I grew up thinking I wanted to be a teacher; as a senior in high school I volunteered in a kindergarten class as an elective...that changed my mind real quick. After a quick (3 year) stint in court reporting school, which is a whole other story in & of itself, I started working more full time while taking part time classes at the local community college until I decided what I wanted to major in. For the past 5 years my career has been working as a nanny. It was through my experiences with two families, one brief and one longer & more intense, that I finally stumbled upon, what I believe to be, what I want to do with the foreseeable future of my life. Occupational Therapy.
The first family I worked for on a short term basis consisted of BG twins born 3 months premature; when I came in to care for them they were 8 months old calendar, 5 months adjusted, Baby N weighed 18 pounds & Baby T weighed 12 pounds...soooo...small! Baby T also had a Colostomy bag. I clearly remember their OTs coming to the house & telling me what they were doing with the babies. I remember the parents giving me a packet of exercises that they do with the babies. And this I vividly recall, sitting & watching the OTs working with T&N (not knowing really what they were doing but still) thinking, "I really like this. THIS looks like something I would want to do. What is this? I could do this. I WANT to do this." 4 years later I understand who they were & what they were doing...Early Intervention OT.
The second family I worked for a year and a half and consisted of C, 7 at time of hire, and H, 4 at time of hire. From the VERY BEGINNING my Spidey-senses were picking up on ques that H was not a Typical child; from his intellect (very high), compulsions, complete FREAK OUTS over things like automatic toilet flushers or certain foods at dinner time...something wasnt right. When these events happened I would write it down, then go home to Google it & they all shot back the same results: Autism/Aspergers. In the year and a half I worked for the family ( who were lovely, wonderful, amazing, sweet & glorious people to work for) they NEVER ONCE said to me, "Stefani, H is on The Spectrum. This is what it means & this is what we need you to do for him." NEVER ONCE. I figured out what to do (through consulting his OT & ST) for him while I was with him for the things I needed him to accomplish during the day. It was through my Sensory Integration techniques that H expanded his diet from 3 dinner dishes to 8+, & enjoyed them!
There was a time in the beginning when I was very frustrated because I didnt know H's diagnosis, I was highly considering leaving the position, but I stuck with it because I found a groove that worked, through research/consultation found exercises & techniques that worked for H & me & soon our days glided along so smoothly. It was after this job that I was pretty much sure, OT was for me.
Fast forward a few years, one Intro class( & some postponing), here I am, almost done with my first year of the COTA program. This is what I want to do with my life,as far as I can see from standing here in my almost 24 year old shoes. Im excited to have finally found something that I enjoy, Im good at & fulfills one of my main goals in life; do good things for other people & leave a positive impact on the world.
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Wow we have a lot in common! I am 23/almost 24, nanny for 5 years, grew up wanting to be a teacher, ALMOST went to court reporting school, and my first nanny position was b/g twins!
ReplyDeleteI also worked with a little boy who I knew had some sort of issue. I thought it was so weird that the parents never mentioned anything about it. His body tenses up, opens his mouth really wide and quits breathing while spacing out. Almost looks like a seizure. If you talk to him and distract him it stops. I want to ask but I feel like if it were an issue the parents would tell me about it...
I love being a nanny but have always felt like there was something else I wanted to do. Thats so great you're doing the COTA program. Working with kids is so rewarding!
Well, its great to have another nanny blogger on here =) Good luck with the COTA program!
Does he do any therapy or have any "appointments"? If so, ask his therapists questions. Its very true what they teach us in class, that the diagnosis is not as important as the symptoms and what you do about it, so bring up questions like, "X did this today, I was wondering what has worked for you in this scenario." If they cant give you answers, the internet and child devp. books can help a wonder! It didnt take me long to catch on that all of the many appointments I was carting my little guy to meant something, even if the parents never said it. Eventually after many months they would talk to me about his condition, symptoms, behaviors, etc. but still, never told me "he has Aspergers".
ReplyDeleteYour boy may suffer from seizures, there are a wide range of them, and if that is it you should be told how to properly handle him when it happens, for his saftey and yours.
Where are you located? Perhaps you might want to look into what OTA programs are available ;)