Last year Dr. Nicole told me that she was starting the Treehouse and wanted to know if I was willing to volunteer my time on Fridays from 4-8p.m. and I said yes. I have since really bonded with the kids, and one of them even started crying when I told them I would leave in the fall for college. He said "I don't want you to leave!" and clung to my leg.
Here's the building, since I can't take pictures of the kids. I suck at photography.
When I first started I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew they would be energetic, because little kids always are (especially Ozzie), and since they all have ASD, I knew they would probably have some sensory issues or issues communicating, since those are things that often come with ASD, which I myself have. I was worried about getting them to listen to me and respect me.
The kids were definitely energetic. They were hyper and hard to control, which is why we did exercise first to rid them of excess energy. But they're all very sweet kids. I gained their trust by proving to them that I understand them, as a young adult with ASD, and now they listen to me and respect me. If I miss a week because I'm sick, they ask about me, and it's the best feeling in the world!
Most of them are still hyper during relaxation, so that doesn't go well. After relaxation, we split them up by gender. I go with Dr. Chris and the boys to her office for group (where they discuss their goals, like for Ozzie-using an indoor voice) followed by dinner and a short free time while Dr. Nicole, the intern Maggie, and the girls are in art therapy. Then we switch. The girls have group, dinner and free time while the boys are in art therapy. Then we all come together for music therapy.
My "job" is to serve as kind of a mediator between them and the therapists or a helper. I assist the exercise therapist named Cama, the art therapist named Julie, and the music therapist named Becca.
The kids really thrive in the attention they get and they feel special in art and have fun playing with balloons to music. I get the feeling they have a hard time making friends in school and don't get much attention at home. It's a really good feeling to know that I'm making a difference in their lives.
On Feb. 28, we went on a field trip to Brunswick Lanes where we helped children with more serious disabilities bowl. It taught the kids that there are people less fortunate in the world. It taught them to help others, and they really enjoyed being given roles as "helpers." Most of the kids behaved very well and helped their buddy a lot, but Ozzie decided to stick Skittles up his nose while Tim laughed instead. Those two are the troublemakers.
On March 7, we had an impromptu field trip to Main Street Sports because of a noise complaint from some grumpy old man in a nearby office. The kids were given a good opportunity to run down their energy. Zoe was an amazing jumper, maybe some day she'll be in the Olympics as a long jumper. We did some jumping exercises, played soccer, then field hockey (it was sad that the only time I was successful at an organized sport was while playing field hockey against a bunch of 10 year olds) followed by dinner and then finally dodgeball. Those kids kicked my butt at sports. Thankfully Ozzie didn't do something outrageous like eating foam from a hockey stick. We even got Tim and Michael to participate in the games.
On March 14, we were finally back in the office. The kids were extra antsy because of cabin fever. So instead of exercise (that grumpy old man got us banned from the room we did exercise in) we played with legos while the kids talked amongst themselves about spring break. They love legos, but I did notice already at this age that they were already thinking that the girls/boys have cooties. Society brainwashes them into following gender roles from a young age. So during art I've heard James yell at Michael "Pink is a girl's color!" so I told him there is no such thing as "boy colors" or "girl colors" and that everyone can like any color they want.
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