Swings, Strings, and Strides by Christina Banbury

I am currently a senior graduating as a Psychology major next summer 2013. Most majors are unable to get jobs in their field before they graduate with a degree. Fortunately, I was not part of this statistic. This past summer I was able to land my first psychology job at a residential household working for two autistic teenagers. This job is employed through a government program for people with disabilities. I came to find out that the children I would be working for are adopted from Paraguay; the exact same country I am adopted from! This job has changed my life. With permission from the children’s parents I am allowed to share their identities and other information about their lives. Nathan, is 18 and diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), social anxiety, mild mental retardation, and autism. His emotional and mental development is on the level of a nine year old. Jessica, is also 18, and has been diagnosed with severe autism and severe mental retardation; the manifestations/symptoms of her autism include sensory integration disorder, sleep difficulties, severe social skill deficits, and severe language deficits.  Her emotional and mental development is on the level of a two year old. Jessica is very low-functioning, meaning she needs constant supervision and assistance in performing tasks such as taking a bath, getting dressed, and preparing meals, etc.
Due to the fact Nathan has social anxiety he is very restricted to when he leaves the house. Therefore, I chose Jessica to go on an accessible date because she enjoys being around people. On the days I work with Jessica we focus on structuring our session with what we call “floor-time” sensory. Floor-time sensory activities incorporate sensory integration approaches, such activities are used to stimulate the senses of an individual that has autism. Activities focus on oral sensory, proprioception, audiovisual, and sensorimotor.
On Sunday September 30, the day of our date, I went to Jessica’s house, got her cleaned and dressed, and then I loaded the car with her wheel chair. Although Jessica can walk, we normally take her wheel chair with us when we go out because she refuses to walk sometimes, she has no perception of personal space or boundaries, and she sometimes knocks or pulls items off of shelves in stores. Our first stop was Applebee’s where we picked up a rack of ribs, with broccoli, Yukon mashed potatoes, and a basket of fries. I had raspberry sweet tea and Jessica had her choice of drink, Coca Cola.

We got the food to-go and then we went to Laurel Park in Marietta.

When we arrived at the park I attempted to get Jessica out of the car and into her wheel chair. On this day, Jessica was not too sure if she wanted to listen to directions so she didn’t get out of the car right away. Here I am with Jessica trying to coerce her to come out of the car and the first looks began by nosy passer-byers. I call them nosy because it seems to be that people love to stare. This part of the date lacked privacy because it felt like I had no control over people staring at what was going on when I was trying to get Jessica to come out of the car. Eventually, Jessica came out of the car and our first stop was to the bathroom. I pushed Jessica in her wheel chair to the bathroom where I struggled to get her chair into the bathroom because there was not a ramp for accessibility. It was amazing to discover that a public park did not did not meet the demands of handicapped individuals. After we left the bathroom we ventured on down to the stone pathway that led to some picnic tables to have our lunch.

 Other activities that were going on around us included people of all ages and ethnicities walking, running, screaming, and playing either basketball or soccer. At the picnic tables I got out our lunches out and we began to eat.
As people passed by they continued to stare at Jessica and I. I do not know if it was because Jessica was drinking out of a sippy cup or because she was sitting in a wheel chair. Sometimes when people stare for a long time I will wave at them to let them know I see them! That day I just ignored them. After we finished eating, I wheeled Jessica back to the car and then we left the park and went to Marietta Square. On that Sunday, the Marietta Square had a farmer's market event going on.

The Square was blocked off with signs and in the middle there were many booths and tents set up with people's artwork and food for sale. There were also kid's activities that were in a selected corner of the square. There were many people in our close proximity as I pushed Jessica around so I felt very crowded. The Square seemed to be more accessible than the park because there were sidewalks with ramps for wheel chairs. While I was pushing Jessica, she was playing with her straw, which she uses as a form of sensory.

There was also a live band playing and many sounds of people chatting in the background which provided a lot of sensory stimulation for Jessica, in which I discussed earlier that it is very necessary for her to have in her environment.

While I was pushing Jessica around in the Square I felt very comfortable because I have been to Square many times because I am from Marietta. The Square is very easy to walk around and find your way even for people who are first time visitors. There are traffic lights at each corner of the square along with buttons to press to know when you are able to cross the street. On the outside of the Square there are many eateries, dessert shops, and mom and pop stores to shop at. Each business presents itself with a sign that tells about what it is. On this day I felt like I had a lot of control over my surroundings because I know my way around the Square and if Jessica was to start getting overstimulated I would be able to find my way out quick. Fortunately, Jessica seemed very calm while at the farmers market so I did not have to worry about making an escape. I pushed Jessica through the event to look at different booths and I also pushed her towards the middle of the Square to listen to music. When it was time to go I wheeled Jessica back to the car and we headed back to her house. Overall, our date went well. Most of the events that happened today normally happen on days when I take her on outings. Amazingly, the way people react towards Jessica never get old. I know for sure that it is nice every once in a while to have a friendly person try to interact with her. The main reactions we normally see are people staring like they've never seen a developmentally disabled person before. I hope that people can learn more from this blog that it is important to not forget the people in our society that are not like they rest of us. They do not deserve to be stared at or even overlooked at for that matter. Jessica has truly impacted my life by helping me to learn true patience, love, and learning to in what I stand for. I have more of sure purpose of why I am a psychology major and why I love to help people.