First visit

We had our first visit today! It was nothing like I had expected. It's bad to say it but I had all sorts of random thoughts running through my mind before I met the students and it's safe to say none of them matched reality. People are so quick to judge people with a disability and this may sound so obvious but: they really are just normal people. A few students were too shy to speak comfortably today at the first meeting but I was impressed at the confidence and eagerness of some students. Before we met, the leader Roz gave us some VERY helpful information and tips and they definitely came in handy. My initial thought would be to be overly sensitive to them and, like Roz already expected we would, talk to them as if they were children. Once she had explained that was not necessary I understood why; some of these students are older than me and they're not stupid! I was impressed at how easily the conversation flowed with some students and how we could talk about just general life topics like music and tv shows.

A girl called Molly is one of those students and within the first hour of meeting her I feel that we got on really well. Just a few years younger than me, our conversations matched those I would have with any school friends. We spoke about her favourite bands and her own family life. She was even so open about her disability that she asked us students for assistance when cutting her food.

I think what I need to improve on next week is making sure I associate myself with every student. Unintentionally I found that today, if I got on with someone (like Molly) I spent a lot of time with her building a strong bond as opposed to getting to know the other students. I will be sure to do that next time.