A Child Captivated by Work and Activity

When Benji was an infant, from the time he was about three months old, we would take him to coffee shops. There he was mesmerized by baristas making coffee. We would either prop him up on the counter or stand on the side of the counter holding Benji while he gazed tirelessly at all the activity, from the making of the coffee to the paying. He was mesmerized.

As he got older, while he had little interest in playing or watching videos, he remained focused on kitchen tasks and anyone doing work.

If he was in a stroller and we were walking outside and he would see construction workers, again this focused his attention and he would watch, fully absorbed in any work being done. This included garbage collectors, waiters in restaurants, construction workers, baristas, flight attendants, police officers, firefighters, gardeners, and cooks.

As Benji got older and gained some skills, it became clear through his various gestures and vocalizations that he too wanted to participate in the work. From an early age, perhaps five or six when he was relatively stable in walking, he would climb a short ladder so he could reach the sink. We would help him hold the sponge in one hand and a plastic dish in another and work toward washing a dish. Similarly, he enjoys loading the dishwasher, and we have worked to help him sort colors and clothing items to wash in the washing machine. This work at home extends into trying to sweep by maneuvering a broom, or holding a pan for others to sweep into, or keeping a cloth on the counter and walking around it to wipe off the surfaces. Given his enjoyment of cleaning, putting away, and putting things in order, we capitalized on these interests to build into his experiential learning goals. Benji liked real-life work: working with other people, being part of a team, doing something purposeful.

With these interests, he started to attend a farm where cleaning horse stalls, feeding animals, cleaning around the farm, moving items in wheelbarrows, and watering plants all became part of his responsibilities, which he took great pride in. As he got older, he volunteered at a food bank packaging food items for families in need. He also volunteered at a farm where fresh vegetables and fruits were harvested. He spent a few weeks at Holland Bloorview in a program supporting teens to gain volunteer skills, doing tasks they can perform and in jobs they were interested in. Benji was given his own cart, spray bottle, and cleaning materials and would go around the children's rehabilitation hospital cleaning and wiping surfaces and bringing items to the laundry.

This set the stage for volunteering at Baycrest Hospital, cleaning tables at the cafeteria. He enjoyed helping the cleaning staff and being part of a team. He would spend many hours daily in stores like Home Depot, Walmart, Canadian Tire, and eventually IKEA, pushing carts, practicing finding items and putting them in carts, and learning gross motor skills. All these activities required Benji to have one-to-one support, and in many cases, especially in the beginning, Benji required substantial physical support, pacing, breaks, and a lot of encouragement.

However, Benji was determined to become skilled in these tasks, and despite the sensory, motor, and motor planning challenges, he slowly gained skills over time doing the activities he enjoyed most.

After several years of practicing his shelf stocking skills and cart navigation, identifying items in IKEA and returning them to their appropriate location, in 2022 he started working at IKEA as a paid employee: the biggest honor of his life. Benji's early love of cleaning and putting things away and watching others work and contribute was the origin of his future success as a proud IKEA employee, farm volunteer, and Baycrest volunteer. Not to mention being invested in his own everyday life: involved in tidying up his home, going grocery shopping and preparing healthy meals, doing laundry, and maintaining the garden with lawn mowing, planting flowers and vegetables, and watering the lawn. He also feeds the dog and enjoys being an active participant in all aspects of his life.