Meadowmont helps out teenagers: Seven young people with developmental disorders are in work/play program

july 2003

It's less than an hour before opening time, and Brixx restaurant in Meadowmont is a bustle of activity.

One waiter fills containers with packets of sugar. Another slices tart-smelling lemons for drinks.

And at a table off to the side, 14-year-old Ewan Toscano folds navy blue cotton napkins into triangles.

"Good job," Emily Powell, his coach, praises him, as he carefully lines up the napkin's corners.

This isn't just any summer job for Toscano, who has developmental disabilities. He's part of a half work/half play program for adolescents with developmental disabilities that parents and businesses in the Meadowmont area are coordinating.

"Everything we went through as teenagers, they're going through," said Marc Roth, who organizes the program for seven developmentally disabled adolescents.

Every weekday morning for the six weeks, the students meet at Roth's Meadowmont home, where they eat breakfast, chat and play games. At 9 a.m., they and a staff of coaches head to work sites throughout Meadowmont. At noon, they gather for a group lunch, and then head off for an afternoon activity, like a trip to a water park or the movies.

"They're learning a lot about how to perform on a job, how to get along with people, how to communicate," said Roth, whose teenage son David is autistic.

On Monday morning, while Toscano folded napkins, Luke Glatz, 15, and Ahmad Rahman, 14, worked the front desk of The Wellness Center.

Glatz checked in customers, using a scanner gun and a computer, while Rahman and coach Heather Rueber folded towels.

"It's nice to have Luke and Ahmad here," said Debbie Fraser, who works daily at the front desk. "The members enjoy them also. They're pleasant, and they're genuine. They genuinely like people."

Rahman said he likes the work.

"I'm working hard," he said. "It's fun. It's not hard."

While the students are having fun, they're also learning important life lessons, Roth noted. At the end of each week, the adolescents are paid for the tasks they do on the job, as well as chores at home. They then use the money for recreational activities.

"If they don't work hard, then maybe they can go to the movies, but can't buy popcorn," Roth said. "It teaches a work ethic."

Roth modeled the program after a similar one offered through the Arc of Orange County. When the Arc's program was cut because of budget constraints, Roth, the Arc's executive director, created his. Tuition from parents, donations and some government funding cover the bills.

Jessyka Glatz, Luke's mother, calls the program wonderful.

"He's learning to take a job seriously, and to work with the public," she said. "I'm so grateful."

Other students spend their mornings at the Carolina Bakery and Harris Teeter. A group of students, Toscano among them, gathers at Rashkis Elementary School, doing odds and ends to prepare the building for its fall opening. On Monday, they stamped "Rashkis Elementary School" into the covers of classroom books.

The ink turned 18-year-old Joey Kessler's fingertips purple, but he continued stamping the picture books. He and the other students also folded the boxes the books are placed in.

The opportunity to bond with the other adolescents is one of the benefits of the program, Powell said.

"It's being able to work and have somewhere to go in the summer," she said. "It's a great summer opportunity for the kids."

This article originally appeared in The Chapel Hill Herald on July 29, 2003. Story by Carolyn Norton. Reprinted with permission.