Community Service Learning Reflection Sample

For my Community Service Learning placement, I am volunteering for PAAL, which is a program for children and youth with physical and intellectual impairments. Their vision is to offer these individuals the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of physical activities. My placement is on Saturday mornings with a 13 year old girl whom we will call Emily. Emily who also has a twin sister in the program was born with cerebral palsy which predominately effects the right side of her body. My role through the PAAL program is to assist Emily while participating in various activities such as helping her get changed to go swimming or to adapt the activities so that she would be able to participate. During this experience thus far I feel that I was able to witness various adolescent development topics we learned in class and see how they are portrayed in a real setting.
Adolescences is often not described by many people as a pleasant or thrilling experience but for those who experience it in addition to having a physical disability it can become increasingly challenging. These challenges can impact an individual’s self perception which is already an area of

The study found that self-esteem was overall high for most of the participants but she noted a significant high number of girls among the group reported low levels of self-esteem. CITE. As Manual pointed out in her study, in western culture there is a strong importance place on a women’s appearance. She then went on to say how as teens we want to fit in and be accepted by peers and female’s adolescence and popularity is often correlated with their physical beauty. Reflecting on this I can see how if you are impacted by a physical disability in a culture that emphasizes specific physical standards that you don’t fit into that this could directly impact your self-image and specifically your