The Achievement Centers for
Children
Personal reflection by Raven Gates
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Introduction
Over the Summer I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Achievement Centers for
Children. While there I was able to join one of the autism classes. During this time, I was
introduced to some of the most energetic and friendliest group of children I have ever
encountered. In 1907, after a tragic car accident which left 80 injured and 9 dead, one was
including Homer Allen, Edgar Allen’s 18 year old son; Allen and the city of Elyria realized there
was a great need for hospitals in the area seeing as how some of the victims could have been
saved had there been a proper hospital. Allen spent a lot of his time at the Elyria Memorial
Hospital, where he met a young boy named Jimmy who suffered from infantile paralysis.
Meeting Jimmy sparked Allen’s interest in the care of crippled children. After a survey, it was
found that over 200 children living in Elyria were crippled and their only care was from families.
Allen realized there should be more hospitals strictly focused on the care for crippled children. In
September of 1915, Society for Crippled Children (SCC) was founded as well as the Gates
Hospital for Crippled Children. The SCC was dedicated to serving children and provided them
with the care and resources that they needed. Within the 1930s and 1940s Bell Greve alongside
many others helped establish an SCC in the Cleveland area. From this launched the
Achievement Centers for Children. The first headquarters was located at 2239 East 55th Street.
Due to an increase in demand for services, a second branch opened up in Lakewood, Ohio.
From then on branches have formed in Westlake as well as Highland Hills; which is where I had
the pleasure of volunteering. The Achievement Centers for Children focuses on helping children
with disabilities.
In 1947 Camp Cheerful was first introduced. It became known as the first camp with
recreation programs for children and adults with disabilities. Camp Cheerful took regular camp
activities such as swimming, fishing, arts, sports, etc. and made it so that all of the campers
could take part in all the activities. Through Camp Cheerful, adults and children are able to gain
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independence. It was shown that their confidence levels also increased. Like at all camps,
friendships were made stronger. The Achievement Centers also offers classes throughout the
year for children with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and Down Syndrome. Recently in 2010,
Wheelchair Cavaliers Jr. Basketball started up giving those bound to wheelchairs the
opportunity to play basketball and compete in games and tournaments.
Summary
Walking in close to the end of their naps all I see is sleeping children. When the time
comes to wake them some pop up with excitement. They see you and cannot wait to pull out
toys. They are filled with such joy and excitement that they sometimes forget they have to put
away their blankets and pillows. On the other hand, others are harder to wake; you gently tap
them and call their name but they will not budge. You can try to turn on the lights but nothing
happens. All you can do is keep tapping them and hope that this time they will respond when
you call their name.
Snack time is different each day. Sometimes all the children eat and some days only a
few will engage in snack time. You sit back and watch the children, occasionally you have to
move to help them open up their snack or keep another student from eating somebody else’s.
It’s never a dull moment. You do not mind the occasional spillage of yogurt or cheese its. You
can see it on their faces that they did not meant to
After snack time it's play time until it is time to go home. On rainy days you stay inside,
sit on the carpet and construct a pen for all the dinosaurs to live in. You pretend like you know
nothing about the animals and allow the children to tell you all they know about their favorite
animal. You move to the table where on one side they play a matching game and on the other
they make various shapes out of rubber bands on boards with tiny pegs sticking out of them.
You show them all the cool ways to make squares, triangles, and stars. You watch their face
light up as they show what you just made to the other kids and you become delighted when
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suddenly they all rush to you with their boards asking you to make cool shapes. The same
feeling comes over you when you are asked to draw a mermaid. You know your mermaid is
terrible but the kids look at it like how an art enthusiast looks at a painting by Vincent Van Gogh.
Soon your terrible drawing of a mermaid is all over on other children’s papers. You encourage
them to make their own and tell them how good their drawing is but nothing compares to the
drawing you did.
On sunny days you are pulled into line and wait for the door that leads to the playground
to swing open. You soon find yourself in jail; hands held behind your back and you are being
lead to the fake gas stop that doubles as a jail cell. You run away and then find yourself working
up a sweat from the game of tag. You try to rest on the swing but you’re it and you have to
chase the little ones around the play set and up the hill and between the trees. It’s too hot and
suddenly you start filling up water bottles and making sure everyone has the right one. You go
back outside and try your hardest not to start up another round of tag or hide-n-seek. Instead,
you sit on the swing and let the kids join you and push the chair until it’s time to leave.
