Activity Instructors are the heart and soul of the Activity Portion of A Touch of Understanding.  These dedicated individuals travel to attend presentations and instruct and assist children in learning about the tools associated with disabilities.  They assist students with using wheelchairs and mobility canes, handling braces and artificial limbs, writing in Braille and participating in a mirror-writing activity to simulate the frustration of a learning disability.  Activity instructors give the hands-on opportunity to students that leaves a lasting impression. 

A Touch of Understanding gives my retirement days special meaning and value.  It's very satistying to watch attitudes, particularly children's, change before your eyes.

"Wow!"  "Way cool!"  "That's amazing!"  "No Way!" 

These are but  few of the comments I hear as I share a hands-on experience introducing orthotic and prosthetic devices to school children.  It is exciting to watch as their expressions of discomfort change as they get "up close and personal" with the tools used by persons with disabilties.

It all started with a broken ankle in 2000.  While using a wheelchair, I had a chance to see how inaccessible our accessible society really is.  This was also an opportunity to experience how uneducated and ill-informed the public is regarding people with special needs. 

In the spring of 2001, I visited a presentation, just to see what ATOU was all about.  As they say, "The rest is history."

The kids with whom we have shared the program and the volunteers with whom I work, have added so much to my life.

It is a privilege to be part of this worthwhile program.

A Touch of Understanding is a life-changing program; and as we all work together to understand others' challenges, we are amazed to find how much all our lives have been enriched.

I have been volunteering with A Touch of Understanding since 1998. I have to say that working with this group of people has been one of the best things I have ever experienced. This is because what I gain personally from ATOU is far greater than what I am able to give through hours of volunteering.  Yes, there is work involved!  Sometimes, there are hours and hours of work involved. But normally, the more one works, the greater the reward.

A Touch of Understanding has one main goal: respect, respect for those that are different from us, respect for others that we know nothing about, respect for ourselves! We concentrate our message around those we call "disabled". It's easy to demonstrate disability "tools" and have kids experience a different way of "writing", or "walking" or "seeing". But what we are really trying to teach is kindness. If only we could realize that we are all the same as human beings and we need to be kind to one another!

I've known Leslie DeDora for many years. Our children were in the same preschool together, we attended the same church and we worked in the same elementary school. But it was only in the late 1990's that we became good friends. It was through that friendship that I started volunteering with ATOU.  It seemed like a good thing to do when my children were grown and I was looking for something worthwhile to do with my life.

It's taken me a long time to realize that I had a story in my life that was the root reason for my devotion to the ATOU message. I had a wonderful brother, Rob. He was 8 years older than me so even though we were not close in age, we had a quiet respect and love for each other. Rob was a funny and kind person. He was a child of the 40's and 50's and I have memories of him singing and dancing around to Elvis and Everly Brother's songs. He played in the band in elementary school and loved cars and hanging out with his friends.

When Rob was 7, he began to have a "rash" on his neck. None of the doctors could figure out what was causing it. It was itchy and drove him crazy. By the time he was a teenager, the rash had spread over most of his body, especially his face. Eventually, the doctors came up with a disease name, Darier's Disease.  It had something to do with the way his skin cells would not naturally renew themselves. It didn't "disable" him in any physical way, but it certainly was disabling psychologically. Can you imagine what it was like to have this ugly skin on his face as a teenager?  As an adult, it was difficult for him to go anywhere where there were a lot of people because he was always being stared at. Actually, there were many times that remarks were made to him like, "What is wrong with you?" or "Can't you do something about that 'stuff' on your face?" In the 50's and 60's people were even less tolerant than they are now. Not "understanding" what they saw, made them dislike him for being different.  (Perhaps this is not so different from the way many people are now.)

 Rob dropped out of high school because of the ridicule. He went from job to job and eventually worked for several hotels in Las Vegas (that's where we lived) parking cars for all the "beautiful" people as they came in for a fun night of "gambling and entertainment". He always worked nights; he was less visible then. He had only a few friends.  Most of them hung around because he would always "give them the shirt off his back", whenever they needed him.

 He endured many years of doctors testing him and trying new drugs out on him. There was always the promise of something new that might help cure him but it wasn't until the early 80's that they tried a new drug called Acutane on him.  Of course they were not yet aware of some of the dangers of this drug and gave him incredibly high doses of it, just to see what would happen. It did help his skin clear up some, but the effects on his mind and body of the many legal and illegal drugs that he took, finally ended his life in 1985.

 I loved my brother and I miss him still. But I will never get over the devastating effects ignorance and intolerance can have. Must we continue to hurt those that are "different" by our indifference and teasing? This is why the message of ATOU is so important to me.

