Plans for Next Year

I have finally decided on what I will be doing next year. After months of contemplating, visiting schools, and filling out applications I decided on which school I was going to attend for the next four years of my life. In total, I got into 11 colleges, but I decided on University of California Davis. I am going to pursue Elementary Education, and look forward to a career as a teacher. I believe that my major will be human development, although I am currently undeclared, and then I will hopefully go on to get my masters in Education. Working at Cedar’s has made me question whether I want to go into special education, although I am not quite positive, I think I am going to just stick with Elementary School. I am very excited to embark on a new experience at UC Davis, and I look forward to all the times to come!

Write about anything in your Internship

For the past few months, we have been working on a movie with the clients at my internship. They help us film the movie and of course are the star of the entire thing. The movie is all about eating healthy and our specific garden and food programs at Cedar’s Art and Textile Center. We talk about what the clients do while working in the garden and kitchen and show clips of them hard at work. Then we show how the food from the garden goes directly to the kitchen where more clients cook it up for lunch. The end consists of funny clips of the clients, showing what an average day is like working with the fun, happy-go-lucky clients. This Wednesday we are premiering the movie to all of Cedar’s. We are showing it on a big projector and having popcorn and drinks. Everyone is so excited!

Skills

I have acquired many skills while working at Cedars for the past year. I am in charge of a lot of clients at once who are all striving to get my attention and impress me. I have learned how to give everyone equal attention. I learned how to avoid picking favorites, and the importance of including everyone. I learned a lot about teaching, and trying to explain things in their most simplistic form. I have learned about the value of patience, which is a must while working with adults with developmental disabilities. I have learned about encouraging perserverance, because a lot of times the clients get so frusturated that they want to give up, and I have to instill confidence in them. I have learned a lot about commuication, because most of my day spent at Cedars is trying to teach clients and help them with projects. Lastly, I have learned how to make connections with others who I would have probably never connected with if i didnt embark in my intership.

Day in the Life of My mentor

At Cedars, my mentor is very busy throughout the week. Each day, the staff members are assigned to work in a different program at the Cedar’s Art and Textile Program. There are a few different places that my mentor works. She works in the weaving center where clients make their own blankets, scarfs ext on a loom and they then sell the products in the Cedar’s store in down town San Anselmo. There is the kitchen, where you work with clients on cooking and cleaning. You even make lunch and a afternoon snack for the rest of the clients. Then there is the garden (where I work on Wed), where we teach the clients skills like eating healthy, planting vegetaboles, and teach them about living sustainabily in the classroom. Next there is the animals where you work with the clients feeding them, grooming them, and just enjoying their presence. There are many types of animals including sheep, alpacas, and rabbits. There is also the music center where clients sing, dance, and make music of their own. Then there is the Art center where clients do arts and crafts all day long. Lastly, there is the Senior Center (where I work on fridays) where the older clients spend their whole week doing arts and crafts, reading, and even enjoying their weekly game of wii bowling. Throughout my week, my mentor is in charge of about 30 clients at one of these programs, and all though she is very busy it is very rewarding in the end.

My Progress

Throughout the duration of this cemester I have done many things for this class. I have stayed up to date with my senior job-Earth Day, including recently going to the DLC meeting, presesnting Earth Day to the staff, administrators, and parents and got it approved along with making it madatory for all kids to attend Earth Day during tutorial. I am still enjoying my internship a lot, and i discussed with my mentor when she would be available to meet with Mr. Marshall however we have yet to firm something up. It is a bit tricky because I am with two different groups of clients and two different mentors. They are also work in different parts of Cedar’s everyday and are only open untill 3 during the weekdays which is difficult to schedule a meeting. However I am planning on sending my mentor an email this week! I also need to make some progress on my portfolio.  I moved most of my work onto the N-drive but have yet to put them on a CD. I know how to do that however, so I am planning on doing that soon!

