Lifeskills

This week I was working in the Lifeskills class, the only class in the Enrichment Centre I hadn't worked with yet. The Lifeskills class holds the oldest group of teenagers (I think the oldest is 18) and the aim is to help them become as independent as possible. This is achieved through weekly work placements at the Garden Centre, running their own popcorn business within the school and getting them to help with chores around the classroom. What I personally loved about working with the lifeskills children is that all of them are given the opportunity to learn the basic skills required for any person who wants to live independently and I think it's fantastic that they're given the same chance as everyone else.

One of the difficult things about working with classes in the Enrichment Centre, especially in Lifeskills, is that all the children suffer from different disabilities which affect them in different ways. In Lifeskills the main aim is to increase their independence and prepare them for the outside world but some of the children will always require a little bit of assistance.

One boy, for example, suffers from epilepsy and is unable to communicate effectively with the people around him. He understands when you ask him to do something but will usually only communicate in Sepedi, a common language in South Africa. This does mean that I now know the Sepedi word for 'orange' which is Lamunu... and how to say some other basic phrases like 'hello' (Dumela), 'how are you' (O kae?) and 'I'm fine' (Ke gona). Like many of the children in the Enrichment Centre he also responds well to music and if you start singing the South African National Anthem he will take the lead and sing all four verses right to the end.

On the other end of the spectrum there is a boy in the Lifeskills class who suffers from autism but is extremely capable of doing his own work. Like many people who suffer from autism however, he doesn't fully understand how to interact socially which could prove a problem when he leaves Mitchell House. So while with one child we're focusing on a whole range of skills, with another we're just focusing on social interaction.

On Thursday we celebrated one the boy's 16th birthday by going to Ten Pin Bowling. We started of the afternoon by handing out cake and crisps while one of the other boys gave a birthday speech. The speech started of really well but then started to go down hill when he started talking about "how annoying the birthday boy could sometimes be.." At that point we quickly interjected, thanked him for his speech and gave him a piece of cake to stop him talking. When we had all finished eating we headed over to the bowling alley and got into teams, mentally preparing ourselves with team pep talks... The funniest part of the whole day was when one of the boys (the one who suffers from epilepsy) confidently walked up to the alley and just dropped his bowling ball. The ball then crept down the isle at a snails pace but somehow still managed to knock all the pins over... When the screen came up with a massive 'STRIKE!' he just turned a round, smiled and sat back down again. What a technique!

In other news, last weekend I took part in the Polokwane Walk for Cancer which was held in the city stadium. We went along with one of the teachers and spent a few hours walking laps of the running track and occasionally stopping for a cinnamon pancake... Overall it was a great evening and it was fantastic for us to get involved with something so special.

On Monday I will be back in the Mainstream classes with all of the little Grade 00s. At Aftercare yesterday I asked one of the boys if he was excited to have me back in his class and he replied with, "You don't have to come to my class, just come to my home so we can play Power Rangers." I said that the offer was extremely tempting, but that my lack of Power Ranger knowledge would let me down so how about I just help him out in class on Monday. He replied, "Fine. But don't forget your laser gun."

Polokwane Walk for Cancer

Polokwane Walk for Cancer