The Swearer Center for Public Service's Developmentally Disabled Literacy Program - which has undergone a revival in recent years - pairs Brown students and developmentally disabled adults from the Providence area for one-on-one tutoring that emphasizes developing literacy and basic life skills.
The adults, who are called "learners," range in age from 23 to 60 and have disabilities such as muscular dystrophy, Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder, and a few are also blind or mute, said program coordinator Vijay Narayan '08 and assistant coordinator Rudmila Rahman '09. All of the adults are transported to Brown weekly from about six residential facilities to work with their Brown student tutor for an hour and a half.
Thirty-six students currently work with DDLP, Narayan said.
Each tutor is asked to commit to the program for the full academic year, promoting long-lasting bonds between tutor and learner. Narayan has been tutoring the same learner for the past three years.
"That's an evolution," Narayan said. "It really takes a lot of time for the tutor and learner to bond."
The program helps to facilitate this bond by giving each tutor a written list of commitments and expectations. Narayan said he organizes about two tutor training sessions each semester, arranging guest speakers and activities geared toward teaching tutors how to best interact with and teach developmentally disabled adults.
DDLP emphasizes the idea that tutoring must revolve around the individual needs of each learner, Narayan said. Thus, while tutors promote literacy, they often teach subjects specific to the desires and abilities of each learner.
"My learner wants to be able to go into a restaurant and look at a menu, get the right change and know how much to pay," Narayan said. "So we started with basic addition and subtraction."
Narayan attributed the program's success over the past two years - it has 36 active tutors this year, compared to only 10 in 2005 - largely to the continual dedication of the tutors. This year, the program received so many applications that a waitlist had to be created.
"Our success has just been a combination of Swearer Center support and, more than anything, tutor dedication and learner spirit and energy," Narayan said.
This year, Narayan and Rahman have implemented new features to better organize the program and add a community component to its work.
"We wanted to change the culture of the program. ... It's difficult with a one-on-one program because there is really no need to interact with anyone else." Narayan said.
"There was no sense of community," Rahman said. "The tutors didn't know each other, the learners didn't know each other. Everyone just came in, tutored and left."
Now, the tutors are split into eight small groups, each comprising four or five tutors and their learners, and one tutor in each group is appointed the group leader. Tutors and learners meet for group activities about once a month, allowing tutors and learners to interact with each other, Narayan said.
Marissa Faerber '09, one of the group leaders, explained that one of the most difficult aspects of planning the small group activities is accounting for the various disabilities of the adults in the group.
"It's kind of funny. Each tutor will kind of champion for their own learner ... like 'Oh no, Peter won't like that' or 'No, no, Selena can't do that,' " Faerber said.
The DDLP has also added more program-wide events involving all tutors and learners. In addition to a year-end graduation, the program now holds an event to conclude the fall semester and a spring barbeque.
Narayan said the large events are particularly meaningful for the learners. At graduation, learners receive actual diplomas, and each is given the opportunity to address the entire group.
"Getting up on stage and speaking is huge for them," Narayan said. "It's very empowering. A few learners even cried tears of joy."
Narayan cited a learner who studied to become a manicurist and is now preparing to get a driver's license. "Last year, he even got up at graduation and did a (manicure) demonstration. He completely stole the show," Narayan said.
Although no experience working with developmentally disabled people is required to participate in the program, Narayan said "there are three fundamental characteristics that are necessary to be a tutor: dedication, patience and compassion."
Learners present a wide range of abilities, and both Faerber and Narayan said the adults' behavioral and focus issues can sometimes make learning and teaching very challenging.
"Distractibility is endemic to the program. ... Some days, coming and focusing for an hour and a half is so difficult (for the adults). It's like an hour-and-a-half class here!" Narayan said. "Tutors can have periods of immense frustration."
However, despite many challenges, the tutoring experience is a rewarding one.
"You work an entire year to forge this connection with someone who has so fewer opportunities than you do," Rahman said. It's so fulfilling - both personally when you see yourself grow and even more so when you see the person that you are tutoring grow."