Overview of Internship

I can remember the day John and I exchanged names and a few words outside of our town fire station. From then on stopping to have a small conversation and a warm hug seemed only natural. John is a client at Cedar’s Art and Textile center, a day program for adults with developmental disabilities. My chance engagement with John encouraged me to spend my senior year internship at Cedar’s twice a week. I find a way to connect with clients on a personal level through gardening, educational projects, working with them on communication and social skills, and teaching them daily tasks like cooking and cleaning. Though patience is key, I have never found myself frustrated or discouraged. Instead, people who remain optimistic in spite of so many challenges inspire me. Though sometimes it takes a lot of time to teach an adult at a kindergarten level the importance of healthy eating, or the correct way to plant an onion in the ground, it is always gratifying in the end when we succeed together.

Cedar’s organization

The Cedar’s of Marin has thrived since 1919. There success stems from how they treat there clients – as individuals deserving of respect, personal choice, and the chance to develop interests, skills, and independence. There day program includes a structered work day integrating educational projects like reading, and learning about healthy foods, and performing daily tasks. They also strive to impart good,  healthy relationships between the staff and the clients while working on communication and social skills. There are about 15 staff members at Cedar’s and a few volunteers. The process of becoming staff at Cedar’s is long and includes many interviews and sessions to make sure they are right for the job and right for working with adults with special needs. The organization at Cedar’s is extraordinary, and utterly awe-inspiring.

Life Skills Learned at Cedars

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.

Favorite Moment

Her towering, awkward body came shuffling towards me. Her big brown eyes got exceedingly larger as she got closer and closer to me. She stretched out her chubby arms as if she was requesting a hug or some sort of gift from me.

“Hi, mu-m-my name is Nicole,” she stuttered. “What’s your name?”

I took a step backwards due to the fact that this woman I had never seen before was inches away from my nose.

“I’m Audrey,” I said.

“Oh that’s a n-nice name. Are you new here? I am nu-n-new here. You have pretty hair.”

“Thanks,” I half-heartedly said. “Yeah, today’s my first day. Your hair’s pretty nice too” -although in reality, all I wanted to do with her hair was dump a bucket of shampoo on it. Her greasy curls glimmered in the sunlight mimicking my last remark.

It was indeed my first day volunteering at Cedars Art and Textile Center. They told me I would be working with the clients in the garden, doing arts and crafts, interacting with the seniors, and working with the clients on their social skills. But I had never interacted with the amount of disabled people that I was now, and I wasn’t sure how to first go about my day, especially with no familiar face in the sea of confusion.

“D-do you want some help?” Nicole asked as I struggled to pick the apples high off of the tree for the video we were making about eating healthy food.

“That would be amazing. I could use some tall arms like yours around here.”

I wasn’t sure if her round body would be able to stretch all the way up to reach the ripe apples. After all she did look about 300 pounds.

“I-I love you, y-yo-you’re my best friend,” Nicole smiled. I had never met anyone who within 20 seconds of our introduction told me they love me. Although it was a little strange, it gave me a sort of warm, confident feeling inside.

“Thanks, Nicole. I like you too,” I murmured. We began to fill up the basket full of apples. I told her to put the rotten apples in the compost basket, and the ones that looked good for eating in the woven basket. She said “Of course,” and vigorously started filling up the basket.

I looked at Nicole head to toe. She was wearing a Tinkerbell shirt. Her smile was overtaking her face. Her teeth were the size of basketballs. She was content.

She swung her hand onto my shoulder and started to step real close to me like before. I could see the beads of sweat on her forehead begin to drip down the side of her round face. Even I was beginning to get toasty while being outside, and I wasn’t sporting an extra 200 pounds.

“D-do you want to know why I-I am here?” Nicole stammered.

“Sure,” I replied hesitantly. I always wondered how aware people with developmental disabilities like Down syndrome are of their disability.

“W-w-well,” Nicole excitingly admitted, “This may take a while.”

“I have all day,” I explained.

