What makes life and humans in general so fascinating is our differences. We hail from different backgrounds and look different from those around us. Sometimes, there are developmental differences as well that affect some of us into our adulthood. Keystone Adult Learning Center, located in Pleasanton, California, provides a day program for these adults that are mentally and physically disabled.

Keystone's Purpose

Keystone's mission statement

Keystone achieves this purpose through multiple tactics and activities. Students arrive at the facility at around 9:30 and are instantly responsible for setting themselves up for the rest of the day. Upon arrival, a chore list is ready with the names of each student that they must get done that day. Students also have other activities that they are given to ensure they are productive and active that day.

Keystone

Activities

Keystone makes sure everyone in their program stays busy throughout the day by arranging a variety of activities and tracking their activities and progress through schedules. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, they maintained an online program to still keep the brains of the students active.

Here are some of the many things they do throughout the day:

Games (Bingo, hangman, and more)

                    Clean                 

        (dishes, sweep,etc.)

 Exercise + outings in public

                 Cooking

                Learning Activities 

            (Counting, vocabulary)

Challenges

Keystone provides a caring and accepting environment for these students with disabilities, but things do not always go smoothly. This applies in and out of the classroom.

                 IN

-Students have trouble communicating with teachers

-They can get into fights with other students due to lack of communication

OUT

-Students can get looks from others on outings and be ignored

-Difficulty expressing their emotions can lead to fights with family and caretakers

Testimony

While these students face many difficulties as a result of their developmental disabilities, they are still loved by the staff and have built a strong bond with them.

I personally grew very tight with a few of the students while working there and they almost always brightened my day. I would look forward to seeing what each of them was setting out to achieve each day and what funny jokes or things they would say to make me laugh. Seeing them tangibly progress with skills like reading and math made me feel like we were truly enriching their lives.