Westfield’s own Asher Galan recognized for nearly 200 hours working to help those with disabilities
By AMY ADAMS
For The Reporter
When eighth-grader Asher Galan first stepped into Sandy O’Neill’s Life Skills classroom at Westfield Middle School (WMS) last year as part of the Peer Facilitation Program, he had no idea what to expect.
O’Neill has been teaching at WMS for about five years in a class tiered according to her students’ needs and cognitive abilities. She also oversees the school’s Peer Facilitation Program which allows seventh and eighth graders to volunteer in special education classrooms as an elective.
“Each quarter we have about 30 students who choose to participate,” O’Neill said. “It is an absolutely phenomenal program and such a huge asset here at the middle school.”
Asher initially thought that he had signed up for an elective working in the school office.
“When I walked in, I was really nervous,” Asher said. “There were a lot of people I had never met before. But, almost instantly, I began to feel safe and accepted because they were all so nice and welcoming. They weren’t judgmental at all.”
Since that first day, Asher has elected to spend 45 minutes a day, Monday through Friday, for five of his eight quarters at WMS, helping in O’Neill’s classroom.
“He’s just been wonderful,” O’Neill said. “We have such an eclectic variety of personalities and abilities in the classroom. It’s been wonderful to have someone so open-minded and willing to work with anyone and do anything.”
Last year, Asher worked with students in an adaptive PE setting. This year, he has been helping while the students are doing science experiments, cooking, and crafting.
“The best part, to me, is that Asher can tell you anything about any of the kids,” said Asher’s mother, Holly Galan. “He gets excited about what they accomplish.”
The feeling seems to be mutual.
“It’s really in character for him,” said Asher’s father, Alan Galan. “He’s got that personality that really draws kids in.”
Alan tells about one evening when his family went to the movie theater and saw one of the students from O’Neill’s classroom.
“Asher went over to talk to him,” Alan said. “You could just see how excited this student was to see Asher and give him a fist bump.”
Joanne Tedesco kept hearing her daughter, who is in O’Neill’s class, talk about Asher each day when she came home from school.
“I have a heart for kindness, so I decided I had to find out who this kid was,” Tedesco said.
Tedesco discovered that Asher is not only involved in the Peer Facilitation Program, but he is also a troupe member with the Joseph Maley Foundation Puppets.
The puppet program, which falls under the Joseph Maley Foundation’s education pillar, teaches middle school students to voice child-sized puppets who have disabilities so that they can present skits about awareness, acceptance, and respect.
Three of the seven puppet troupes in the Indianapolis area can be found at WMS. Each of the more than 20 WMS eighth-grade puppeteers has been nominated by a teacher as a good representative of inclusivity and acceptance.
In addition to learning puppeteering skills, students in the puppet program also learn about a wide variety of disabilities.
“A big part of the program training,” said Stephanie Becher, lead education manager for the Joseph Maley Foundation, “is hearing directly from people with disabilities, like cerebral palsy or spina bifida, who come and speak with the kids.”
In addition to performing pre-written skits, the puppeteers participate in question-and-answer sessions where they must be ready to answer questions on the spot about the disabilities of their puppets.
“Each student does deep dives on the disabilities of their particular puppets,” Becher said, “but all of the puppeteers learn about all of the disabilities in case they have to step in for another puppet.”
Asher has voiced puppets Mary Ann who has Down syndrome and Brenda who has dyslexia and has performed at Shamrock Springs and Oak Trace elementary schools.
“Asher has been an outstanding ambassador for the program,” said Angela Hoffman, WMS media specialist and puppet program sponsor. “For him to be involved as a peer facilitator on a daily basis, this is an avenue where he continues his work as an advocate for people with disabilities.”
After learning about all the time that Asher has put into helping those with differing abilities and helping others to understand them better, Tedesco decided to take action.
“People need to know about this kid!” she said.
Tedesco serves as chair of the Westfield Mayor’s Council on Disabilities, which was formed in 2022 to make a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities in Westfield. As a result of her recommendation, Westfield Mayor Andy Cook recognized Asher at the city council meeting on March 13 as a Westfield Mayor’s Council on Disabilities Ambassador.
It’s no wonder that Asher was also named WMS Student of the Month for March, as well.
Holly Galan said that having teachers at WMS who really encourage him and give him positive feedback has made a difference for Asher.
“Watching Asher grow in his confidence has been amazing,” O’Neill said. “He has grown to understand what the students need and how to de-escalate situations, but he has also grown in his confidence of who he is.”
As he moves to Westfield High School next year, Asher plans to follow a computer science path, but he intends to continue his work with special education students. He looks forward to participating in Unified Track which joins students with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team.
Tedesco said she hopes Asher will inspire everyone in the community, from other students to city officials.
“Asher was put into an unfamiliar environment of kids with disabilities,” Tedesco said. “It changed his life.”