Highland Friendship Club

As part of my OT program I need to do some volunteering. The idea is to broaden my horizons and expose me to ages, conditions or ethnic groups with which I have little experience. This summer I wanted to do something that would allow me to be outside and/or be active. My search led me to Highland Friendship Club. This club was started by two moms who each had a son with disabilities. The older their sons became, the less activities were suited for their abilities. So they decided to create their own activities for teens and young adults. In the last 10 years it has grown and includes all sorts of activities from fitness to gardening to cooking to art to movie making and a monthly birthday bash.

I help with a fitness class on Monday evening and a water aerobics class on Saturday afternoon. I'm being active and I'm also enjoying getting to know the club members and the staff. Each member is unique. Some have cognitive disabilities; others have physical problems and some have both. Three of those who come to swimming come with a PCA (personal care attendant). They are not very verbal but enjoy the water. One of these young men was particularly cooperative on Saturday and he did some things I'd never seen him do before. His face glowed with pleasure at the praise and fist bumps he received from his PCA and some of the staff.

The woman who runs the water aerobics class is an OT so I've been observing how she meets each of the members at their level. For example, one of the young men has tight muscles since his arms and legs are almost never straight. It doesn't help that he spends most of his time in a wheelchair. The warm water in the therapeutic pool helps release the tightness but it still takes some work to completely straighten his limbs.  One of the neat things about this group is that each member is greeted by name and is accepted for who they are with their unique abilities.