Week One: September 17th and September 19th, 2013

I have recently begun an internship for a high school program with the Kindering Center in Bellevue, WA, working with children with special needs.  Throughout this blog, I will be documenting my progress at this work site, under labels such as Problem Solving, Character Development, Teamwork, Leadership, Gracious Professionalism, Time Management, Communication, Job-Specific Skills, and Career Readiness.  In addition, I will be keeping track of my short-term and long-term goals during this internship.

I have always had a passion for working with children, and I would take any opportunity to help anyone I can -- I hope that, in my own way, I will be able to make a difference in these children's lives.

My time at the Kindering Center is off to a truly fantastic start.  I have already learned so much, and the internship has just begun.  Of course, this means that I have a daunting task ahead of me, learning all I possibly can in less than a year.  However, if the entire year goes this well, I will leave high school as one of the happiest and most satisfied people alive.

            Teamwork and collaboration are incredibly important in such a position.  The entire team must be on the same page at all times when interacting with the children – for example, we are all given a packet with specific instructions on how to communicate with the students.  It includes tips, such as “do not use the word no.”  We are instead advised to use positive language to give instructions, such as “use walking feet” rather than “don’t run,” and “play with the clay on the table” instead of “don’t put the clay in your mouth.”  There are, in fact, several good reasons for this, one of the most important being the reservation of the word “no” for dangerous circumstances, since it must be perfectly clear when an action is truly bad or dangerous for the students.

            Problem solving is also most definitely a key part of interning at the Kindering Center.  For example, one of the students who just joined the class was having separation issues from her mother.  No amount of coaxing or pleading would entice her to leave her mother’s side, so a different tactic was required.  I went to sit by her mother, bringing with me one of the classroom toys.  I sat down and began to play with the toy by myself, as if it was one of the most fascinating things I had ever seen.  The student began to come closer, and began playing with me.  I gave no sign of acknowledgement, but every few minutes, I would draw the toys a little closer to myself, and a little farther from the mother.  I kept doing this until the child was a good few feet from her mother, but it had to be done so gradually that she did not feel threatened.  In this way I was able, in my own, small way, to make the classroom slightly more comfortable for this one particular child.  I hope that, in time, I will have the experience to impact the students in other ways.

            Interning at an institution such as the Kindering Center also creates the necessity for a great amount of character development.  Although I am a naturally patient person, more than the usual endurance is required to work with small children for hours.  In addition, it is very humbling to work in the presence of those who specialize in fields such as Language and Speech Therapy, and since pride is one of my greatest flaws, I already know that working here will cause a great improvement on my character.

            Lastly, I was not expecting much in the way of career readiness when it came to interactions with the staff, but I did have an opportunity to tell them what I knew on one subject of importance.   One of the newer students had been diagnosed with Trisomy X, in which a girl is born with three X chromosomes rather than two.  Since it is a rather obscure genetic disorder, the staff did not know very much about Trisomy X.  However, I had done multiple reports on this particular disorder, and was able to tell them all I knew about the symptoms.

            As of now, my goals are to learn as much as I can about each child’s disorder:  their ability levels in social interaction, their motor skills, and their language comprehension.  In this way, I hope, by becoming familiar with each individual child’s abilities, that I may achieve my long-term goal of helping each child to advance in each of these areas and more in any way I can.