PARTICIPANTS PART 2: THE BUSY CLOCK WATCHER

The second participant I will introduce to you in my serial story about the Play on Wheels participants is a young lady with Down Syndrome. It is a girl with a strong personality! The most apparent characteristics so far are her stubbornness and determination. She is girl who knows what she wants and what she doesn´t want. And there is no one who is able to convince her to do something against her will. Everything is on her condition, she wants to be the one in control. Which is great! It means that it is difficult to take advantage of her, which is unfortunately quite common among people with Down Syndrome. It also means that it is quite difficult to introduce new ideas or activities to her. Unfortunately I believe the reason behind this behavior is based on a severe under stimulation during a long period of time. As a result she lacks the self-esteem necessary to try new activities and get to know new people. Being a center figure and receiving a lot of attention is probably not what she is used to either, which is expressed as shyness. With the encouragement and empowerment provided by Play on Wheels I know for sure that I will see a more outgoing and open minded person next time I am in South Africa. I have already noticed some changes from her first day at the center and last week I even made her play tennis with me. A huge progress from her side. And guess what, she really enjoyed it! :-)

Although she might not be interested in some of the activities that we try to motivate her to engage in, she is very fond of speaking on her cell phone! It doesn´t matter that it is pretended. She is very often busy talking on the phone and keeps the phone close to her at all times. She doesn´t want to miss any important calls.

She is also very particular about the time. She knows exactly when she is supposed to be fetched in the mornings to come to the center. And she is quick to tell the staff when the day is over. By pointing at the non existing watch at her wrist she reminds every one about the time. She is the clock watcher of Play on Wheels. And she is very disappointed when the driver is running late. It is not very “African” to care about being on time, but you should also remember that she is a very special young lady - in a positive sense.