Throughout my life, my family has been very involved with the special needs community. First and foremost at home, with my cousin K. who has Down Syndrome. Growing up with and around K. allowed me to become more knowledgeable of special needs individuals. Additionally, throughout my time at school, I have participated in a LINKS program that pairs students up with special needs students to spend time with them at lunch and during free time. Also, my church ran a large special needs program that I would help out with occasionally.