EXPERIENCE 1

1. Detailed Abstract

     

     I will be hired at the Apostolic Christian Oakwood Estate (ACOE) handicapped facility in Morton, Illinois. As a past employee at a nearby Apostolic Christian handicapped home, I will need to go through minimal Red Cross certification and training as I am already state certified for the job which I will do. I plan on working first or second shift hours (depending on staff need) on the weekends and during the week as needed in the Nursing department which is responsible for personal care and active treatment. If I work even one day a week for those four months, I will have spent over 100 hours at the home. My shift will consist of mostly hygiene related duties, feeding two meals, assisting the residents to bed, passing medication, and — most importantly — positive and edifying interaction throughout.

     During my past work experience at the other handicapped home — roughly a year — I developed a heart and passion for the handicapped community. In addition to developing personal relationships with the residents of ACOE, my work there allowed me to be rewarded by serving others. I have gained time and stress management skills, team related experience, medical knowledge, and confidence in responsibility as a result of my work there. I wish to improve my capability in all of those facets of the work environment during a second period of employment.

     In training, I was educated on many of the legalities that go along with the handicapped way of living; I also became familiar with how the world views the community in general. As I am interested in learning more about how the public responds to and views individuals with both mental and physical challenges, I will read the book Disability and the Media: Prescriptions for Change by Charles A. Riley in addition to working at Oakwood Estate. Regularly, residents are accompanied on outings to restaurants, festivals, movies, bowling nights, and other entertaining venues. As I join excursions like these, I will be given the opportunity to see how other people react and respond to the abnormality presented.

     Though information about the residents of ACOE is classified, I plan on writing about my work experience at ACOE in order to reflect on how I grow and mature through my employment there. I want to keep my appreciation for the skills we take for granted everyday alive, in my heart and in the hearts of others. The abilities we possess to communicate effectively, put on our own shoes, remember what happened five minutes ago, and even swallow are gifts; I wish to use my functional body and mind to bless others.

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2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area

 

Possesses awareness of purpose of service, including need for reciprocity, understanding of social issues, and ability to see those issues from multiple perspectives.

     My work at Apostolic Christian Oakwood Estate will be about so much more than just hygiene. I will be responsible for not only the physical care, but also the emotional well being of my residents. Positive and encouraging interaction is key. I must be able to identify with the qualms of the individual with obsessive compulsive disorder, sympathize with those who feel pain, and communicate with people who are oftentimes unable to express themselves to the extent which they would wish. As humans, we desire relationship and social interaction. Members of the handicapped community experience the same needs and wants as anyone else, and are often denied basic opportunities for interaction. It broke my heart to watch an intelligent man struggle with a severe speech impediment, prohibiting him from forming even simple words to convey his thoughts. My job will consist of discerning what is best for the residents — that which will give them the most independence and comfort. I will need to be aware of their needs and think deeply about life from their viewpoint. In doing so, I will be serving them in ways which go beyond the body and free the mind.

     A major part of ACOE policy is the concept of active treatment. Because the age range for residents at the facility is from 18 to people in their 70’s, we strive to improve the lives and increase the independence of the residents by incorporating daily learning goals into normal activities. We encourage them to take a few bites of their meal with minimal prompt or assistance, identify coins, do simple math, raise their arms for dressing, and most importantly engage in choice-making.

     

Recognizes how public policies and practices, and power and privilege, have an influence on social issues. Explores ways to alter public policy and/or identify solutions.

     State and federal law definitely have large implications on the treatment of the handicapped community. Policies have undergone drastic changes throughout the decades, as well as verbiage related to mental challenge and the medical field. The laws are there to protect the rights and wellbeing of people who are so easily and frequently taken advantage of. They strive to give handicapped individuals power. I, as an aide at ACOE, will be a part of that system and will be expected to empower the residents as I interact with them.

     For so many years, the disabled have been excluded from living normalized lives in society. Though this most likely did not happen on purpose, social norms have cut off the handicapped from being able to fit in with many situations. As I go out into the world with my experience at ACOE, I wish to find ways that the handicapped are currently being integrated into the rest of the world and if there are opportunities to enhance them. I also hope to educate people about the proper vocabulary with which to refer to disabilities and the sobering significance of degrading terms.

