Getting involved in school is something everyone tries to do. People want to include others, sometimes they get it right and other times it’s a struggle. It can be a little difficult for some to include others in their everyday tasks. Everyone has their struggles, but kids with developmental disabilities have struggled more than most, but they continue to show perseverance through all curveballs.
An example of this is with parking passes. As the school year goes on, there has been an issue with parking passes. But who checks them? Lisa Short, is in charge of the parking passes and is the Main Office Secretary, leads a group of kids with disabilities to have them check passes and to teach them how to complete everyday tasks.
This group “enjoys doing it as they do it with a job coach or aid, it gets them to feel more involved in day to day activities,” Short said.
Having them check passes gets these kids to be more involved and actually has a massive positive impact on the building. The process of getting the kids more involved has led them to a more positive attitude in school and prepares them for life outside of school with a look into responsibility, taking initiative, and also keeping track of common tasks. It also helps staff and administration out as well by having them focus on other tasks around the building. This situation is a win-win for all parties involved.
Many kids have struggled with disabilities and the job program at Westerville North High School has helped teach many students here the workforce and responsibilities. Melissa Tucker who is a Special Education teacher at Westerville North and believes that “it teaches them to be on time, ask for help and to stay committed,” Tuck said.
There are many forms of disabilities but the “job program helps kids with Autism and other disabilities in the school be involved,” Tucker said. This has shown lots of success for all parties involved and is a process we will see continue for the near future.
There are many ways we all teach people how to do something and for anyone who struggles it takes a different approach to make this work. Todd Baum is a coach with over ten years experience at CCYHA (Columbus Chill Youth Hockey Association) Special Hockey, a program in central Ohio that gets kids with disabilities into a new sport and teaches them basic skills in life and is a launching pad for their lives.
Baum’s goal is to “cast a wide net and to get them to feel that they are able to do anything,” Baum said. This requires a new way of approaching the task and Baum has done this is “through thin slicing, by making each step as small as possible to make it more understanding,” Baum said. This strategy has worked for the program and for programs all over the world as it gives people with cognitive disabilities a new understanding of life and its challenges and also its successes. Both the job programs at Westerville North and the Special Hockey programs have been a gateway for many kids, giving them both a bright future and a new understanding of life and what it truly has to offer for all.
