Work

 

     Is there anything more satisfying than a good day's work, done with enthusiasm and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it? An article in a recent "Peace Arch News" edition reminded me that for most everyone, but especially for intellectually and/or physically challenged young people, there is nothing better.
     Our daughter has been doing work experience as part of her high school schedule for two years now. They have mostly all been positive experiences but the point is that they were experience. As anyone will tell you, it's hard to get a job without experience but it's almost impossible to get experience without a job. That is the beauty of work experience. It takes place during the school day and helps a student figure out what they want to do in the future. Our daughter has had half a dozen of these placements and everywhere she went she learnt different skills and discovered something new about herself and the world out there. The Job Coach EA that has been accompanying her this year is especially supportive which makes the time spent out of school especially rewarding. And our daughter has met some amazing folks out in the community, eager to give her a chance at learning while working.
     If you are in the position to give a young person a job, please recognize what an opportunity that is for that person. If you are in the position to give an intellectually or physically disabled young person a job, please recognize what an opportunity that is for them and for you. You could be changing a life!

Whisper

     I am almost afraid to say it out loud so I will whisper it and hope that you hear: Our daughter is four months seizure free for the first time since she started high school....five years! Of course, she could be at school having a seizure as I write this; it all could change in the blink of an eye. However I am willing to chance it and celebrate the possibility that our daughter could have relatively longer periods of seizure freedom. Could we even dare to hope that she has grown out of her epilepsy? It is possible, as there is no physiological occurrence that could explain her seizures--- no tumours, no lesions, nothing readily visible. But it is too soon for that and I must remember to take each day as it comes...life is change after all.
     As our daughter prepares to leave high school behind and start this next chapter of her life, we pause to look back at all that she has accomplished and what did not go well. Her teachers and classes were great and the environment at school though crowded, was relatively supportive. Friendship and the ability to find a welcoming place to eat lunch every day did not happen until the very end of Grade Twelve but all in all, it was fine. Our daughter had the majority of her seizures in the past five years, many of them while at school but she was never bullied or ridiculed because of it. Many people at school were more caring towards her as a result. Her high school administration has also been very accommodating in attempting to keep her graduation event participation short and therefore more stress free. With less than a month to go until the end of school, life for her seems positive and full of possibilities. Maybe we can turn that whisper into a shout....