Fairy Tale Trail adventures

Our elementary class had the opportunity to explore the Women's Club of Evanston's Fairy Tale Trail last week. We loved all the sensory toys and fun decorations - thank you, WCE!

What they taught me: Reflections of a PACTT intern

Jalena Sidler was an Occupational Therapy, Level 2, intern at PACTT during Fall 2015. Here she reflects on her experience:

“I left feeling exhausted from observing, and in awe of the people who work here”

On my initial thought of PACTT, or more specifically, of working with pre-teens and teens with autism, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Frankly, I felt a bit intimidated! You see, I have only ever been around one person (that I know of) on the spectrum. One cousin who’s only (using “only” loosely) ailment was not being able to hug other people (tactile defense) and who started having seizures at the age of 7. To me and my family, she was the face of autism. Once I found out that I was going to be interning at PACTT I started doing some research. I’ve always known that autism was a spectrum disorder but I didn’t realize that it was based off of severity and support levels. Researching and reading something off of the internet proved futile once it came to actually working with the students here at PACTT. What I learned from the students and staff at PACTT cannot be learned in a book or on the internet.

Day 1 went something like this: arrived to see a bunch of people walking in the neighborhood surrounding the school. Saw some interesting things while said people were walking – some flapping, some crawling, some jumping, etc. I thought “ok, so these are the students.” Next, I go inside and begin meeting everyone and I am assigned to sit with the elementary class to observe. I thought “wow, this is a side of autism I have never seen. These kids need a lot of help. These kids seem pretty severe. They can’t possibly be able to do much without help”. Full disclosure: I was scared! I saw some hitting, kicking, throwing, meltdowns, and tantrums. Why was no one talking? Why was he hitting her? Why is he making that noise? The questions went through my head. Then a student hands me the feelings card that read “How are you feeling?” He stood there waiting so patiently and I answered “excited” because obviously that was the closest to “scared” I can get to without hurting feelings or offending. I left feeling exhausted from observing and in awe of the people who worked here. They endured so much for these kids and truly seemed to care.

Day 1 of week 2 went something like this: arrived to see each individual student participating in their daily morning walk in the community surrounding their school. This community who I learned was very accepting of these teenagers. I see each student as an individual fulfilling their sensory needs after a long bus or car ride to school. I see each staff member fully engaged in the student they are walking with. I see a fully dedicated staff using this time for not only sensory needs, but for safety education, for companionship, for community integration. I was not scared and, in hindsight, embarrassed of myself for even being so during those first couple days of observing. I started to get to know the students and looked forward to cooking class with them. It was a chance to see what they were capable of doing for themselves.

“It was a chance to see what [the students] were capable of doing themselves”

In 10 short weeks, my views on autism changed dramatically. I watched students who I thought were incapable of doing instrumental daily activities prepare meals with only gestural support. I saw students complete art projects and interact at story time by matching words and THEN finding the same word on their devices. I saw structured tasks be completed in no time. Because of all of the things they can do, I learned to not look at someone and think “wow, this person needs a lot of help. This person seems pretty severe. They can’t possibly be able to do much without help”. I know that as an occupational therapy assistant, I will set limits for many of my future students, clients, or patients and I now understand that I can either set limits that I think they can meet or I can push them past limits that they thought they would never meet. I can take what I have learned from every wonderful person on staff at PACTT and truly dedicate myself to helping that one person be better, hold them to high standards and never think “wow, this person can’t possibly do this.” Out of all the things they can do, the one thing they do best is teach us that you cannot judge a book by its cover. That and patience…….a whole lotta patience.

To participate in an internship at PACTT, please complete our Volunteer Request form.

A chance to explore

Clubs time give students an hour each Monday afternoon to explore something new, something creative, or maybe just something that sounds like fun! Students and staff join mixed groups from across the building, and anyone - paraprofessional, teacher, or therapist - is welcome to throw his or her hat in the ring as a Club leader. This semester's clubs include Music, Art, Gardening, and Community Cleanup.

