2. Early Perceptions Going into this project, I felt very nervous & anxious. I have never worked with children who have disabilities before. I did not know what to expect. I had no idea how they would behave or if they would even like me. Roy & I trying on hats! Roy was at Respite Care with his 4 siblings. 3 of them have late speech developments.

3. What Easter Seals Has to Offer This is Chad and these are “Chad’s blocks”. Easter Seals has something for every child to do that interests them. This is Angela. She enjoys riding the bicycles outside at Easter Seals. Easter Seals even has a full playground for all the children (and volunteers) to play on! At Easter Seals, there are many arts and crafts to entertain the children.

5. We Are All Unique! Ages ranging from 3-7 years old.

6. We Had So Much FUN! I can not begin to say how much fun I have had working with all the children at Easter Seals for their Respite Care. I helped them make crafts, play on the playground, build things out of blocks, tie shoe laces, play dress up, race cars, colored pictures, had snack time, and even watch movies. The children were so amazing to interact and play with. I just fell in love with them all! I would love to continue volunteering at the Easter Seals for their Respite Care. I attended three Respite Care sessions. The first was on a Friday night from 6 - 10pm, but we had to be there at 5pm as new volunteers. The other two times I volunteered were on Saturdays from 10am - 2pm. I saw many of the same children each time, but the most I got to spend time with was on the Friday night. It seemed more parents enjoyed the night time to themselves.

7. Reflection I can not even begin to say just how amazing this experience has been for me. When I first entered the building for Respite Care I was so nervous and a little scared of how the children would act and if they would even like me. I was completely wrong! I have learned so much about different exceptionalities and how to interact with different children. The most impact by far to me was working with Elijah, a little boy who had Cerebral Palsy, and maybe a few other exceptionalities. He could not walk on his own or communicate well, but he was such a happy little boy. I spent so much of my time bonding with him and holding him up so he could try to walk around the classroom. He loved holding my hands while I clapped them and sang to him. He would smile and repeat as best he could what I had just sung to him. He will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope to see him again. I will take so many life lessons away from this experience. It has truly changed my life to see what these parents deal with on a daily basis, as well as what these children go through each day. I have a new respect for parents of children with exceptionalities. This experience has opened my eyes to an entirely different form of life that I had never had experience with until now. I lived each day in my own world thinking that if I stubbed my toe, it was the end of the world. I never thought that there were people out there who had a much tougher life than I did. I will take away from this experience the ability to treasure all that I have been given and to realize that everyday is a gift.

8. Some of the Children This is Elijah & I. He has Cerebral Palsy, but is so determined to stand! Such a happy little boy too! This is Chad. He has severe Autism, but that doesn’t stop him from building anything out of blocks! This is Roy & I. He comes to Easter Seals for speech. He has a house full of siblings at home, and 4 came with him today!

9. More of the Children This is Noah. He has Down Syndrome and Autism. He loves to get in to all the toys! This is Devin, Tevin, & Kevin. They’re triplets! Tevin & Kevin are identical! They come to Easter Seals for speech. They are Roy’s brother. This is Angela. She’s the big sister to Roy & the triplets! She comes to Easter Seals for speech.