Pre-Internship Orientation

Oh my goodness! You cannot possibly imagine how excited I am about my internship. I am truly, truly happy that I have chosen to work at the Centro "2 de abril" during the three weeks to come so soon.

This morning, from 9h30 to 11h00, I was at the center to figure out the details of my internship with my supervisor, Josefina. You see, Josefina and her four coworkers have been very busy lately, because they recently created the Centro "2 de abril," near Montevideo Shopping. Josefina explained their initiative for the school stemmed from their desire to have a concrete location used as a school for the children they have been teaching through homeschooling, because the more developed children would benefit to have social learning as a component of their education. Now that they are much more organized and established, Josefina and I were able to determine a proper schedule for me:

Mondays	Tuesdays	Wednesdays	Thursdays	Fridays	Saturdays
9h00	11h00	9h00	9h00	9h00	9h30
18h00	18h00	18h00	12h00	18h00	12h00

Every day announces a distinct experience, because different children, or groups of children, come to the center depending on the day of the week. The exposure to a variety of cases will help me broaden my understanding of the complexities of autism. Josefina warned me I might be exhausted, but she thinks I will receive a lot out of the experience. Oh, I'm sure of that. I'm so excited!

I also had the opportunity to observe and interact two children, siblings actually, who both have autism. It only makes me more curious and eager to learn more and hopefully understand better. I will try to retell our first encounter, but be aware that the following is my interpretation of the sequence of actions:

As soon as they arrived, C and JM ran to turn on the television. Actually, no, they first perceived me, a novel and unidentified being, as soon as they passed the door's threshold. JM dismissed me after a few milliseconds, much attracted by the waiting TV. C, however, looked at me longer, tilting her head as if trying to figure out who I was. I smiled at her and brightly, "Hola." She continued gazing at me for a few moments before running to the TV. By this time, JM had begun jumping on the mini trampoline in front of the television he had turned on. He was saying unintelligible things, and C was soon emulating his jumping-and-talking. Josefina soon walked back in; she had been speaking with the children's parents about the need to let the children know that they were going to get a divorce. 

While we observed the children's play, which included C's banging a cylinder with beads inside on the floor and JM's turning on and off the TV, Josefina explained to me a few more things, especially fundamental rules. Try to get their attention when you speak at them, and search for their eyes. Making eye contact reminds them we are here, people speaking to them. Do not let them get their way through tantrums, screams, and other inappropriate behaviour. We cannot afford reinforcing the socially unacceptable behaviour. When such happens, I ignore them until they calm down and try speaking normally. I make them repeat what they should say, and praise them for the good. Keep sentences concise when speaking to them. Long sentences lose their attention and they cannot follow the ideas. Short and simple are easier to grasp. But most important: Never talk down about the children when they are around. Even though they do not seem to follow the conversation, we can never know how much they pick up. 

In spite of their attraction for Barney on the TV, I was rewarded by a few things when C and JM reached out to me from their worlds. JM came beside me and began nudging at me, softly pushing against against my arm as he rocked back and forth on his feet. Josefina told me it was his sign of affection for people when he first met them, when he wasn't that well acquainted. Upon being reminded, C stood on tiptoes and, while intensely gazing into my eyes, kissed me fully on the cheek. Also, when I was leaving, C not only listened to me but also replied to my "Chau." 

Now, I can only count the days until the beginning of my internship. It will be from Monday, May 19th, until Saturday, June 7th. Until then, I'll read the book on autism Josefina lent me upon my request, so that I know a little more.