The children become your little siblings; they are wild and energetic. They brighten up
your day and all you can do is laugh and smile when you are around them. You watch each of
them pack up their bags, gather all their things, and wait for their parent. You say goodbye to
them and give them all hugs. Walking out the door you wave goodbye until next time.
Reflection
Looking back, I am glad that I chose the Achievement Centers as my placement. I love
working with younger kids. Being in the classroom allowed me to experience things that
normally, you do not get the chance to see. One of the boys when I first met him I thought was
just sky and timid. After a few visits in the classroom I realized that his vocal skills were not as
good as the rest of the kids his age. I noticed that sometimes he often shied away from adults
except for his mother. One of the other boys, at a certain time each day had to be reminded that
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he would be going home soon. One day the teachers forgot to keep reminding him and when it
was time to go he threw a tantrum and did not want to leave. Going in to the classroom not
knowing a lot about Autism, I did not understand the behaviors expressed by the two boys. After
doing some research, I realized that their actions were because of their autism. Autism impacts
people differently and in the case of the first boy he often avoided eye contact and has troubles
expressing his thoughts. I learned that the second boy has troubles adapting to changes in
routine. The children in the classroom all meet some criteria based off of Autism Spectrum
Disorder.
Smile* needed more attention than the other children. At first, I was nervous to work with
her, but eventually she came right up to me and gave me a hug. She would walk over to me
while I was sitting in the sand box and just sit next to me and play. Smile always had keys on a
keychain with her. All the other kids knew to always make sure she had those keys with her.
Some may wonder why I chose to give her the nickname Smile. The answer is she was always
smiling. She had one of those smiles that when you saw it you automatically smiled. Even
though she had physical disabilities, it did not stop her happiness. Except for the few times
when she had her moments and fits like all children do, Smile was the happiest girl in the room
just waiting to give someone a hug.
Encounters like these are the reasons why I am glad I was able to volunteer at the
Achievement Centers. The most important aspect that I got while spending the summer there is
the experience. I will admit that going in I was unsure of how the children would react to me. I
was afraid of the unknown. I did not know a lot about autism and how children who have it act.
The only time this worried me was on the first day. After that day, I learned that each child is the
same. They all have uniqueness to them but they are all still children who at the end of the day
just want to play twenty plus rounds of tag. The children opened my eyes and really expanded
my knowledge on autism.
*One of the little girls I met, for confidential reason gave her the nickname Smile
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Conclusion
Volunteering at the Achievement Centers is not for everybody. I learned that one of the
most important things to remember is that when it comes to children, patience is key. I had to
think back to my childhood and remember that sharing was hard. The same rules apply to the
children at the Achievement Centers. If one’s toy is taken away, that sometimes leads to a
tantrum. I witnessed multiple tantrums and all you can do is try to explain to them that they have
to share the toys and give other children a chance to play with the toys. Energy is always good
to have. On several occasions I found myself “it” in the game of tag. I was running all around the
playground. Creativity is also important. For those few times when I was tired or not up for a
game of tag, I had to improvise fun activities to do so that the children and I were still having
fun. To volunteer at the Achievement Centers you have to remember that the kids do have
disabilities. This means that some of the things that they do or the way they act they cannot help
it. You cannot get mad if they do something they are not supposed to. You may think they know
it’s wrong but that does not mean that they understand why it’s wrong. Ultimately, the children at
the Achievement Center are amazing. The feeling you get while walking into the door of the
classroom is unlike no other.
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Bibliography
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"Care Of the Crippled Child." Disability history museum. 20 Apr. 2014
<http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/dhm/lib/detail.html?id=952&page=all>.
"Cerebral Palsy (CP)." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 20 Mar. 2014. Center
for Disease Control and Prevention. 07 Apr. 2014 <http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/index.html>.
"Edgar F. "Daddy" Allen Page." The Joseph A. Caulder Collection. 21 Apr. 2014
<http://www.nlis.net/~freedomi/rotary/caulder/DaddyAllenPage.htm>.
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<http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/DownSyndrome.html>.
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<http://www.achievementCenterss.org/about-us/history.html>.
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