Easterseals is a nonprofit organization.
We have been providing services for individuals with disabilities for about 80 years in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
We have three daycare centers, two in Miami-Dade, one in Broward, where we provide services for seniors with memory impairment disorders.
We provide in-home respite in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, and we provide headstart services for families in need in Miami-Dade County in six different locations.
We also provide special education for children and young adults with disabilities from birth to 22 years old.
Our program follows the Sunshine State Standards, but we do have modified curriculum.
The classroom looks like a regular class.
They have reading, language arts, math, science, social studies.
Once they go to high school, it varies a little bit because it's a culinary arts program.
So even though they have this academic component, they go to the kitchen every day either to prepare the food for the entire school.
They prepare breakfast, lunch, and snack, or to do the cleaning part of the kitchen that is necessary.
They also have the Living Skill Center, which is where they learn about their independent skills.
They practice how to work in an office, how to prepare an order, how to take a break, because some of them don't know how to take a break.
You have free time and they don't know what to do.
They learn the measurement unit, we'll teach them all of the cooking terms, the cooking method, the cutting method.
In career preparation, we teach them how to success in a job interview, how to follow through in a job when they get a job, how to apply for job openings.
Most of the time when we go to the kitchen that the chef assign them to do any type of job, Miss.
Wendy say, "Jackie supervise the student."
And I say, "Guy, you are, you know more than me about the culinary program."
They feel that they are important in the thing that they are doing.
We wanna make sure that everything we do is organized, right or wrong?
Well, like , no.
Okay, then we need to do the same because there's a standard that we live by, right?
So my method is it doesn't matter what kind of job you're gonna get, it needs to be a process.
So there needs to be discipline, there needs to be a sequence, and there needs to be steps in everything you do.
And I find that most of them, even if they don't like the kitchen or they don't like cooking, they take on these steps which is gonna like equip them for life.
Even if we need to tweak something, it's doable, you know?
So I don't put limitations on them.
Sometimes I push them a little hard, but for me, there is no limitations to what they can do.
You can see that, you know, from our students, they grow into adults that are functional.
They just need to be given that chance.
I think that identifying the unique abilities of our students, it's critical to everything that we do.
Once you identify how good they are at certain areas, we are able to place them in locations.
Either it's an internship or a job where they can themselves feel fulfilled because they are doing something they are good at and they are doing something that they like.
So it comes full circle.
When we believe in them and they know somebody's believing in them and they see themselves, the result of the things they can do.
It's pretty obvious and it's pretty seamless how accomplished they are going to feel.
Right now we have a partnership with Nicklaus Children and two of our current students are doing their internship there in the cafeteria where they're practicing their skills they are learning here with Chef Wendy.
They're putting into practice there.
I like to to cook , chili, pasta.
I like to learn new ingredient.
I like to cook and I like to help other people too.
It make me feel good.
I wanna go to college and get my education, then I wanna have my own restaurant.
We currently have Shakinah and Sebastian, two students that have worked in a couple different areas within our department, knowing that they've been trained so that they know how to use kitchen equipment.
Sometime there's a fear, oh, they can't use the slicer, they're gonna burn themselves.
They've been trained so that they know.
So taking that step back and just like you would do any new hire, keep an eye, are they using the equipment properly?
Are they not?
And that's been one of the best parts is that they know and they're familiar.
So now it's like putting them in the real world.
They wanna work, they wanna learn, and they want to be in the real space.
So it's making sure that they feel comfortable so that they're able to grow.
It's super rewarding for me when a student comes back to the program after they've graduated and said, "You know, Miss.
Wendy, I'm working in the community and thank you so much for what you did."
And, you know, also, my coworkers, the academic teachers, you have no idea how fulfilling that is for me.
You know, because my goal is to equip them and set them up for life, you know, for success.
We need them to graduate and be part of the workforce.
They're really good workers.
So we need them to be included in the community and be part of that, and eventually be independent and be able to have a life on their own.
I think from the parents in particular, they see their child with a mission now, now they have a purpose.
They are able to identify their abilities and their skills, and they now know that they can get a job.
They were able to see the full potential of their own child.
So to any parent, I think that my advice would be to trust in their child's ability to always strive and help them gain independence in various aspects.
And also believe in organizations that provide services Like Easterseals.
We are here to support them now and in the future, and they are not alone.