachers and staff helped motivate Kaye as she ran. Heather said that Mrs. Barrera, a custodian, IEE Principal Mrs. Baughman, and Mrs. Budd all lined the track “pointing to the end and cheering her that way.”
Heather said that the family is forever grateful for the teachers and staff that make the Elementary Track Meet happen every year, and the encouragement that they provide for Kayelea and all the other students that just need a little extra push.
I’m sure there were other kids they had to make arrangements for as well, but to this mama, all I could see was the beauty of the teachers and her classmates telling her ‘Kayelea, you can do this!’”
