I survived.
Bloodied, exhausted, and overwhelmed. But I lived. (The blood would be the awful blister on the back of my foot compliments of new shoes, the exhaustion is due to the fact I didn’t sleep, and the overwhelming feeling is just because it is in fact a whole new world for me).
Considering I barely slept, I still got up on time, got ready (wore nice pants, nice top, did my make-up) and met up with Elizabeth to begin this journey for real this time.
Joe dropped her off first at her place and then took me to mine (about a five minute drive apart in Slieverue).
The Jonah Project.
It is located in an old, old pink building without even a sign marking it. They don’t keep the heat on during the weekends so Monday is the coldest (let’s just say I kept all three layers plus my coat on the entire day), though I have a feeling the rest of the week won’t be much warmer because like I said, old building (and Ireland just seems to be COLD all the time). It’ll be better when I’m not in flats but in my boots with socks (keeping my feet warm in this country is proving impossible however).
The director and supervisor were very nice to me upon meeting me. We decided I’d spend the week observing and getting my bearings. We have another meeting on Monday with Joe to check on comfort/fit of me being there, and then from there, things will get real. My objectives and goals for this internship will be set, and we’ll be off to the races on completing my Bachelor’s degree. Essentially it seems I’ll be working towards actually executing being a ‘tutor’ (more on this below).
I spent today in the room of the younger three kids. They’re ‘tutors’ (also known as teachers) were all super friendly with me and answered my questions as they came. Now, when I say tutor/teacher, I mean they are fully TEACHERS. They work on math, reading, vocabulary, listening skills, life skills, vocational activities, occupational activities, etc..
These tutor/teachers do it all, quite literally. And they don’t just work with one child all the time either. They have a child they work with 3 days, and then another they work for 2. Or in some cases, 2 days, 2 days, and then 1 day (it depends on people’s attendance/availability). A far cry from having a strict one-on-one at ASI. I see the upside to their method (as they are a tiny school and knowing each child can be easy) but I also see the upside to the method I’m used to back home (familiarity and consistency).
Also, a few of their kids are partially integrated at local schools (spending the morning only on some days). This makes me very happy because it shows that early intervention works (in my opinion at least). I have a feeling if these kids weren’t receiving the services they were at TJP they would not be able to be at ‘normal’ schools in any capacity. I know if some of my kids back home had had early intervention services, they would be further along then they are now (as in, all of the kids at TJP are at least partially verbal; none are completely non-verbal).
Something to note is that at TJP they truly practice ABA (applied behavior analysis). Constant reinforcements (mainly food & tokens towards desired activities/items) within a highly structured schedule. There’s no ‘do as you feel’ here. It is very intense, very involved, and rather fast-paced. The students have goals, and these goals are constantly being worked towards. Each student has a schedule, and this schedule is followed without question. The overwhelming part for me is that these tutors are responsible for it all. And they track EVERYTHING. There are sheets and charts to monitor progress in all areas of learning for these children. That may be the craziest part for me; the constant documentation.
Did I mention they don’t practice SCIP? Yea, apparently physical interventions are rather hard to get approved in Ireland. However, none of their kids are quite as aggressive as the ones I’ve worked with, so there’s really no reason to know how to do a three-person supine anyways. The first child I met they said may pinch and/or bite, and when they told me that’s the worst he does, I almost felt relieved(?). Their way of dealing with any aggressive behavior is essentially planned ignoring. It’s amazing/baffling to me in many ways. Although, it may be safe to say from what I saw today their children simply do not have the same severity of autism that some of the kids back home do, and thus are simply less aggressive by nature. It may be nice to not come home with bruises every day. (None of the kids appear to display bolting behavior either and so my incredibly amazing sprinting capabilities may be taken down a notch or two. Boo.)
It’s actually going to be hard for me to adjust to the tininess of the place I think. They have two classrooms, and barely use the old kitchen at all. The kids are split between the rooms (younger & older, making it 3 and 4 respectively in each). There’s no speech rooms, no OT or PT, no gym or art or music (which, honestly, thank God for because I really hated music at ASI) and there’s definitely not any sensory rooms (which I may be more sad about than anyone. I’ll miss you red/yellow comfy chair!).
The only complaint I have is that I have to take the bus (two actually; one to get from home to the waterfront, then one to my internship).
Joe was so sure for Elizabeth & I (the two with placements the furthest away) someone would offer us a ride from the agency. For Elizabeth, this is true. For me, not so much, as everyone lives in the opposite direction of where I need to go apparently.
I’m quite ticked off about this bus situation as it means I’ll have to spend (supposedly) some 3 Euros per day on it. And seeing as I’m the only one who has to do this, it makes me even more mad. I’m going to talk to Joe about it as I find it just plain unfair. I don’t mind taking the bus (though I’ve yet to have a non-nausea experience on one), it’s the fact that I have to spend my own money for it that bothers me. I wish the college would reimburse me, but I think we can all agree no matter what country you’re in, that’s just wishful thinking.
I honestly don’t know how I liked my first day. It was a first day. I went in to something I knew nothing about; I can’t make judgments on it quite yet. I do know I didn’t hate it so much I never want to step foot there again. I just am not sure if I’ll love it as much as back home. I want to, I really do, but I might not be cut out for ABA/tiny agencies (to be determined at a later date).
None of the kids here seem as cuddly as some of the kids at ASI. This girl is really gonna miss her hugs & sitting on laps. (And from that one lil cute boy, kisses on the cheek.)
Like I said, it was the first day of many.
Who knows how I'll feel in a week, let alone ten.
Know what I really wish though? That I had a TV in my bedroom and we didn’t share one in the common room. I really just wanna lay in bed and watch crappy MTV shows right now, but not happening. Also, not having hockey/football is seriously getting hard. Spooorrrtttsss!!!!
TV shows and movies are weeks behind the US here so I’ll be able to catch up on Grey’s and finally see ‘Youth in Revolt’ soon. :P
Trying to upload pictures to Facebook for everyone is proving impossible. Beginning to become clear to me that it’s my room that’s crappy for electronics, as apparently according to Elizabeth my cell phone cuts out a lot when we’re talking as well. My room may or may not actually be a nuclear bomb shelter.
On one level it’s been nice to be disconnected but on the other, I like to know the current happenings in my world. Toss up.
I think I’ve babbled enough.
Love,
Dana
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