Volunteering

Yesterday I started volunteering with a school for children with special needs that is near our house. I went in for a volunteer "interview" but they were so in need of help with the youngest kids, that they asked me to start right away. So, I did.

This is my first experience with kids who have severe disabilities and it's incredibly interesting and rewarding so far (after two days). I have been helping with the "Pink" group--four and five year olds who can function in a highly structured environment. They are not quite the most disabled, but only a few of them can speak a few words and some of them also cannot hear very well, so, for the most part we use a combination of pictures and sign language to communicate. I now know how to sign "wait/calm down," "red," "blue," "green," "sad" (which the kids make the teachers when they hit or do something bad), "bread" (which the kids love for a snack), and "sorry" (which the kids have to say when they hit, pinch, or push each other). The days are spent doing interactive projects that test and challenge the childrens' cognitive functioning and communication and help them learn things that are easy for kids who are not disabled, like holding seeds in their hands, walking,matching colors, forming sounds, and basic communication skills. Some of the students react all the timec (except when they don't feel like it). With some students, it's hard to tell how much they understand about what we are saying or doing. A couple of the kids are severely autistic and all of them pretend they don't know how to do things so that the teachers and volunteers will do them for them. The teachers don't fall for this trick, but today I found out that one of my charges knows how to tie his shoes AND zip up his coat, but has been letting me do it for him. He also pretends not to understand when outside time is over. All of the kids are all working on personal hygiene and are marched to the sink about 15 times per day. I, too,wash my hands frequently because snot and bottom scratching are rampant. At lunch today I got a little girl who hates vegetables to eat her broccoli. A breakthrough! And what I'm learning is that special needs kids are not that different than non-special needs kids when it come to certain things (In particular, bottom scratching, pinching, not washing hands,not eating veggies and hugs).

The kids are loving and loveable and the staff at the school is incredibly dedicated. I'm enjoying my "job." In a couple of weeks I'll start volunteering for the London Sport Institute, distributing health surveys to college students. I'll alternate between volunteer projects--diverse experiences that will keep me busy and out of the house as well as give me experience in London.