She then continued to describe to me her life in much depth, reciting every problem that she has, and every challenge that she has come across. I found out in that half an hour of talking with her that this 37 year old woman who has Down syndrome also has a disease where the calcium in her bones leaves and poisons her blood stream. In response to no calcium in her bones she has broken 12 bones because they are too brittle. She has kidney stones, has had heart surgery three times, and has arthritis. She dreads the cold months when she can barely move. Her main support system growing up was her mom, however last year she died of breast cancer. Nicole then paused and looked at a bumble bee that zoomed by stopping on a daisy near her nose. “Look how happy she is,” Nicole stated. I had never really looked at a six-legged insect and immediately thought to myself how happy it must be. I guess that’s just how she chooses to look at life.

“I’m so sorry, Nicole. It sounds like you have had quite the life. You seem so strong though,” I told her.

“Y-yeah, you know, I just keep on truckin’. If I were to die tomorrow then I would die a happy woman. Who cares about my hard life, I’m s-surrounded by people that love me, and that’s all that matters. R-right?” Nicole said.

“Wow Nicole, that is such a fantastic attitude about life. Your really somethin’ you know that?” I said back to her. She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, “I-I guess I was just born that way.” I smiled at her. “I-I want you to have this.” Nicole said as she handed me a fragile green and blue toy Tinkerbell. “Y-you’re my best friend,” she stammered again.

Right then, the bell rang for all the clients to go inside for their afternoon cookies and tea. Nicole said bye and shuffled back inside for her afternoon break. I stood there below that apple tree thinking about this strange yet oddly wonderful woman that I just met. I had met many people that day, but none seemed to quite be like Nicole. She probably had one of the toughest lives out of all of the clients at Cedars that day. Despite that, she remained to be so happy and cheerful and no matter what challenge she faced she continued to live life to the fullest.

I returned to Cedars a week later to once again volunteer. I looked for Nicole all over, however her awkward body was nowhere to be found. I asked where Nicole was and my mentor told me that she was in the hospital. She had had a heart attack and they weren’t sure if she was going to make it. I paused and looked at my brittle Tinkerbell in my pocket. “Oh,” I said, “I’m sorry to hear that.” I thought back to the day of our meeting, and about the things she told me.  Something about Nicole made me feel she was going to be okay. Maybe it was how she disregarded the many train wrecks in her life. Or maybe it was the way she looked at bumblebees. Nonetheless, what I do know is that I had never quite met a more optimistic and truly inspirational person like I did for that mere 30 minutes on that wonderful autumn day at Cedars.

First Day at Cedar’s

Although I was nervous, and not quite sure what to expect, the first day at my internship at Cedars Art and Textile Center went extremely well. I arrived after lunchtime on a Friday, and went to the headquarters to sign myself in.  Every Friday I work in the Senior Center and every Wednesday I work in the garden. So on my first day I arrived in the senior center as they were starting an arts and crafts project about weaving. I walked in and all of the clients immediately jumped up and remembered me from when I came on the day of my interview and toured. They are all so friendly and welcoming which made the day really easy and fun. I started working with a few individuals and together we weaved. At first, since I wasn’t used to being around so many people with developmental disabilities it was hard at times to understand what they were saying. I found myself asking them to repeat themselves multiple times or just nodding and pretending I understood what they said.

Next I went outside to the group that was working with the animals that day. Together we groomed the bunnies, and worked on their social skills like talking about their plans for the weekend and how there weeks had gone so far. Then, I went back inside to join the Senior’s with a game of Wii bowling. To my surprise, they were all incredibly good, and had the basic motion of bowling down to a tee. They all got so excited when they got a strike or a spare, and would jump up and down for me when I did good.

Finally, it was time for them to get on their vans to return to their living headquarters in San Anselmo. We gave them tea and cookies as they waited and made sure they all said thank you when they received them. Then we checked off everyone to make sure they were all accounted for. After we sent them on their way, I returned to the main headquarters to sign back out, and I too was on my way.

Overall, I had a wonderful first day. Although at times I wasn’t quite sure what to do or how to react, I learned to think on my feet and be creative. Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming, and I am looking forward to the rest of the year at Cedars Art and Textile Center.