How one 16 year old is doing his part to improve the special needs community!
Meet Jamey - He's a 16 year old who enjoys many hobbies, like writing, singing, playing the piano, video games, free-running (Parkour), camping/hiking, likes live music/concerts, and sweet foods (but hey, who doesn't?...Yumm!). Jamey is not just your typical teen; he's quite incredible -
He's an inductee of the National Honor Society, involved in multiple school clubs, and caring for kids - including kiddos with special needs (He's definitely got a maternal/paternal instinct) and Jamey is doing his part to improve the Special Needs Community (SNC)!
If you ask him, he'll tell you his motivation has been his younger brother, who has special needs. In his experience, he's found that the greatest challenges arise when people don't understand or are confused about how to support someone with special needs. Therefore, he created three exciting pamphlets to give people a better understanding of how to do just that. The pamphlets weren't designed to diagnosis. They're just a brief introduction to a very complex subject, but informative enough to hand to someone in order to give them a basic understanding of what it's like, and how to help, a child with special needs. This should be used to introduce someone completely unfamiliar to the special need in a quick, comprehensive way (such as a teacher, student volunteer, or family/friend who knows someone with special needs but is not yet familiar with it).
Not only does Jamey take each opportunity to help educate others or volunteer in the SNC, he has accumulated more than, an astounding 600 hours, working with kiddos of all types of special needs! This summer, will also be his 4th year volunteering at Camp Yakety Yak - Which is an inclusive social skills day camp supporting friendship development in children with special needs (ages 5-15); including siblings and peer models. It's hard to imagine he is only 16 years old! Jamey is sure to be making a positive change in the special needs community!...And we hope you will join his efforts along with so many others!
If you want to help the special needs community and do your part; but aren't sure how, here are some ideas:
-Educate yourself. Become familiar with the special needs language, acronyms & how to use terms appropriately, (i.e. remove the "R" word from your vocabulary & encourage others to do the same), read blogs/brochures such as this one, talk to special educators or special needs parents, join a community who can help answer questions, such as Limitless Ability.
-Get Involved. show your support by volunteering & join efforts with organizations such as: Limitless Ability Organization, Autism Speaks, DSDN (Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network), Camp Yaket Yak, or others! Whether you have a lot of time or resources to give, a little, or just once - Nonprofit organizations can be flexible with your schedule and they depend heavily on volunteers to help continue their mission.
-Respite Care. If you take some training & qualify, you can provide relief for a family member, friend, or someone in your community through respite care - Which provides a break for the usual caregiver (typically a parent of a child with special needs) to do errands, attend an appointment, or have a couple hours for themselves, so they can continue being at their best for their loved one. Caring Communities is a perfect starting point.
-Be a Friend. Children with special needs are really not so different than me or you - They just have different challenges or hurdles to overcome in life. One of the best things you can do is to treat everyone with the 'golden rule' - "Do unto others, as you would want them to do unto you". When you see someone with special needs (or challenges) befriend them. If you have a friend or family member with special needs ask how you can help and be a part of their support team! Can you be a non-judgmental listening ear, alleviate some of their domestic chores (laundry, dishes, make dinner, run errands, etc.), be patient, and support where you can!
You don't have to be a certain age, have any college degrees, or even specialize in the medical or educational fields to be make a BIG difference in the special needs community! Start where you can, every effort added together makes the BIG impact! We hope this has inspired you & helped given you a little more understanding into special needs!
