Miss-Delectable
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Deaf teen finds niche working at western Pa. pool - The York Daily Record
Like most concession workers, the teens at the SEBCO Pool prepare foods, count change and speed up production when lines get long.
They also have learned there are multiple to ways to order cheese sticks.
"You put your two fists together, then pull them (apart) in opposite directions," said 14-year-old Patricia Pivaronis, on staff at the pool on Hannahstown Road.
The gestures help Pivaronis and others communicate with Alec Lindsey, 14, who also works in the concession, where an American Sign Language handbook sits on the counter, and laminated photo cards hang outside. Customers pass the cards through the order window to request Skittles, Mountain Dew and other delights.
"He normally takes orders," Pivaronis said Tuesday of Alec, explaining how workers already have learned sign language for funnel cakes, nachos and other cooked foods at the pool.
With those rudimentary skills in place, the workers can communicate between the counter and the cooking area regardless of who is stationed where.
The ASL book also comes in handy as some customers express an interest in talking to Alec beyond what the laminated photos allow. And the talk is not unwelcome.
"He likes the social part of the job that he can talk to people," said his mother Kate of Winfield Township, translating Alec's answers from ASL when asked about his favorite tasks.
"Yes. I was surprised," he responded to a question about the job offer. "I thought this job was for hearing people that they would never pick me."
Pool manager Kim Wetzel said SEBCO offered Alec the job partly because many of her previous concession workers had advanced to become lifeguards or junior lifeguards, with Alec's older brother Ian among them.
"I said to his mom, Do you think he can do this?" Wetzel recalled. "She said, Well, he cooks at home and he can count."
Wetzel and board member Lynn Turner addressed Alec's deafness by photographing all items sold at the concession, then laminating the images with equipment used to make membership cards.
A sign on the building instructs customers on use of the cards, which are grouped by category.
Although employment is open to any eligible teenager who applies for a job at the pool, Turner said many teens apply as a result of being season pass holders likely a holdover from years ago when the pool was a members-only facility.
Wetzel said many families still don't realize the pool is public. Visiting the pool since early childhood, Alec already was familiar with the concession, which kept a notepad on hand to meet his needs as a customer. Now, the notepad has taken a back seat to other forms of talking.
"It's been working out really well," Wetzel said, explaining her daughter Kelsey, a concession volunteer, chats socially with Alec "the normal way" via texting.
Kate Lindsey also has witnessed more social interaction for Alec, who attends the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
"It's great. He can meet kids his age because he doesn't go to school with them," Lindsey said.
"I think a lot of the kids think it's neat," she added. "They've seen him at the pool, but didn't have a way to communicate with him."
A longtime member of the pool, Lindsey praised SEBCO for its small-town, community feel and the willingness to accommodate Alec's deafness, caused by meningitis in early childhood.
"When you have a child with a disability, you constantly advocate for them," Lindsey said. "(But) this is something I had nothing to do with and that's what I love," she added. "You don't run into that a lot anymore."
As for Alec, expanding his social network is but one benefit of working. He also is earning a small paycheck by working the two- to three-hour shifts.
Some of the earnings will go to savings, Alec stipulated.
And the rest?
"Video games," he said.
Like most concession workers, the teens at the SEBCO Pool prepare foods, count change and speed up production when lines get long.
They also have learned there are multiple to ways to order cheese sticks.
"You put your two fists together, then pull them (apart) in opposite directions," said 14-year-old Patricia Pivaronis, on staff at the pool on Hannahstown Road.
The gestures help Pivaronis and others communicate with Alec Lindsey, 14, who also works in the concession, where an American Sign Language handbook sits on the counter, and laminated photo cards hang outside. Customers pass the cards through the order window to request Skittles, Mountain Dew and other delights.
"He normally takes orders," Pivaronis said Tuesday of Alec, explaining how workers already have learned sign language for funnel cakes, nachos and other cooked foods at the pool.
With those rudimentary skills in place, the workers can communicate between the counter and the cooking area regardless of who is stationed where.
The ASL book also comes in handy as some customers express an interest in talking to Alec beyond what the laminated photos allow. And the talk is not unwelcome.
"He likes the social part of the job that he can talk to people," said his mother Kate of Winfield Township, translating Alec's answers from ASL when asked about his favorite tasks.
"Yes. I was surprised," he responded to a question about the job offer. "I thought this job was for hearing people that they would never pick me."
Pool manager Kim Wetzel said SEBCO offered Alec the job partly because many of her previous concession workers had advanced to become lifeguards or junior lifeguards, with Alec's older brother Ian among them.
"I said to his mom, Do you think he can do this?" Wetzel recalled. "She said, Well, he cooks at home and he can count."
Wetzel and board member Lynn Turner addressed Alec's deafness by photographing all items sold at the concession, then laminating the images with equipment used to make membership cards.
A sign on the building instructs customers on use of the cards, which are grouped by category.
Although employment is open to any eligible teenager who applies for a job at the pool, Turner said many teens apply as a result of being season pass holders likely a holdover from years ago when the pool was a members-only facility.
Wetzel said many families still don't realize the pool is public. Visiting the pool since early childhood, Alec already was familiar with the concession, which kept a notepad on hand to meet his needs as a customer. Now, the notepad has taken a back seat to other forms of talking.
"It's been working out really well," Wetzel said, explaining her daughter Kelsey, a concession volunteer, chats socially with Alec "the normal way" via texting.
Kate Lindsey also has witnessed more social interaction for Alec, who attends the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
"It's great. He can meet kids his age because he doesn't go to school with them," Lindsey said.
"I think a lot of the kids think it's neat," she added. "They've seen him at the pool, but didn't have a way to communicate with him."
A longtime member of the pool, Lindsey praised SEBCO for its small-town, community feel and the willingness to accommodate Alec's deafness, caused by meningitis in early childhood.
"When you have a child with a disability, you constantly advocate for them," Lindsey said. "(But) this is something I had nothing to do with and that's what I love," she added. "You don't run into that a lot anymore."
As for Alec, expanding his social network is but one benefit of working. He also is earning a small paycheck by working the two- to three-hour shifts.
Some of the earnings will go to savings, Alec stipulated.
And the rest?
"Video games," he said.