I was recently assigned to this young adult who has autism. When I first saw him, which was back in 2013, he gave me this impression that he is not someone who I would want to be around with. He would sometimes stare at people, and it feels like he is staring into your soul. Also at that time, his therapists were just starting to work on his agitation issues and so there were lots of throwing and swiping whenever he gets mad. Quite aggressive I would say. But he is all good now, he has learned how to managed his agitation by asking to take a break!
So today I've been overlapping my colleague, observing her session and taking all the necessary notes. His targets were mostly related to his work (working as a cashier). One of his targets is being friendly while going through the cashier routine. And so as we practicing the routine, all of a sudden we saw signs of agitation but he asked really calmly that he wanted to take a break. At that time, I was really curious why he was upset, coz nothing really happened at that time, and he was doing a really good job at being friendly.
So I asked him, "Hey BigJ, why are you feeling upset?" He looked up to me in those innocent eyes, and said "I... don't know". It was one of the most heart wrenching moments I've ever encountered. I know it may seemed like it's nothing but the way he said it... it feels really heavy and he doesn't have the words to tell/ express why he is feeling that way. Also, he nearly teared, but he tried to controlled it. At that moment, my tears automatically flow out, it was really heart breaking to see that...
BigJ, I will try my very best to guide you through this journey! I will! Be patience with me yea!
Love,
Flo
#mylifeasatherapist
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