Age 30-31 (2) More spontaneous activity - swimming volunteer

The second year in Sendai was on the way to find my way of interacting with society.

Through a year of group activities in city development support center, I hoped to participate in activities which was more spontaneous and in which I feel I could be more helpful.

One of supervisors in the activities suggested a volunteer activity. A coach in swimming classes for kids with autism. I swam with an elementary school boy with high-functioning autism. He was good at backstroke, while I could swim except for backstroke. He had huge curiosity about math and science, which help me recover my aspiration for knowledge and self-esteem. His mother was thankful to me for just swimming with him just being myself. It was me that was really grateful, in that I can help someone without giving up being myself.

It's been years since I lost contact of this activity, but certainly it was a milestone that I felt that I can be helpful with my characteristic not just being a burden of society.

In that year, I also began to participate in another activity which has affected me much, and which I'm participating now. This is monthly meeting of young adults with developmental disabilities in which participants discuss social issues around developmental disabilities.

I'd like to talk about the meetings in the next story.