Littlest Angels Article

by George Moore, Silicon Valley Papers
Photograph by Douglas Rider

From Cupertino Courier News Article, February 6, 2002

Adrian and Rigo Amador spend their spare time as two pint-sized mentors at the Simoneon Pediatric Care Center

When Adrian Amador was only 5 years old and attending kindergarten, he wanted to assist children like his older brother Rigo, who is now 8. Rigo has been a child mentor for the past year and a half at the Simoneon Pediatric Care Center, a nonprofit in San Jose founded by Mary Scholer.

The day Adrian graduated from kindergarten he told his grandmother, "Now I get to go to Mary's."

Adrian has been mentoring at Simoneon four days a week since September--his brother Rigo now only goes on Saturdays because of his homework. Both boys attend St. Joseph of Cupertino--following in the footsteps of their mother and uncles.

Their mother, Monique Amador, works in the evenings so they spend a good deal of time with their grandmother, Patricia Garcia, who, as a single mom, raised three kids of her own. From the time they were 4 years of age, Garcia had them singing and dancing in convalescent homes--always placing an emphasis on the value of service. After that, Garcia said, she took them to children's shelters to entertain and interact with them.

"They all went into the caring profession," Garcia said.

Her daughter is a psychiatric nurse, and one of her sons works with troubled juveniles.

"My daughter's pretty much raising Rigo and Adrian the way she was brought up," she added.

Scholer said there are so many kids in this world focus on material things to find happiness, when being in service is what brings true happiness.

"And why not start at a young age to teach the child values and that there are things they can do in this life that can really make a difference for another human being?" Scholer asked. "It can give a child a look at life from a different perspective."

Both Garcia and Scholer said they would like to start a program called "Special Angels," to inform people about what they are doing and get their children involved.

"Some parents may think their child should be older before volunteering," Garcia said. "I think the younger they start, the less inclined they are to have preconceived notions of working with challenged children."

"There's more an embracing of differences rather than a tolerance of differences," Scholer added.

Scholer said the boys take part in "Integrated Play," which seeks to inspire children having a hard time to move forward. She said it can be difficult when you have a child who hasn't been successful, and as an adult you say to them, "Lets work on this," but they don't want to do it because they feel it's too hard for them.

"But then they see another child doing it and having fun and think, 'Well, maybe I can try it,'" Scholer said.

At the Simoneon Center, occupational therapists work with children, from infants to age 14, who have a variety of disabilities, Scholer said. These include learning disabilities, autism, mental retardation, coordination disorders, attention span problems and cerebral palsy.

"Some of the kids have handwriting problems or difficulty with language--they might not talk because they don't feel secure enough in their ability to organize their thinking," Scholer said. "But when they've got a little guy like Adrian here talking to them, they're going to open up."

When Adrian's grandmother asked him why he wants to come to the center, he answered, "Because I like working with children."

Adrian works with two children who have severe attention problems. When he is there, they stay in one place and don't run around the room because they want to be with him, Scholer said. Adrian also works with a 9-year-old girl who is frightened of doing much physically.

"There was a time when she would not go down an escalator because it terrified her," Scholer said. "Now she's swinging through the air, doing trapeze activities and jumping off of things. Having Adrian here has made a big difference."

Scholer said both of the boys have been able to acclimate, and the children have acclimated to them immediately, regardless of what problems they have. Rego has worked at the center long enough--working with kids' feelings, moods and activities--to see progress in the children.

"One of them had a hard time talking and he got better at talking," Rego said. "Another one had a hard time sharing and taking turns. Then one day I saw him and he had improved so much."

Rego once taught an older boy how to play basketball, and it didn't take long for him to catch on.

"I didn't think he would get good enough to beat me, but he did," Rego said.

Scholer said last year Rego was working with a child who was unsteady on his feet and was uncomfortable doing anything that challenged his balance.

"But now he wants to try everything because of Rego," she said.

The boys lead very active lives, playing soccer and hockey and ice-skating. According to Garcia, Rego plays the flute and the piano and performs folkloric dancing with Los Lupenos de San Jose.

It is important that a mentor be able to follow instructions, and Scholer said not every child is focused enough to do this.

"They need to know their purpose in being here is to be an assistant to the child and not lose sight of this," she said.

According to Scholer, Rego and Adrian are the only child mentors currently volunteering at the center. There were two others, but homework is taking too much of their time.

"That's usually the problem as they get into the older grades," she said. "We can certainly use more children in our program."

Challenged kids often do not have many friends because they are perceived as so different and are not understood, Scholer explained.

"They gain a sense of confidence in reaching out to others once Rego and Adrian have had an experience with them," she said.

Scholer said the whole point of Simoneon is to assist families in helping their children. Those interested in having their child become a mentor, or those with children who have delayed development, can call Simoneon at 408.264.4121.

"Every child who is challenged should have a special angel," Garcia said.