My Life Changing Decision: SCAMP
Ever since I remember, I have always wanted to make a change in someones life. I have wanted to have the feeling of satisfaction after I know I made someone smile. I remember in elementary school, there was a boy named Noah in my class. He always had a chew toy in his mouth, always had a teacher at his side, and he always made weird noises and sometimes cried a lot. I felt bad because nobody talked to him, but I think people just thought he was weird. One day towards the end of third grade we were fidgety in class, anxious for summer, reading a class story when he started screaming and we all had to leave the room - it was like when you are sitting in class quietly and the fire alarm randomly goes off, you just sit there with blank looks on your face unsure of what to do. We were all so confused and a little scared but later a special needs teacher came to our class and talked to us about what had happened with our friend Noah. “Our friend Noah was diagnosed with Autism when he was a little boy. People with autism have to find different ways to do things. They have to sometimes take breaks, leave the classroom, and sometimes he goes to speech class! Noah is a boy who can’t talk, but sometimes you might see him rocking in his chair, and you also might hear him whining. But don’t be scared of him because he all he wants is a friend to hang out with…” After the teacher left, I was so curious about everybody with autism. I just wanted to be around people with autism just to see what it is like. I wanted to know if it was fun or hard.

In sixth grade, I was eleven years old. I came home one day and my mom asked me if I had ever heard of the program SCAMP, but I never did. My mom told me that it was a five week summer program for anybody with any type of disability. I was overcome with excitement because this what I have always wanted to do, help people with special needs. I felt as if I had just won the lottery because I was so excited. After my mom told me what it was, it took me two seconds to get online and print off an application. I applied to be a volunteer, and I got accepted!!! I still remember my first day ever working there, it was located at nearby Middle School. It was a hot summer day with a light breeze, I was really nervous because I was afraid I would do something wrong when I interact with the children. I was put in the group with 4 and 5 year olds and I was assigned with a little boy named Mitch. He was a four year old little boy with down syndrome. I was excited because I have never worked with anybody with down syndrome, I just knew how cute they are! When his parents dropped him off, the first thing he did was run behind the bushes. I had no clue what to do. I thought about all the practice and experience I have had with children with special needs that refused to listen. I thought of the times in elementary school when I would go to the ASD room to help the students down there, and I remember listening to the teachers helping get the kids that were upset, I remember how they talked to them, I remember how they looked at them. So when Mitch decided to run into the bushes, I used a stern voice, I got to his eye level and looked through his glasses into his brown eyes, and most definitely I did not raise my voice. "Mitch, this is your warning and if you don't listen to Miss. Kate then you will have to sit out for 3 minutes. You don't want to do that, do you?" He sat there and thought about it for a while then eventually he came out. When he came out, I felt like I did something right. I had this satisfaction of me feeling like a teacher. But mostly, I was very happy because I must have done it right. I was able to use a stern voice without him getting upset with me.

With me now being a 16 year old young adult, I am now driving, and have a lot more on my mind than I did when I was eleven - college, school, relationships, and all my responsibilities. But to this day, five years later, I am still very close with Mitch and his family. On occasions, I go over to his house and babysit him and his sister. Although Mitch is very high maintenance and sometimes he can throw a little tantrum and hit and spit and bite me, he has probably one of the biggest hearts and he is such a fun boy to be around. I can tell you for sure, that there is never a dull moment when I am with him. There are some days after I babysit him, I just go home and cry because my emotions are all over the place. What hurts me the most is when I can't understand him because of his speech impediment. There are times when he is talking to me about school and he says something, but I just don't hear what he says. Mitch may have a disability but I do not see him differently than any other child I babysit.

If I wouldn't have worked at SCAMP for the past 5 years, I believe I would be a totally different person. SCAMP hasn't only taught me to give to others, it has taught me to accept others no matter who they are. As every summer comes to an end, I always get so sad because I know that SCAMP will be ending. Although a lot of SCAMP is dealing with kids that hit, pinch, bite, and spit at you, it is something that I have wanted to do for almost my entire life and I wouldn't change it for anything. When the kids get in their car with big smiles on their faces at the end of every day, it’s impossible to not have a smile on your own face. It is the most rewarding and meaningful part of my life and I can see myself working with people with special needs for the rest of my life.