Cranberry juice&Fries

Last week, I’ve completed my WOL experience at “Autism Recovery Network” and I would like to share my thoughts here,  also for myself to look back. Not only the one-week internship itself but also the process of getting prepared were all worth it and it helped me acquire many skills.  These skills include both soft and hard skills, starting from collaboration/communication skills to video-filming/editing, and script making. I’ve learned everything from writing a CV, sending formal emails, professionalism, and so on.

First, I will share the diary that I have written during the Internship week.

Day 1 

The first task we were assigned was to edit a script for the video that they will film. It was an explanation video about how parents can increase attention span for children with Autism. We were given a long article that was written in formal language and was asked to make them more concise and video-friendly. Paraphrasing skills were extremely important; keeping the important information but making the sentences short and straightforward was harder than I thought. The next task assigned was to come up with craft and art ideas for Singapore National day and Father’s day. We carefully considered the skills they might develop through the activities, such as creativity, long-term concentration, and collaboration skills. We came up with three ideas for each holiday and presented them to our supervisor by recording a short video with a presentation. 

Day 2 

Today, we had our internship on site. We first joined a few sessions to get an idea of what the center is actually doing. During the sessions, I was surprised by the effort they put into every child. I was able to understand that every child faces their own difficulties and has their own way to associate their learning with themselves. For example, some enjoyed applying the knowledge they gained with songs, and some enjoyed physical sensation while learning new things. I’ve also found that teaching autistic children requires high multi-tasking skills since they have to keep an eye on the children while quickly preparing for a new activity before the child loses attention. The methods that seemed especially effective to me were to keep calling their name until they can make eye contact and praising them or rewarding them after every activity. 

Also, I thought that being a behavioral therapist requires a lot of patience. Most of the time, the children will not understand or listen to what they are saying the first time they say. The therapist has to repeat it again and again until they will understand. Not just being kind to the child but therapists also have to teach the child how to behave. I thought that this could be challenging because the therapist has to forcibly let the children quit what they are enjoying. In the sessions we joined, the therapist had to make sure that the child will not spend a long time on the floor. She had to make the child stop what he was doing and have him sit on the chair. At such times, I saw the therapist showing the child’s favorite toy saying that he can play with them after they finish the task

They might cry, scream, or refuse to do the activity, but the therapist still has to let them do it, as it is included in the process of making the children’s concentration last longer. 

In terms of the working environment skills, I learned the importance of asking questions. We had several times when we didn’t know what to do and it took us a bit of time to be able to ask them questions freely. They always answered our questions willingly and provided us new tasks after we finished one. I realized that there was no reason to be afraid. Also, I learned the importance of communication, as sometimes we had misunderstandings and I got nervous and couldn’t explain things clearly. My friend helped me a lot at those times; I learned that telling exactly what I need is important. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the working environment.

Day 3 

Today we had our job online again. We came up with art and craft ideas for teacher’s day, Hari Raya, Halloween, Deepavali. Because we had interacted with the autistic children yesterday, we were able to come up with more suitable crafts. We also edited three scripts for a tip-introducing video. While editing them, we got a chance to understand the tips to interact with autistic children and I thought that I might be able to use them tomorrow.    

Day 4

Today we had our job on site. We made the craft and arts that we came up with yesterday. We made a lot today and spent the whole morning making all of them. Even in simple cutting actions, I was able to find efficient ways. 

We also joined a video filming, which made me acquire a lot of hard skills. I learned how to set up a camera/light, how to film, how to show the scrip to the speaker, how to effectively edit a video. I personally am interested in filming, so it was unexpected, but a really exciting experience. It was really interesting to see how the videos are filmed and how much effort they put into them. Our supervisor mentioned that these videos are for families that cannot afford any therapy for their children. Hence it needs to be clear and understandable for all parents. This made me understand more about the lack of support for families with autistic children and how the center is trying to address this issue using every possible way. 

As for the collaboration skills, I felt that they improved a lot from Tuesday. The other therapists ( except for our supervisor ) also asked us for help with easy tasks and I was able to spontaneously offer them help as well. I felt more comfortable asking them questions to make sure we had the same idea on the task we are going to do. 

