By Peg P.

Beyond Words, a new class at HCLS Miller Branch and now at East Columbia too, began with a simple question from a frustrated mom of a teen. After scanning the multitude of offerings on our Teen Monthly Calendar, she asked, “What classes do you have that would be appropriate for my son?” While I explained that her son was welcome at any Teen class, I understood what she meant, as the young man had a moderate developmental/intellectual disability and we had no specifically designed offerings for him at the time.

This was actually something that had been percolating in my mind for a while as I frequently see customers and their caregivers using our computers to play games, watch videos, etc. It always takes me back to the days when I was a caregiver in a group home for adults with developmental disabilities, when it was difficult to find free developmentally/intellectually appropriate opportunities for the group.

In order to do this right, I knew that I needed to get some input from the community as to what they would like to see in terms of monthly classes, so I reached out to a few of our “regular” customers and caregivers for ideas. Together, we came up with the idea to have five stations that participants could rotate through – Motor Skills, Arts & Crafts, Movement, Cognitive Skills, and a Sensory station. The activities would change each month according to a theme and would be differentiated and/or have appropriate accommodations based on varying skill level or needs. For instance, arts and crafts supplies include markers, acrylic paint pens, crayons, egg-shaped palm crayons, a variety of different brush handle sizes, etc., not only to accommodate creative choice but also to ensure that folks with limited motor ability can still participate.

We have two different monthly classes at Miller Branch to accommodate customer availability. Our adult classes (18 and up) take place on second Tuesdays from 10 am – 12 pm. Teen classes are on fourth Wednesdays from 5 – 7 pm, when the teens are out of school and can attend with their parents or other caregivers. It also gives folks a way to socialize with others of their own age group.

I’m happy to say that Beyond Words has been a great success and has helped to partially fill an often-overlooked need within our community. Participants and caregivers have nothing but good feedback about this class and are thrilled that it has expanded for adults at the East Columbia Branch, creating more opportunity for folks to attend (thanks to the efforts of Adult Instructor Sharon Pruitt-Young, who opted to mirror our program at Miller).

There are many parts of my job as a Teen Instructor that bring me great joy, but nothing else comes close to the way I feel after a Beyond Words class. The experience really is magical, and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it. Special thanks to Stephanie and Michele at HCLS Miller Branch for their input and making this possible.

Peg Prentice is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at HCLS Miller Branch. She is a consummate nerd who has played Dungeons & Dragons for 40+ years, loves science (especially if there are fire and explosions involved), has an insatiable appetite for obscure factoids (Did you know that wombats’ poop is cube-shaped?), and was usually the last one picked for kickball.