I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to work with such an incredible group of people. Each of the volunteers, disabled or not, have brought their own talents and stories to this group. They have each enriched my life by allowing me to know them. And they enrich the lives of each child and adult that they come in contact with. They are positive and strong and have much to offer to the world.  
 

In the spring of 2002, I was looking for some new volunteer opportunities. I had been doing a number of volunteer activities since early 2001 after becoming a widow in September 2000. Those activities had all been involved with elderly folks. I wanted to find some worthwhile activity which involved people of different ages.

I was at the local library to tutor an adult through a program with Placer Adult Literacy. There was a newsletter from the Foothills Volunteer Center with a listing of volunteer opportunities on the bulletin board at the library. The first organization on the list was A Touch of Understanding. They were looking for presentation volunteers—people who related to children. I made a note of the name and number to call.  The rest is really history.

When Leslie DeDora, the Executive Director, and I spoke, I learned about the program, its activities, goals, and needs. Leslie asked about my background. At the time, I was a business consultant focusing on documents, sort of a technical writer but covering more than technical material. Leslie explained that ATOU needed a volunteer manual written. I offered that I could certainly do that. Within a couple months, in addition to starting work on the Volunteer Manual and assisting with school presentations, I was recruited for the Board of Directors.

I have always been a strong proponent for giving children all the things they need to grow up healthy: good nutrition, good interaction with parents, siblings, and others, good education, and good training in interpersonal skills. In the late 1970's, I taught elementary school. I have respect for children and believe that they can change the world for the better if we give them the proper upbringing and education.

Stepping into the role of a presentation assistant was a natural move for me. I later began facilitating the activity portion of the program. And, yes, we completed the Volunteer Manual in 2003 thanks to lots of help from Leslie and from Jeanne Culhane, another volunteer, who took lots of great photos for the document.

Each time we work in a school, I am reminded that children hold hope for the future. I see the impact of the program. I remember working at the mirror station with a group of third graders. One little boy became frustrated. He said, "I can't do this! I tried twice and it is too hard!"  I asked him if he thought that Mike Penketh (who he had heard speak earlier and is a man with two artificial hands) gave up on his new artificial arms after two tries. Not only did this question bring this boy up short, but I saw the mouths of the other students at the mirrors drop in surprise and eyes react to the perception that some things take more than two tries to accomplish.

There are benefits to being an ATOU volunteer other than feeling a sense of accomplishment and a sense of contribution to the youth of our area. The friendship and support of the other volunteers is invaluable. These people are inspiring whether they are a disabled speaker, a presentation assistant, a volunteer for fund raising, or a driver of volunteers who are unable to drive. I know these people will be my friends for life.

We all share in the gratification that comes from being part of such a wonderful program. I am thankful that I saw that advertisement for volunteers, and I am thankful that Leslie DeDora and her father, Ed Ennis, had the initiative, tenacity, and stamina to develop and continue such a worthwhile program.  If you want to have some fun, come and join us!

I was exposed to  ATOU at Greenhills Elementary School~ its very beginnings!! I was then a Room Mom volunteer of a second grader who was in AWE of the "Parts" on the table (the artificial arms and legs) as he called them. He kept looking at them, then looking at me as if to ask, "Is it REALLY all right to touch um, Mom?" That son, now 19 and a U.S. Marine continues to be in awe of the parts and is so grateful that he was introduced to disability awareness when he was young. He returned home from combat training his earlier this year and was able to attend a presentation. The same important message was made clear.

A few words can't possibly explain what ATOU has meant to me.........Have you ever wanted to belong to a group where you are always Welcomed Warmly with Huge Hugs and Super Smiles? A place where Life lessons and laughter are endless?  For me it has been a haven of Forever Friends who love you when you can come and help, and love you anyway if you can't...... This program is a reflection of that graciousness.

 As a child I had a neighbor who was blind. I was terrified as he walked with his white cane up and down the sidewalk of our street. I would stop playing immediately and stand silently as he passed by.  Although he knew I was there, I wouldn't answer when he would speak. I felt awkward and was scared ...I didn't Understand!!!

The BEST feeling in the world as a volunteer of ATOU is to KNOW that you have made a connection with a child to help them Understand and to BE understanding of those with disabilities. I have always felt that a difference has been made for everyone involved as we pack up our equipment and leave.

Over the years, ATOU and it's members have made a HUGE  IMPACT on my life ~ Forever Friends imprinted on my heart~ I pray that many, many more volunteers will come into and be a part of this terrific group! You will forever be touched.

 YOU WILL GET MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER GIVE!

A Touch of Understanding's hands-on approach dispels fears that a person may have about including people with disabilities in their lives.