31yrs

female

Speaks English

I am currently a student at Grand Valley State University studying Special Education. I am very passionate about this major because I have been exposed to a lot of kids with special needs and I want to give them the care that they need. My brother has bipolar disorder, so I am very familiar with behavioral disorders. Most of my experience with special needs kids has been through volunteering, but I am very eager to learn and am willing to get more experience in this area. I currently volunteer at a school in the Grand Rapids area with kids ages 3-5 who have special needs. It's a program called Young Athletes and I help the kids with their motor skills as they do fun activities in the gym such as basketball, soccer, scooters, obstacle courses, etc. I've also had some exposure to kids that are older and have special needs. Last year, I volunteered in a Special Education classroom for a month. It was a classroom of 6 male students(16-17 years old) who had some form of autism. Toward the end of my experience, the teacher allowed me to lead the classroom activities and assist the students with their work. I have also worked at a summer camp for two years with kids ages 4-12.