Meet Hayden

We are not sure how this happened so quickly, but Hayden graduated high school in June!!  It feels like not long ago he was just a little boy in elementary school and here we are with a young man who is looking at the next phase of his life.  Exciting and a little scary…

We feel so fortunate that Hayden has had such a positive and supportive education experience with St. Albert Public Schools.  The school administrators, teachers, and educational assistants along the way have always had his best interests in mind and Hayden has grown to be smart, confident, and forever charming!  He has enjoyed school, rarely missing a day, and always eager to join in with activities like the Unified Games (joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team to encourage friendship and understanding); Bellerose Bikeathon (multi-day fundraiser for the Alberta Cancer Foundation); and Camp Unity (a mountain retreat with goals of inclusion, accessibility, friendship, and connection).  All events amazing with memories to last a lifetime!

Hayden has been involved with the Special Olympics for many years.  Bowling, swimming, track and field, and basketball are some of the sports he participates in and he has been given the opportunity to go out of town for tournaments and races which gives him a greater sense of pride and independence.  In his grade 12 year, Hayden was asked to speak in front of the community at the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics.  It was an awesome event and he spoke about what Special Olympics has meant to him over the years. I cannot say enough good things about our community and the volunteers who make Special Olympics possible.  Connection is so important and we have met so many wonderful people along the way.

Hayden has ALWAYS had a strong interest with fire stations.  We have had many positive interactions at different community events with firemen who always left such a great impression on Hayden.  This spring, Hayden’s high school contacted and arranged a work experience program with a St. Albert Fire Station.  We were all thrilled for Hayden to have this placement and also so thankful that leaders within the community also see his potential and desire to be a valuable and contributing member of the community.  When Hayden is at the fire station he attends with his wonderful community support person and Hayden helps to wash the fire trucks, mops the floor, blows off the driveway, and interacts with the firefighters bringing comradery amoung those at the fire station!  We have been given feedback that Hayden is very well liked at the Hall and they love having him there.  He always leaves with the biggest smile and is proud of his efforts.  We have seen tremendous growth in Hayden since he has been given this opportunity.  He knows that this is an important role and takes it very seriously.  We are hopeful that this relationship and opportunity will continue for years to come! 

Since Hayden turned 18, we have also had to transition from youth to adult services which has, at times, been a little overwhelming.  We had to say goodbye to doctors and specialists that we have seen for many years who gave Hayden very good care.  During this time, there are a lot of appointments and paperwork to complete but we have taken the approach of one step at a time, one day at a time.  Some advice I would give to those approaching this would be to try and get ahead of things.  There is a lot of information to learn and decisions to be made.  Start early with learning and listening to others who have gone through this.  You’ve got this!!

So, what is next for Hayden you ask?  Hayden will go back to his high school for one more year…a lap year!  He has a great group of friends that are also returning so it will be nice for them to see each other daily and keep a routine/schedule.  Hayden does have some big goals in mind and we will help him as best we can to achieve them.  We have some research to do over the next year to see what we can do to help Hayden reach his full potential.  We know that there will be a lot of work to figure out this next stage of his life, but he is a wonderful young man and he has a big supportive family and community of people cheering him on. 

Thanks for taking the time to read about Hayden – we are so proud of him and wanted to celebrate the fantastic and memorable year he had.

The Manderscheid Family