Community Cleanup Club prepares for their neighborhood trash pickup:

  

Art Club explores color mixing with paints:

   

Music Club tries out our new instruments - and gets a mini-concert from Jeremy:

     

An OT intern reflects on her semester at PACTT

Laura Robertson was an Occupational Therapy, Level 2, intern at PACTT during Spring and Summer 2015. Here she reflects on her experience:

For the past 3 months I have been interning with PACTT's OT department. I had the chance to present at the new employee orientation, co-lead cooking groups, go on outings with the students, take part in Field Day, participate in student IEP/EDCs and perform part of their 3-year evaluations. I’ve modified some of the equipment used to teach students buttoning and created an independent work station task for student to practice buttoning that can be adapted to student’s needs. While I was here I also got to participate in planning for a new sensory space that will be created at the school.

My last few weeks here I have been helping put together new recipes for classroom cooking. The goal is to teach the students basic recipes that they can do at home in a safe manner and expose the students to different combinations of smells, tastes and textures. If these recipes are a hit, they will become part of the regular school year rotation. 

As my time here at PACTT comes to an end I’ve been reflecting back on all I have learned and how wonderful the staff has been. They have been very welcoming to me and have been patient while I learn. I’ve learned a lot in this internship and will be able to apply what I learned to whatever setting I work in.

To participate in an internship at PACTT, please complete our Volunteer Request form.

eWorks tour introduces students to electronics recycling jobs

The transition class and some of the high school students visited eWorks, an electronics recycling company in Elk Grove Village that employs workers with disabilities.  They saw workers taking apart cable boxes and computers and sorting the components.  They also got to watch scrap metal from electronics being smashed in a baler.  Back at school, the students were able to reflect on what they observed to decide if they would like to work in that type of setting.

Celebrating our incredible team: Prepare to be spoiled!

Yes, spoiled! Of course, we love our teams year-round, but ... this week, we set aside a whole week to give our school teams some extra, extra love! Each and every one is a teacher around here in one way or another, and we can not begin to express our gratitude for the work they do each day. It can be difficult. And draining. And painful. But it is also fun and exciting and rewarding in ways we may never quite expect! So, School Teams, sit back and enjoy the festivities!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Clubs: A time for exploring

This month, we introduced Monday afternoon Clubs to our weekly schedule. Students and staff have the opportunity to spend time with new peers and adults, and explore new activities. In April, clubs included Art, Gardening, Yoga, Movie chat, and Community Clean-Up. Clubs time also gives some of our paraprofessionals time to take on more of a leadership role. Art Club, led by para Christy Wynveen, is a prime example -- her activity from this week was even featured on a local artist's site!     

Here are some pictures from this week's explorations:

  

  

  

Autism Awareness Month wrap-up

Throughout April, PACTT has been sharing autism resources on Facebook and Twitter. Here's a wrap up of everything that was posted, in case you missed it:

* Have you ever stared blankly at your (fill-in-the-device-here), wondering whether there's an app to help with routines, or sensory sensitivity, or teaching social skills? Here's a nifty wheel that pulls many of them together. http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/07/a-wonderful-wheel-featuring-ipad-apps.html

* Did you know that PACTT has its very own Pinterest page, with a collection of fun resources? www.pinterest.com/pactt

* OCALI. Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence has an abundance of FREE online resources and trainings on all things autism: (www.ocali.org)

* Texas Autism Resource Guide for Effective Teaching (TARGET). TARGET has detailed info sheets on effective teaching practices for individuals with autism. They also have quick videos of effective tools and strategies: http://www.txautism.net/toolkit 

* PACTT's Transition Timeline is a quick way to help get a student's post-school planning on track. /transition-resources/

* Looking for sensory-friendly options for movies, museums, or sporting events? This blogger shares some useful tips and tricks: http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog

* A playlist of TED talks about autism: http://www.ted.com/playlists/153/the_autism_spectrum