The Lifelong Learning with Friends (LLwF) program, based at the University of Texas Austin, offers continuing-education classes for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. In-person and virtual classes are available. Today, BridgingApps Director Cristen Reat shares about her young-adult son’s experience.
Q: What did Vincent like about his first course from LLwF?
Cristen: This virtual course was about “The Soundtrack of History: Popular Music Through the Decades.” Each class covered a decade of popular music—starting with the 1950s—and included historical context.
Music is Vincent’s #1 favorite thing in the world. He loves listening to music; doing music therapy; playing the djembe drum and the ukulele; watching concerts; going to concerts (usually classical or outdoors, because of his noise sensitivity); and all other things related to music. He absolutely loved the instructor for this class, and the curated music videos that were played throughout.
Q: Were there any challenges with enrolling, and/or keeping up attendance?
Cristen: It was simple and straightforward to enroll: the website is very informative! Initially, we were concerned that a two-hour class every week would be way too long for Vincent: we couldn’t envision how he would sit still for that amount of time! But the content had his complete and focused attention. It wasn’t two hours of lecture. It was a fabulous variety of activities: discussion; video clips; historical facts; sharing about how music makes a person feel; drawing; getting up and moving to the music.
Also, with Vincent’s cognitive and visual challenges, I wasn’t sure how much he would interact with his classmates. As it turned out, he was completely engaged in the conversations. He didn’t say a whole lot or use the classroom’s chat feature (his typing speed is too slow for that), but he did answer the instructor’s questions verbally. And he thoroughly enjoyed participating. He looked forward to this class every week, and he talked about it before and afterwards.
Q: What else can you share about the experience?
Cristen: One of our goals was for Vincent to open his iPad and log on to the class as independently as possible. He hasn’t done anything like this on his own before, and he did need some help, but not as much as I initially thought.
I was surprised at the level of discussion among his classmates. And I was also surprised by Vincent’s riveted attention. It was such a great way for him to connect with others and practice basic social skills. I must say that it might not have gone so well if the instructor hadn’t been so gifted, prepared, and engaging!
Q: Will Vincent continue to participate in Lifelong Learning with Friends?
Cristen: Yes! In early July he will start “Sound Sanctuary: Music, Meditation, and Inner Peace.”
Sometimes we get so caught up in therapy, school, and learning new skills that we forget the value of pure enjoyment. So, for us, that is a #1 priority in this program. We also hope that Vincent will learn more about doing virtual classes by himself. And that he will become motivated to speak more loudly: often, his voice has been so low it is hard for others to hear him.
We hope there will be future classes in the fall and spring that Vincent can participate in. We highly recommend LLwF to other adults with IDD, especially those looking for fun activities that also provide a way to stay curious and connect with others.
See also: “Lifelong Learning with Friends” (Youth2Adult article)