Ben is encouraged by staff to use these interests as skills for his Duke of Edinburgh award, which he is working towards this year: he is going to work with other students to raise money for his chosen charity: Dogs for the Disabled.
Ben loves reading and when talking about the up and coming Halloween, Ben said that he would like to dress up and he found a book in our library on face painting. Ben was really excited by this book and having picked out his favourites expressed to staff that not only did he want his face painted; he wanted to start his own enterprise of ‘Face painting’!
The supporting staff member was quick to encourage Ben with this idea and suggested booking in people with a time slot.
Ben was delighted to take control and quickly put a list together of staff he could practise on asking if they were willing guinea pigs and giving them an allocated time slot.
I was the first… a fantastic lion!
I helped Ben to find the face paints that we already had in the Life Skills Centre, and get the sponges and water necessary to apply the paints.
Ben showed great control over his motor skills applying the make up steadily to my face, not an easy task as the makeup was very thick and waxy. Ben had to then spread the make up fairly evenly over my face and apply a further colour, eventually completing with finer detail using a black waxy face crayon. Ben concentrated hard and staff could step back as he needed minimal support when applying the paints. I gently prompted him to spread the colour on both sides of the face to make sure they were equally covered, and he followed this intently.
Whilst Ben was working, the other staff member took photos and encouraged him by saying what a great job he was doing. You can see the concentration shown by Ben when applying the makeup and making sure his hand was steady so he did not get any in my eyes.
Ben then had his face painted by me and we took more photos so he could enjoy the results of his hard work and share and celebrate them with other people.
Ben has now raised about £30 from his face painting – his great idea became a reality.
The person’s name has been changed in this blog
Alyson Henderson
Community Learning Facilitator
No Limits, Bucks