Special Need citizens

[Flochief]

My Volunteer department has been requested to help find something for a couple of special needs teenagers (twins). Their support group says they are good help, in fact they both used to work at a local grocery store. I do know they both love firefighters and the traditions of the fire service. Have any of you had any dealings with this type of situation before? Their mother says they would love to come to station to be with us during the training meetings and help with things like "Boot Drive", doing light work, etc.
I think it would be great if we could help citizens like this in a total different way than what we are use to. What are your thoughts and opinions?
Thanks,
Glenn

[jlcooke3]

I think you have a golden oppurtunity here. First I would think that you need to sit down with the support group, the teens, and their parents so they you can get an idea of their capabilities and limitations are and what they can and want to do. Once that's done take what you have learned back to the department members and discuss it with them, I'm sure you'll get a lot of positive feedback and ideas on how they can help out.

[Firefighter2230]

We ran across a similar situation the young man was the son of a member he was slow and had health problems. What our department did was made him an honorary member her did not receive turnout gear however he was issued a helmet which he was fine with and absolutely treasured the helmet. And we knew that he was not capable of making any calls however he showed up to as many training meetings as he could and when he did there was not a single person who would not at some point carry on a conversation or talk to him.

I think anyway you can get them to help would be a wonderful thing

[backsteprescue123]

I agree with everyone to find a way to integrate them into the dept.

I love sitting down and having discussions with older people, disabled people, and sick people. I have learned alot.

One of the most rewarding things I have ever done, is teaching mentally handicapped children how to swim. I learn more from them than they ever will know, and someday, this may just save their life.

[Dickey]

Yes, depending on their capabilities, they can do a lot around the station. At one time, we had guy who was mentally challenged but was stable enough to live on his own with frequent checks. We found a loop hole to keep him around as and Explorer until he turned 25 yrs old. He was a great asset. He became too old to be an explorer anymore and at the same time moved away far enough so that he could not ride his bike to the station anymore.

You need to keep the parent/guardian involved and find out special medical info such as medications and behaviors. A certain word or sound may trigger an episode. People like this can help with everything but drive the trucks. If you ever get this opprotunity, take advantage of it. It gives them purpose and something to do, the family gets to see them do something they enjoy, and they will soon become a part of the fire station family.