Now that I think about it, origami requires a significant amount of spatial awareness and intelligence. This kind of intelligence was sadly lacking in the two groups of people I interacted with today. One group was comprised of people who had been born with intellectual disabilities. The other was comprised of elderly people with dementia. The whole program is geared towards people with intellectual disabilities, so the vast majority of clients are less than functional.
Sadly, the only person able to follow along with even the simplest designs was the social worker who was with me. Even she had a bit of trouble with the "magic" folds!
Maybe, since I learned origami at a young age (maybe fourth grade), I might have internalized some of the folds like language.
What made me really happy was when several of the elderly people I worked with during the second half of the day wanted to keep the stuff I made. One old man was oddly determined to put a paper bird I made in his locker. The social worker in the room even put his name on it for him.
I made paper airplanes, balls, and flapping birds. It was fun!
There is one fold--an origami water bomb--that puffs up majestically when you blow into the hole in its top. That was fun, seeing people's reactions to that.
Most of the people I worked with, though, could barely manage a triangle fold.
I think they got the most out of just watching me fold. One of the social workers even commented on how fast I fold!
That was today in a nutshell. I guess I have a new calling now, and I'm pretty happy with how things have turned out.
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