I am now part of a service called Motor and gross skills development with christian outreach where students play games with adults that have down syndrome.
In my first day at this service, I did not know what to expect as I had never done it before. Nevertheless, in grade 9, I did a service that was very similar to that one which meant I could reuse my skills. There are many activities available such as drawing, musical instruments, ring toss and balloons. Sometimes, it can be challenging to play with them as they do not particularly want to or they do not understand the game. It takes persistence and commitment to speak to them to try and make them understand what the games consist in. An example of that was when I asked one of them to play with the ball with me but she did not particularly understand she had to throw the ball back at me. So, instead of using a foam ball I decided to try a ballon as it goes slower and she had more time to react.
As a whole, i find this service very fun as I love to play with them and they are very entertaining. I also learned that simple is better. As long as you smile and you’re having fun they will sense the good vibe and will follow your footsteps.