Cedars is not only an inspirational and exciting internship but it has also taught me many things. Over the course of the past few months my time at Cedars was spent teaching the clients daily tasks, working in the garden and senior center, working on educational projects, and most of all working on communication and social skills. At times however it can be hard to teach an adult at a kindergarten level about eating healthy or how to correctly plant an onion in the ground. I do a lot of projects with them, and have to help them using me as an example to teach them how to do things correctly. For the clients, this process can be tough when for instance they forget that they are supposed to plant the tomatoes with the root facing down into the ground instead of up which is their natural instinct. At times the clients get frustrated and feel like it would just be easier to give up. At this point I need to inspire the clients to keep trying no matter how frustrated they feel. I have to encourage them that it will be alright in the end no matter how angry they are. This will be useful in the rest of my life because there are a lot of times in life when not only me but those around me meet a challenge and feel like giving up. However if I can encourage myself and others to keep persisting until you get a final outcome that is good then it will benefit me and others.
The other life skill that I have learned while at Cedars is patience. When dealing with adults with developmental disabilities patience is key. Sometimes the clients get upset at little things people wouldn’t normally think of as upsetting. Sometimes the clients don’t understand the concept of interrupting or can’t understand when you’re busy and that they have to wait their turn. In this situation, I have to sometimes I have to tell them to calm down and take some deep breaths and reassure them that it is alright. Patience is something that I will bring with me wherever I go in the world. Whether it is working with others, or simply raising a child people have to learn to be patient in order to succeed in life.
