Surprise Snuggles
Over the summer I worked in a group home taking care of children with autism. It was most definitely a learn-on-the-job kind of position, one where you couldn’t be prepared enough outside of the house for. With my big heart and naïve mind, I didn’t know what to expect other than to try my hardest and love these kids who had been abandoned by their parents and families. After about three weeks there, I graduated from the easy 9-year-old girl (who really wasn’t that easy), to a more difficult 12-year-old boy who had intense behavior problems and lashed out frequently. I was warned that while he wanted your undivided attention, he wanted no affection. After the first day working with him, I felt defeated; I was attacked multiple times, I had a hard time understanding his sign language, and he kept pursuing attention from his usual staff members. The next day I went in and decided I was going to try even harder to keep on top of fulfilling his needs, ask about his signs, and just give him the attention that I would think any other child would want. That day went much better, we had minimal behavioral issues and he accepted me as his staff. I came in to work early the third day working with him. It was right after breakfast as they have TV …show more content…
The study included 21 children aged 8-12 with high-functioning autism and an IQ of 70 and above and 17 typically developing children as the control group. “Children were administered the Kerns Security Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment–Revised, and caregivers completed the same questionnaires from the viewpoint of their child (p.
Over the summer I worked in a group home taking care of children with autism. It was most definitely a learn-on-the-job kind of position, one where you couldn’t be prepared enough outside of the house for. With my big heart and naïve mind, I didn’t know what to expect other than to try my hardest and love these kids who had been abandoned by their parents and families. After about three weeks there, I graduated from the easy 9-year-old girl (who really wasn’t that easy), to a more difficult 12-year-old boy who had intense behavior problems and lashed out frequently. I was warned that while he wanted your undivided attention, he wanted no affection. After the first day working with him, I felt defeated; I was attacked multiple times, I had a hard time understanding his sign language, and he kept pursuing attention from his usual staff members. The next day I went in and decided I was going to try even harder to keep on top of fulfilling his needs, ask about his signs, and just give him the attention that I would think any other child would want. That day went much better, we had minimal behavioral issues and he accepted me as his staff. I came in to work early the third day working with him. It was right after breakfast as they have TV …show more content…
The study included 21 children aged 8-12 with high-functioning autism and an IQ of 70 and above and 17 typically developing children as the control group. “Children were administered the Kerns Security Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment–Revised, and caregivers completed the same questionnaires from the viewpoint of their child (p.