1. Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida: Spring Fling! Chelsea Pearl-Mihalinec Nicole Sammaro Casie Dwyer Elizabeth Brumer Lissette Torres Date EEX 4070
2. Early Perceptions Going into the service learning project our group was very excited about the event we were going to host. We quickly got together and started planning what we thought would be a very fun and engaging Family Field Day! After meeting with the Coordinator of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida and looking at the facility we had to work with our plans began to change. Instead of a Family Field Day we decided that the best event to host for the group we were working with would be more of an indoor arts and crafts Spring Fling Day. Immediately after that meeting we began putting the flyer for the event together…
3. Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida Headquarters This is where we did the storytelling presentation. This was the largest room we had to work in. This is where we did snack time. The snack was a Cup of Dirt (chocolate pudding, gummy worms, and Oreos). This is the outdoor play area at the facility, but we did not utilize it. This is the conference area where we did arts and crafts and made picture frames from foam board This is where we did the outdoor craft of marble painting. This is the lobby area where guests checked in.
4. Demographics for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida •They serve more than 700 families •They cover 7 counties in and around the Orlando area •There are over 7,000 individuals, families and supporters •They are governed by a volunteer board of directors •Over 50% of these volunteers have a family member with Down Syndrome
6. How we got started or connected? •We knew we wanted to work with a big organization instead of just going into a classroom •We considered working with children who had Down Syndrome or Autism •After the Down Syndrome Association’s immediate response we jumped on board with them •We met soon after and began working on our plan for carrying out the event
7. Participant Demographics Zoe Participants age: 7-18 Ethnic Backgrounds: Caucasian Linguistic Heritages: English Exceptionalities: Down Syndrome People served: 2* * We planned for 25 children and were told more people were going to sign up last minute, but that wasn’t the result. Even some of the people who signed up didn’t come the day of the event. Wils
8. Reflection of your Experience This was an overall good experience for whole group. Although we had a great time working with the children, we wished for a better turnout. We were most impacted by the little girl Zoe who shared her own version of storytelling using the props from the original story.
10. Reflection cont We will take with us a better understanding of working with children that have disabilities, more specifically children with Down Syndrome. This was the majority of our groups first experience working one-on-one with children with disabilities. We gained insight into some of the typical behavioral issues linked to this disability Through this experience we have a better understanding of how to manage and accommodate their learning needs in our future classrooms
