Expanding on WALES and Respect

I got some requests to expand a little on WALES and the Respect Leader position.

WALES is a program for people who have been labeled with a developmental disability. I help participants to accomplish goals they set for themselves.

The Respect Campaign is run through Conestoga. It runs events that promote inclusion and diversity. Leaders organize events, facilitate meetings with volunteers, perform public speaking roles, and collaborate with Student Life staff.

My cell phone is not in a good way. Every time I get a message, it says that I have 240 new messages... And it will alert me like, three times. It's losing it.

I've got a three-day job carving training this Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Job carving is looking at areas, finding a need, and inventing positions. It differs from job searching in that job searching has the employer present the position of need, whereas with job carving, the worker presents the position of need. It's important for my placement, because a large part of our effort is helping participants to find work.

I'm looking into the possibility of being a one-to-one worker for Extend-a-Family over the summer, and I'm hoping to do my eight month placement next year with WALES. 

Last week I got to bring some of the participants to an autism awareness BBQ. I ran into a couple of my SSW friends, since our placements tend to take an interest in such an event. I got to introduce some of the participants to my school friends. It was cool.

The Inclusion Workshop was cool. One of the participants from WALES made a speach and he gave me a shout-out. I felt like a kid who is friends with the popular kid, and so popular by association.