Special needs group assistant volunteer Saturdays afternoons at our community outings

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The Special Needs Group Assistant Volunteer is for an assistant for our Saturday afternoon community outings which our 1st-12th and also 18+ attend.

The community outings are often from 1:30-3:30pm at various locations around DFW (urban air, arcade 92, etc) and occasionally at our Denton site location. The enrollments at UTH are set up to end for members on Sunday night for the following weekend. Therefore, by Mondays we know the exact number of assistants we need.

This position will be working directly with our special needs clientele and are expected to redirect our clientele to keep them engaged & this could require modeling, one on one teaching, hand over hand assistance, etc.

We prefer to use the same volunteers each week, so a weekly commitment or frequently wanting to volunteer is preferred. The members have mainly been diagnosed with high functioning autism and anxiety, AD/HD, and speech delays. We do NOT coddle at our site and expect them to follow the same expectations as their neurotypical peers so they can increase their involvement in typical children's activities.

The volunteer will need to be willing to read their emails to be prepared for the group lesson each week. Plus be willing to call the lead staff to gain additional information about the members and their role for that week. Volunteers who succeed in this position are reliable, punctual, enjoy children & have an even temperament, and great communication. This position is for those individuals who are good at taking initiative and thinking ahead. We are looking for HIGH ENERGY staff. We are also looking for those that are not easily offended because we have to be direct with our members to address their choices as most of our members do not pick up on the subtle social cues.

Training in disabilities and the program will be provided along the way as it pertains to whom you may be interacting with. Due to the nature of our clientele, a resume and a volunteer form will be required to be completed for this position as well as an observation at our site during the program will be required before a commitment can be made. This position can be a volunteer position or used for class credit, practicum, or internship.