Dan and Autism

Shadowing Days 4 and 5

Thursday, my fourth day of shadowing, can be described in one word: Uneventful. Nothing out of the ordinary really happened. I came in at three PM and there was a case worker from the state checking everything out. When the guys came home from work, Bones had an accident, so myself and the other intern got our first chance to change him by ourselves. Go interns! We spent the rest of the day doing various tasks around the house and finishing up the construction of a new computer desk. I was actually allowed to go home about a half hour early because there just wasn't much for me to do.

Today was my 9AM to 10 PM shift. The day went by incredibly fast. Work at this job doesn't even feel like work, it feels like I'm a parent. I rarely find myself looking at the clock, and when I do, I'm surprised at how much time has gone by.
I'm starting to build a connection with the guys. I was talking to the guy that hired me, who's been working there for years, this morning. I told him that on Thursday, as the guys were coming in from work and I said hello to each one of them, one of the guys walked up to me and put his hand on my face for a moment. The guy that hired me told me that that's incredible because it took him years for that resident to be comfortable enough around him to do that. It made me feel really special.
The guys are also learning to stop poor behavior without me even saying anything to them. One of the guy presses, which means he applies pressure to his own body, which hurts him. If he starts doing that, or rocking back and forth, now I can just look at him and use a small hand gesture, and he'll relax and sit normally. Another guy makes noise and hand movements, so if I look at him, he'll stop and make the "quiet" sign with his finger up to his lips.
Today we rearranged all the furniture in the living room and cleaned up around that area alot. Some of the guys react to change by becoming very uncomfortable. One of them even looked like he was about to cry. I kept reassuring him that the room looked nice and that he'll get used to it.

posted by Daniel @ 5:50 PM