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.
