Research Paper on Volunteering At the Special Olympics Bowling Event

Introduction

Special Olympics aim at transforming the lives of people. Special Olympics is the largest world sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities including both adults and children. It helps give individuals with intellectual disabilities a continuing opportunity to demonstrate courage, experience joy, improve their physical fitness, and also share their gift and friendship with other athletes, the community, and their families. The Special Olympics competition could be local, national, or regional and tend to be held every day across the world. Volunteers are considered to be the backbone of the Special Olympics movement. The volunteers take up various positions which include event organizers, fundraisers, trainers, photographers, and managers. The volunteers play a great role in ensuring the championship for every Special Olympics player. This essay discusses the various issues that I learned while volunteering at the Special Olympics Bowling event.

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How the Events Were Unique As A Result Of the Culture of the Organizing Group

The Special Olympics event was unique due to the culture of the organizing group. For one to start training to compete at the Special Olympics Bowling event they should have an intellectual disability degree certificate as well as a physician's consent to be allowed to take part in a given sports discipline. The organizing group requires an individual willing to participate in the Special Olympics bowling event to be eight years old. The culture of the organizing group is that the competitors are divided into ability groups whereby each group does not have less than three participants or more than eight. The event was also different from the culture of the organizing group requires every volunteer to undergo protective behaviors training. The protective behaviors program is implemented to help the volunteers prevent physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of Special Olympic athletes.

How You Felt and Responded As A Minority In Relation To This Specific Event

I felt isolated being a minority during the Special Olympics bowling event. I felt that I needed to be on guard since I did not know how people would treat me and whether the athletes I would be helping would like me. I had a feeling of fear that I might not accomplish what I was expected to do. To deal with the isolation, I had to find various ways in which I could connect with other people. I interacted with other volunteers whereby we started to share our experiences and our different interests. I stopped focusing on how I differed from the athletes and started focusing on the services that I was providing to them. I had to be courageous and understand that tensions tend to be temporary and therefore I acted uniquely to be able to stand out. I ensured that I politely treated the athletes. I maintained constant communication with them and encouraged them not to give up during the competition. This made me feel at ease and part of the event.

What I Learned About the Culture Group I Attended

I learned that society is required to learn how to accept one another irrespective of their disability. I learned that people with disability who tend to live independently and pursue a given profession are considered as being brave. People tend to pity individuals who are intellectually disabled which results in their attitudes being patronized. I was able to learn that disabled people do not want pity, but rather they want support from other people to help them earn their way of living. Most people fear associating themselves with individuals from this culture as they fear doing something or saying something that is wrong which will, in turn, offend a disabled person.

What I Learned About Myself and How I Approach Differences

I learned that I am a very patient person. I learned that dealing with intellectually disabled people requires a lot of patience for even the smallest things. As some of the athletes had hearing problems, I was required to repeat one statement several times. I learned that I am a person who can embrace change easily. I had to adapt to the new environment to fit in some of the people used sign language to communicate to enhance their level of understanding. During this event, I learned that I am a person who can easily make new friends irrespective of one's culture, religion, or race. I interacted with other volunteers including the coaches who helped me create more networks as our friendship continued even after the event. I also learned that I am an open-minded person who is always ready to embrace new ideas and other people's cultures without having to judge them. From the volunteering experience, I was able to learn that one of the ways that I approach differences is by seeking the feedback of other people. I considered this to be important to me since some of my behaviors, communication style, and attitude could be easily considered by another person as not being serious due to my humorous nature. I learned that I addressed our differences by relating to each person as an individual and by also not stereotyping their actions since culture assists in shaping everything. I also approached the differences by implementing my empathy skills and ensured as a volunteer I showed the athletes and the coaches that I was making every effort to ensure that I played my role fully. To be in a better position of dealing with the differences, I also enquired from the intellectually disabled as well as other volunteers about how they would like me to address them. I informed everyone about the value they were adding to me by allowing me to serve them.

