OT: Teens with special needs

I thought I would share this with all of you today. I apologize, It's a little long.

My employer and other businesses in our county participate in a "STEP" program with VASE. Read a short description about this program at this website:

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We have two teenage girls, and one boy that work in our bakery, one guy in the Deli, one girl in the Produce section, and two boys who push carts and do maintenance work in the store. The kids that work in my department are very fast workers. They wrap the bread, cookies and pies and label them for sale, and sometimes they assist the baker in panning up the cookies and pies. They do cleaning and anything you tell them to do. There are days they do a better job than our regular employees, and we have become very dependent on them being there every week day.

Today I attended a Recognition Breakfast held at the Beef House Restaurant in Indiana to honor the participants and their employers. There was also an award ceremony for their participation in the program. I was invited to attend, as well as other co workers and the supervisors of the kids in the other departments. This is the third year I was invited as a supervisor to attend, but actually it was the first time I went, and I am glad I did, and now I wish I had gone the previous years.

There were some kids who had no parent or employer with them to share in their success, and they had to accept their awards by themselves. I was almost ashamed I had not gone in previous years, after realizing the importance of attending and what it means to these kids. They were so happy and proud to be there!

I was rather surprised at the number of special needs kids that are involved in this program countywide, and it is really humbling to see how hard the kids want to work, and be accepted in the "world of the workplace". These kids work hard, and will do anything you tell them to do. We have to have REAL patience to teach them and work with them so they can perform their jobs to the best of their ability, and be able to take those skills with them when they graduate from school and get "real jobs". The program encourages businesses to take them on, and hopefully hire them upon graduation. This doesn't happen very often, unfortunately. Our store has hired two kids part-time, who have graduated the program.

I have to be brutally honest here..there are some days we can get kind of impatient with them. They are not 'regular' (so to speak) employees...they are not paid by our store, but by the STEP program and they are basically free labor. I'm sorry, I know that sounds kind of cruel. The disabilities of these kids range from severe disabilities such as vision impairment and the physically challenged, kids who have social problems because of self awareness, and the kids who are just slow learners and who need an extra boost.. Their special needs can sometimes be frustrating when we are trying to get things done. But, I gotta tell you...after seeing the joy of satisfaction on these kids' faces when receiving their awards, I realize now just how important these working opportunities are for them, and how it gives them the confidence to want to do well in what they try to do in life. They need extra encouragement, and praise for a job well done, and they need to be taught the proper way to do things, and the consequences of not doing it right. It only makes them learn and grow stronger.

This was a very humbling experience for me. My eyes are more open to how crucial this program is, and what the kids really get out of it, and I am hoping I can be more patient with the students so they will have the best experience possible and that they can be productive employees upon graduating high school.

Thanks for reading!

Linda

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Linda C
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Thank you Linda for sharing your experience.

Lynne

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King's Crown

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