Believe in Children

THIS IS A REPUBLISH FROM May 23 2010, DUE TO SOME COMPLICATIONS IN THE ORIGINAL POST. I would also like to dedicate this to my dad (Thathi), who has taught me so much more about Autism and its effects on peoples lives.

http://www.barnardos.org.uk/

This is a tribute to all the members of the Aut' & About Barnardos team and the participating young people, based in the borough of Tower Hamlets, East London. I miss working as a project worker alongside each and every one of you doing the wonderful things you do every week.

I always wonder about who all our young people are growing up to be? Who is talking and improving the development of their speech? Who has become better behaved or naughtier? Who has put on weight or slimmed down?! Who has moved on from the scheme and who has joined? A year and 8 months of working within this amazing and inspiring group gave me an opportunity to fuel my own personal passion to work within the charity sector. To represent a voice for the vulnerable amongst us. You all serve the group with a true belief in children, and continue with your hard efforts because of your own visions and abilities to change these individuals' lives. I hope that one day once I have returned to London, I will be back in Bethnal Green at a ridiculous time of a Saturday morning walking into the Spark Centre to begin another day's work with you all.

The Aut' & About Scheme has been running for twelve years. Without the backbone of this hearty team's own determination to provide a service for the participating young people, as well as their parents and families, this scheme would have crumbled soon after its start due to the high pressures it faces on a weekly basis.

The scheme caters to young people that suffer from severe Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Being one of the few schemes in the region available for the extreme severities of ASD, some of their current service users have already sadly been the victims of negative discrimination, in the form of rejection from other schemes and schools, mainly due to the lack of understanding and knowledge. The Barnardos Aut' & About Scheme has become a pillar of support in these users' lives, providing an essential service, not only to the users' themselves, but also to their families.

The team is structured into two age groups, 'Juniors' (8 to 12 years old), and 'Seniors' (13 to 19 years old), with a maximum of ten young people per session. The project workers are assigned to the young person on a 1:1 or 2:1 basis to ensure that each child gets the full attention and care necessary.

When I first started working with the Barnardos team in April 2008, I felt quite assured that I was mentally and physically prepared for what was to come. With my record of voluntary work and experience with individuals suffering from various forms of disabilities, I assumed that I would be an easy fit. Very soon into my role I realised that this couldn't have been further from the truth. 

The first major hurdle I had to overcome was gaining the trust of these young people. For months I was clearly still considered the outsider, which was understandable considering that most of the other Project Workers had been with the scheme for at least ten years. They had literally seen these children grow into their adolescence. Continual bad behaviour and lack of listening was enough of an indication that I needed to back down and let the children take lead of my acceptance into the group. After a few months of patience and perseverance, I had proven my place. During one of our sessions, while sitting at the cinema watching a film, two of the young people sitting on either side of me shifted their bodies, leaning against me, and inter-wound their arms with mine. This is the moment I have been waiting for, I thought, as they both clung tightly to my arms, while I watched the animation of the film dancing around the surface of their excited, gleaming eyes.

In most cases disability is not something bestowed to individuals by choice. It influences one's family life, social life and personal welfare, as well as having a tremendous effect on other people that may be involved in the individual's life. We as a human race take our perfectly healthy bodies and orderly minds for granted, every single day! What if we were able to walk a day in the shoes of a person with a disability? Would it change our perspectives on our own daily insecurities and hang ups? I give myself this reality check every time I find my mind wondering into idol thoughts. My time with Barnardos as an organisation, with the team I worked within, and with the young people we catered to was one of the best moments of my career history. I appreciate the gift the children gave me. An opportunity to look through the eyes of another and see how society and environment can be so starkly altered, all simply depending on what kind of a body you were born into.

Appreciate the people around you and smile at the good things in your lives. You will truly understand the preciousness of these small wonders if and when they cease to exist.