Internal Reactions and Awareness I had Because of the Experience

Out of the experience, I became aware that offering voluntary services have a great impact on the lives of other people and not only on accomplishing the set objective or project. From the volunteering experience, I became aware that I can impact my co-volunteers and the staff involved in the Special Olympic bowling event. Volunteering services tend to extend beyond one's actions which could include one's choices, words, and attitude towards something. From experience, I became aware that having an individual purpose and goal is important as a volunteer. I learned that knowing the reason for volunteering makes a person more resilient in the face of an adversary. Having a purpose acts as a motivation to endure when things are not working out smoothly and get out of the comfort zone. The volunteering experience helped me to know my weaknesses and strengths and as well as acknowledge other people. I was impressed by the effort and determination the intellectually disabled competitors showed and this helped me become more aware that disability is not an inability and that everyone is talented in his/her way. The experience helped me be aware that intellectually disabled people in society are not powerless and they can also bring joy to our lives.

My Thoughts and Behaviors Before, During, and After the Experience

Before the experience, I had a misinformed attitude towards people with disability. I thought that people with intellectual disabilities were difficult to deal with. Before the experience, I thought that volunteering at the Special Olympic bowling event would be a boring experience for me as I had a lot of negativity toward the competitors. During the event, my attitude and behavior changed. I started to enjoy helping the competitors in every way possible without the fear of communicating with them. I stopped viewing the competitors as people with disabilities but rather as people with the potential of changing the world irrespective of their conditions. After the experience, I felt the urge to continue helping people with disability in what they love. My behavior changed as I learned to look down upon anyone since anyone could uniquely impact my life indirectly. The joy of serving at the Special Olympic bowling event was so great as I felt had assisted in putting a smile on someone's face. After the experience, I felt challenged by the competitors since I had the fear that the bowling sport is only for a chosen few but after helping the intellectually disabled participate in the game my thoughts changed and I started believing in myself that I can also play the game.

How I Am Personally Different Because Of the Experience

After the volunteering experience, I became personally different. I learned to accept the abilities and inabilities of every person with a positive attitude since everyone has a story. I was able to learn how some of the competitors became intellectually disabled. The experience helped me to appreciate, respect, and start taking time to understand everyone's narrative. The experience made me personally different by making me have the urge to learn more about other cultures. I began to research more about what is considered as being acceptable in various cultures since what is acceptable in my culture could be a violation of other people's culture. I started volunteering in different community events since the experience made me understand that volunteering brings with it a strong appreciation of all I have in life and that assisting those in need is a constant reminder of what matters in an individual's life such as friends, health, and family.

How I Will Be Clinically Different Because of the Experience

I will be clinically different because of the experience since during the training I was able to learn that most individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities tend to experience serious challenges. I was able to learn that apart from the cognitive limitations some intellectually disabled people also suffer from other problems such as deficits in adaptive coping skills, comorbid psychiatric disorders, and excessive maladaptive behaviors. The experience helped me be different clinically since it enabled me to be in a better position of understanding that individuals with intellectual disabilities possess some challenging behaviors such as behavior that is likely to limit the individual from using or having access to certain ordinary facilities. I was able to learn that due to the challenging behaviors most intellectually disabled individuals tend to have high levels of frustration, poor coping skills, insecure attachments, and high levels of stress as well.

My Level of Cultural Competence and the Skills I Believe I Posse

My level of cultural competence is at the community level. I am in a position to respectfully engage myself with people from diverse cultures and as well as reduce intolerant practices that the community members may portray. I believe I possess empathy skills that will be effective in dealing with a diverse culture. This will help me view the world the same way another person views it. The empathetic skills will help me understand the perceptions of another person and the conclusions that he/she makes out of life experiences. The empathy skills I possess will help me engage people from other cultures in the appropriate dialogue. I believe I also possess the right level of engagement skills. The engagement skills will help me deal with a diverse population as it enables me to be in a position to learn from one another and not to focus on the person I am interacting with but instead focus more on their behavior and the situation. I also have active listening skills. Actively listening enables me to learn about other people's experiences and cultures. I am in a position of dealing with a diverse culture through active listening since I can focus more on the content that is being communicated and the emotion that is involved.

Skills I Need to Develop

I need to develop better communication skills since some o...