I started working with kids with disabilities in my early twenties. Taking a job at a residential home special for kids ageing between seven to twenty-one with very complex behaviors. Pointing out the very complex behaviors, this is not all residential houses. Each home is very different; some have more complex behavior’s then others, some have none. My employer made me aware of what I was getting into from the start. I grew up having several family members as nurses and working in the field, so I knew A little from the start Right. Besides it’s working with kids and helping others. Little did I know taking this job would change my whole outlook on things and help prepare me for a very long and challenging journey that some days feel like I will never see the end of that rainbow.
I had never heard of Autism before starting my training. It wasn’t something many people talked about and was just starting to become more openly discussed. When I first started there was only a few of the residential houses with individuals with Autism. The house I would be working in was one of them. It was considered one of the most behavioral in the agency that I worked for at the time. Most of the individuals where nonverbal or had limited communication skills. This was before PECs (Picture Exchange Communication) and iPads got more common. At the time most of the individuals had no experience with using them either. You can imagine the frustration it would cause the individual and the staff not being able to show someone what You needed or a staff not being able to figure out the person’s needs. So yes, the individuals I started working with had behaviors. I will not sugar coat any of the things I seen or went through with them. It is the side no one wants to show or see, but it is to me important people see all sides of things. the good, the bad, and even the ugly side. With out being open to all aspects of it. How can we truly help others understand and learn from it. Most of all so that we can help the individuals.
As I look back at all the things we didn’t have access to like we do now. The knowledge from all the studies and different approaches tried over the years. We have come a long way in the last twenty years. Sometimes I think we tend to forget that.
So, with no real way to communicate needs and wants, No fidget or sensory toy’s really yet at this time. I went to work in this residential home that had six individuals that had a range of disabilities most with a diagnosis of Autism. Between them they had a range of challenging behaviors from Elopement (running off), Sib (self-injury), Pica (eating things they shouldn’t), throwing or breaking things, and physical aggression to others. Pretty much between the six of them everything that can come with Autism was present. Please keep in mind these are individuals with very challenging behaviors that were placed in a home due to these behaviors. They are not by any means what everyone with Autism does. Later on, in my career I worked with individuals with Autism that had none of these behaviors.
My eyes had been opened for me right at the start of my journey. Working with these individuals some of the most severe cases of Autism my place of employment had seen at that time. I won’t lie I was very nervus and somewhat scared, but within a short time I knew this was where I belonged and what I was meant to do. They didn’t have many staff that would work with them as you can imagine. It wasn’t long before I noticed the revolving door as we called it where I worked either. Staff usually only lasted a few days before Quieting or transferring to a different residential house. Besides the obvious behaviors of getting hit, kicked, or bit. you also had Fesis (poop) or other Boby fluids thrown and spit at you. All of those I understood why some people couldn’t do the job. The thing that even to this day I never understood was the staff that came knowing you had to help the individuals with everyday living tasks like showers, toileting, changing diapers, dressing, feeding and all the other things that people do every day. The things that they had been told at the training before even starting they would have to do. They would come one day say flat out I refuse to do that for the individuals and quiet. A job in care giving is defiantly not for everyone I get that. especially with individuals with special needs. None of us are there for just a paycheck either trust me. I started out making minimum wage which at the time was less than half of what it is now.
Looking past that the bond I grew between each one of them I will never forget. Each individual so different from the other just as everyone is different. That is after all what makes us who we are. some days were very hard and yes, the thought of going to a different house did cross my mind some days, but the truth was knowing there was only a few that would work with them kept me going back every day. Yes, they all had families that cared for them and loved them more then you can image. their families would visit as much as possible but in reality, some of them lived far away or had no transportation. Let’s not forget taking time off from a job to come visit.
In just a few years I had gone to more trainings than I can count. The new things being taught on how to work with the individuals. All the new things coming out to help with sensory processing. How to address the more challenging behaviors and the different communication devices and technics becoming more available. The different programs and Early intervention starting to take hold. Most of all the behaviors in the individuals I worked with started to decrees. One thing as a staff I noticed was the number of individuals with Autism was getting to be not so uncommon. also, that what was thought of being mostly in males and only one child in a family didn’t seem to be the case anymore. We started getting more girls and siblings. The whole stereotype of what was thought to be had started to be thrown out the door.
The experience I would gain and the things I learned early on would help me in the future. I got to work closely with specialist in all different areas. Helping collect data and trying different methods to help the individuals cope with sensory needs and calming technics for behavior management. The different special diets that seemed to work for some, but not others. Basically, if it was thought of, we tried it.
With all that training and a few years of experience working with individuals with Autism. It would give me somewhat of an advantage before even having children of my own. More than most parents with kids with Autism would start with. Not to mention the resources I had at my fingertips.