 The last task we were assigned today was the most difficult one in these four days. We were asked to summarise the concepts and methods that can be used to educate children with autism and to come up with specific activities that we will want to propose to the center. Our supervisor told us to make sure to include the experience we had on Tuesday while observing some sessions. The biggest takeaway from Tuesday was that every child faces their own difficulties and every child has their own unique favorite things. We only joined three sessions, but this was still clear to my eyes. From this big takeaway, we came up with ideas, such as using cards/toys with different surface textures to make their activity more engaging, enjoyable, and memorable. On top of this, during the sessions, I realized that they tend to walk around the room or jump when they lose attention. After seeing these behaviors, I thought that it might be helpful to add a break with physical activities between brain-using activities. Also, I thought it might be a nice refreshment to walk outside between activities. Including these main ideas and some others, we made an activity proposal document and handed it to our supervisor.  

Overall reflection and the skills that I gained  

My goal this week was to know more about the working environment and to improve my communication skills. When the week ended my goal was met; I was able to ask questions and communicate more freely with my supervisor. I realized that it was really important to ask questions to make sure that we know what to do with the tasks and offer help spontaneously if we finish a task. I was able to gain knowledge by observing others and apply them to specific tasks. I think I can use these skills for any of my school subjects.

While filming the videos, we heard that those videos are for families that cannot afford any therapy for their children. This made me understand more about the lack of support for families with autistic children and how the center is trying to address this issue using every possible way.  I heard that the study of this area is one of the areas in psychology that is progressing at a very fast speed, but still not meeting the needs. Also, while we were filming the interview video, the therapists said that despite all the difficulties, being a behavioral therapist is fulfilling. They talked about the time when children made progress which made them glad and motivated. I think the field of special education might seem difficult to step in for some people. Unless you have a close person in this field, you would not be going to involve in this field on a daily basis.  I hope I can make use of this one-week experience to take part in raising awareness of the needs of special education. 

On top of this, through the sessions with the children with autism, I realized that there are many methods and ways of communicating with others. I think these skills are relevant not only when communicating with people with autism, but also when talking with any kind of person that has difficulty communicating with others. Such as the elderly, people with hard of hearing, and people that are not confident talking in front of many people. Using the skills that I gained, I hope I can find out the best way to approach when encountering people that have difficulty in communication.

At last, I would like to share some of the work I did during the week.

Video script: Teaching your child to master Daily Living Skills through ABA-VB

Engaging in a complex task can be challenging for some children with autism. Skills, such as washing hands or wearing clothes may seem simple, but they involve a variety of behaviors. This could be difficult for the children. Children with autism often face difficulties with motor planning and sequencing. This may affect your child’s performance in tasks involving a sequence of multiple steps. Through task analysis, children with autism learn the individual step in a sequence and then master the overall skill. In this video, we will be going through the steps needed to teach your child to master Activities of Daily Living (ADL) skills. 

Step 1:The first step you can take is to choose an appropriate goal for your child. You need to identify the age-appropriate skill to be taught first. For example, teaching your child to wear a shirt at 4 years old is appropriate. However, teaching a 2-year-old how to tie shoelaces may be too difficult for the child and is not age-appropriate.

Step 2:Next, you should decide on how you want to break down the steps. The first step of teaching your child dressing could be: to take the shirt. Second, to put the shirt over their head, so on and so on. Visual tools, such as picture cards can be used as a reference to show your child how to perform the task. 

Step 3:  Also, it is important to make sure that you teach them each step by providing instruction that matches your child’s level of understanding. It’s crucial for the child to understand and hear the keywords in your instruction. Use short, simple phrases/instructions and limit it to 2 to 3 words at the start.  You can start by saying “Take shirt” instead of “Can you please take the shirt?” 

There are 2 approaches to task analysis – Forward and Backward Chaining

1) Forward Chaining Forward chaining is a method of teaching a behavior beginning with the first step. For example, when you teach your child to wash their hands, you should first teach your child the first step ( which is rinsing hands with water). Once the child masters the first step independently, teach the second step ( which could be to get soap) and the rest of the steps prompted.

2) Backward Chaining Backward chaining is a method of teaching a behavior beginning with the last step. Using tooth brushing as an example, the child would first be doing every single step of tooth brushing. Then they would independently put the toothbrush in the toothbrush holder highlighted as the last step. Next, the child will repeat the tooth brushing and will be taught the second last but one step of brushing teeth and so on till the child masters every step of the behavior.

Never forget to praise them at the end of every activity, no matter how simple the activities are!! Thank you for watching, see you in our next video! Bye.