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3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories

     

     My employment is directly correlated to both my personal and career goals. I wish to use my last guaranteed free summer vacation in a productive manner, doing something that really matters. Along with the skills and psychological growth that I gain from my experiences at ACOE, I have found that a sense of purpose and an appreciation for life accompany interaction with the disabled community. I wish to continue to draw stress management skills and a strong work ethic from my experience there — qualities which have already assisted me in overcoming obstacles in college. I have also developed a heart for the handicapped in general, and especially for the residents whom I grew to love last summer.

     Job experience is never a bad thing to have. I believe that the quality of my employment at ACOE is a perfect asset to my resume. Not only was I serving those much less privileged than myself, but I was personally responsible for the wellbeing and care of five or six people during an eight hour period. I have proved myself to be capable, consistent, and mature. My job included working with a team, an aptitude which employers find very valuable in the work force. In addition, I learned and studied legal content, some sign language, and a great deal of Red Cross medical procedure. When I present this information to an interviewer, I believe that they will be impressed with the substantial amount of experience I have with the real world.

     One of my goals in this experience is to find out more about how people relate to the handicapped community. I wish to read about how others have been made to view individuals with challenges and brainstorm ways in which their perception may be improved. I will read Life as We Know It: A Father, Family, and an Exceptional Child by Michael Berube. The subject of this book is not only about the experiences of a family of a child with Down syndrome, but also about society’s reaction to individuals with disabilities as well as health care and social issues that are intertwined with the handicapped community.

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4. Initiative, Independence, and Creativity

 

     I will demonstrate initiative in that I will be going through the application process to obtain a job at Apostolic Christian Oakwood Estate. This will consist of a few phone calls and an interview. As a 16-year-old last summer, I applied and received a position in the Nursing department there, a position for which I trained and applied. I plan on being re-employed to the same position in the neighboring facility, but may need to repeat some training in a one-day orientation process if they find it necessary.

     The skills that I acquired during my first session of employment at the AC home (described throughout this paper) will be with me as I encounter both familiar and new residents this summer. Personally, I will bring with me my love for the handicapped, my passion for serving, and my ability to manage time effectively. Since each day on the job is an experience in and of itself, I will be creative, open-minded, and ready for anything. I need to think on my feet to calm a resident or be aware of an unsafe situation. While my fellow employees are always available to help, most of my work will be self planned, driven, and executed as I accomplish the tasks on my shift.

     Because I have already gotten familiar with many of the residents, I will be able to help other new staff members who are not aware of certain helpful techniques or methods which are specialized to each resident. I will be able to sign up for new shifts that I have not worked before in order to give one of those staff members a day off, and I may even be able to volunteer with helping to get residents off the busses as they come home. I may also accompany the residents to important events like the Special Olympics.

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5. Reflection

 

     I plan to keep a digital journal of my experiences and thoughts as I work at ACOE. Working with the handicapped is a highly emotional experience, and I wish to catalogue my insights into humanity and service. I will ask myself if there is an ability that I found new appreciation for, describe occurrences in which my heart was touched, and detail interaction between the handicapped and people outside of the facility. More specifically, I will answer these questions every week: What have I learned about the purpose of service and what it means to be a servant-leader? How has my attitude about my service affected residents or staff around me? Have I experienced any social issues involving the handicapped? Have I witnessed a new perspective on how people view those with challenges? How have I seen the balance between power and privilege/ability upheld or violated? How can the design of a product or system be better suited to the handicapped community in order to empower an individual with disabilities to live a more normalized or comfortable lifestyle?

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6. Dissemination

 

     I am wary of putting any information about the residents in a public place because of legal implications, and photos of the residents are not to be shared outside of the facility. My goal is to reach students at the DAAP so that they can receive the same appreciation that I have found for my abilities and functional body. Designers have the potential to create new products for use in the home or in the medical world that could greatly benefit the handicapped. In general, it would be good for design students to have the handicapped in mind when creating a user-friendly product. I also want to publicly recognize organizations that have worked to bridge the gap between the handicapped and society. Additionally, I want to portray people with disabilities as being unique, valued, and an important part of our world. To reach these goals I will put up posters around DAAP (and also share them with members of IDSA) which feature key points about what I have learned from interaction with the handicapped and what they need in terms of products. The posters will remind design students to create products with everyone in mind, especially those with challenges, and to design with the goal of improving people’s lives.

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7. Project Advisor

 

     My supervisor, Evie Mogler, will act as advisor for this honors experience.  She has been involved with ACOE for quite some time, and is well versed in state policy. She knows the residents better than anyone, and has dedicated a large part of her life to the home. She will be able to give me insight into how the handicapped community is active in my area and how individuals with disabilities are being allowed to live a normalized lifestyle.