HISTORY:
People often ask me, Jenn, how did you get started in special needs? And I don't really know how to answer. It could have been the pure joy I found doing my job. It could have been because I just had FUN. It could have been that I just love to be around kids, and get more fulfillment helping others to see what I see in kids with special needs. And at the same time, I really don't know. There is not really one thing that I can say that "made me do it". I just enjoy my job, and most of the time I don't view it as a "job". Maybe that's the answer right there... ?
My career in special needs started when I was in highschool, when I enrolled in a co-op program. My choice was to work in a school, (doing what at first I had no clue), until it was suggested to me that I try working with kids who had learning disabilities. I accepted and there began my intense interest in working with kids who needed more help than those of their peers.
The classroom was filled with kids in grades 3 to 6, and each had a learning disability different than any of their peers. I remember one boy who had dyslexia, and could not decipher between the numbers 2 and 5; another who was so shy that his added learning disability only made it harder to reach him not only educationally but personally; and the little girl who really wasn't that little, but had a growth problem, as well as a hearing impairment making it difficult for her to learn. Working day in and day out with these kids really made me love to teach.
After that placement I decided that working with kids with learning disabilities just didn't give me the range I was looking for. So I became a volunteer for Bloorview Childrens' Hospital in the recreation department, as well as with the babies. Later I also became a classroom helper for Bloorview School, and a Special Friend for one of the residents who lived there since early childhood. She had Cerebral Palsy, and was my age. We used to sit in her room chatting for hours; stroll the grounds; and walk to the mall. I remember her speeding ahead of me in her electric wheelchair because it was so cold, and I'd have to ask her to slow down because I couldn't keep up! *grin*
When I finished highschool, I enrolled at Niagara College for a specific and unique program called Educational Resources and Special Needs. This enabled me to work in the school system as an Educational Assistant, as well as work in group homes and day programs with people with various special needs. We studied educating the special learner; we touched a very small part of physiotherapy and speech and language; I had placements in a group home, and schools. At one of my placements in the high school I worked in a "special" classroom, where the students had the more "severe" disabilities and were only integrated minimally. I enjoyed it so much that I accepted the Supply Teaching Assistant position that opened up. There I remember one girl in particular that fascinated me. She had Cornelia DeLange Syndrome, and it was the first time I had ever heard of it. She used to walk around with her arms in the air - kinda hanging straight out like when you sleepwalk. Her peripheral vision was so acute that she rarely looked at you, she would see you from the side. Somehow we formed a bond, and I could get her to do things most others couldn't. The teachers said I must have reminded her of someone she once knew. I think I just happened to have the personality type that she enjoyed to be around.
At another placement I worked in a group home for 4 adult males who were developmentally delayed. At another I chose to work with a Speech Language Pathologist and had a case-load of 7 kids, working on the language aspect of speech/language.
Before college, and then after, I filled my time working one-on-one with children and adolescents with special needs. I had summer jobs in summer day camps integrating children with special needs in the "regular" camp setting. I dealt with one boy who had pretty bad behaviour problems. That summer I was covered in bruises from being bitten and pinched so often by the him. I encountered so little support at that time, because the other counsellors were "afraid" to be around him. They didn't want to be bit or pinched by him. When I would finally get a break to go to the bathroom, I would return to find him pulling down his pants running around the area with all the counsellors and children pointing and laughing. Needless to say I was not impressed!
Another summer I worked with a boy who had Cerebral Palsy. We don't know how much he could see, but his hearing was excellent. He was in a wheelchair, and the other kids just adored him! They didn't mind that he couldn't talk, he couldn't walk, and he rarely responded to them. But he LAUGHED! The kids would race him around in his chair, then come to me and beam with pride telling me he was happy and they had made him laugh. It made my day, too!
As part time employment I became a Special Needs Mediator, and started working one-on-one with kids in their homes. It is also a form of respite for parents. Sometimes I take the child out, and sometimes the parents go out and we stay home. I worked with one girl and 2 boys who were Autistic; a boy who had PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder); a toddler who had Lissencephaly Syndrome; and am now working with a 16 yr. old who has Cornelia DeLange Syndrome. She is also deaf. We do a lot of fun things, like go shopping, hang out at her house (or mine), and just spend time together (sometimes doing puzzles, other times playing word games I make for her on the spur of the moment, etc.). We have been together for almost 3 years now. (In each case I would be working with only that one child at that time. These have been spread out over the last 6 years).
After college I enrolled in the University of Toronto, and was studying linguistics. I have decided to take some time off, just because I'm not motivated to be in school right now. I was working full time in a group home for children and teens who are autistic and developmentally delayed. I quit recently due to personal reasons. One being that I did not enjoy physically restraining one of the children there, and came home with many bruises. It was so tiring that I felt that if I stayed I would rapidly burn myself out due to unhappiness. That would not be a good thing for me, since usually I LOVE my job! I am presently looking for employment. :)
I've talked a lot about my background in special needs. But I have so much more to me than my job. For other interests and "stuff" come see the personal side of Jenn. :)
FUTURE GOALS:
My future plans include completing my B.A. in Linguistics at the University of Toronto, and then working towards my Masters in Speech Pathology.
I am also hoping to take a comprehensive course at the Canadian National Hearing Society to become more adept at American Sign Language. Of further interest, read my resume, and surf through the rest of my pages.
Thank you for visiting my page, and I hope you gain some valuable insight into "disability", and learn something new! I also hope to pass along my passion for learning about "special needs" of all kinds, and I hope that I can shed some light on it from a different perspective. I am not a parent, but I am a friend. If at any time you have information that you would like to see posted, any comments or links to informative or interesting sites about "disability" please send them along! I am VERY open to new sites, and am always interested in reading others' stories. :) Thanks again, and enjoy your stay! :)
Jenn
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