I will be going to the Pine Tree Camp in Rome, Maine for my community partnership. I know this is a camp where people with disabilities can come for an all-inclusive vacation. This camp has accessible outdoor activities and living quarters. I know the population can vary by age, disability, and gender. This will make the experience worthwhile as I will get a chance to meet people from all walks of life. I have had some experience working with a little boy who is on the spectrum. My sisters and I have been his babysitter ever since he was 4 years old. This was such a difficult but rewarding experience. I have been able to watch him blossom and thrive within our community. When I first met this little boy, he had two leg braces and glasses with an eyepatch. He was mute and only communicated with an iPad and pointing. I have been given the opportunity to watch him grow and get to kindergarten and now he is in 2nd grade!
One of my goals during this experience is to learn how to communicate with children of all disabilities. Every child will have their own specific way of communicating which is fascinating and can be vastly different. I will try to spend time with as many children as I can! My second goal is to gain a better understanding of how family members adapt to life with their disabled family members. I hope this will give me more insight as to how to care for the family as a unit. I am nervous about potentially experiencing a breakdown in one of the kids and not knowing what they may need at the moment. I am very excited about this experience. I feel like I will be able to interact with the kids the best because I have experience with all ages when I babysit. I also hope to become a pediatric nurse and this will help me dig into that field. There is a local branch of the international club called Best Buddies this is a group that is dedicated to people with disabilities. This is a fantastic group that will create events throughout the Portland area to get people together.
