Narative Essay Draft

    As I walked to the front door, I wondered what the day would bring. I took a deep breath and sighed. I had to tell myself it would be a great day, and everything would be great. As I walked to the break room to punch in, I saw some of my co-workers. Everyone said good morning. Also some had told me about stories from the weekend, as it was my weekend off.
  
     I walked to the house I was scheduled in for the first hour of the morning, to see which kid I would get ready for school. As soon as i walked in the house one of the children that has to be one-on-one due to agressive behaviors said " Your with me today Chandra!", with a menacing smile on her face. I thought to myself " What a way to start out my day!", with sarcasm. Within the first hour I had been hit half a dozen times, spite on twice, and had to block this child from hitting others. Then it took her for her morning medicine, and dropped her off in her classroom.

    When I reached the classroom I was in for the day, all of the children were running around screaming. Just one of those days I wish I had stayed home. Soon it was time for morning snack. All of the kids sat and waited patiently for me to bring them their snack. One child ate his snack as fast as he could, and decided to try and steal someone elses snack. I knew what he would do and anticpated this, so I was already on my feet to block him from getting others snacks. He then started yelling, screaming and crying.

    Shortly after snack things got crazy again. One ki was throwing books, and sensory toys around the room, another was tareing paper, and the third was trying to get into a locked cabinet, because he knew there was candy stashed in it. The only time all of them were settled that day, was during snack time or sensory breaks. Children with autism have a need for alot of sensory imput, such as putting scented lotion on their hands so they can smell it, or have toys, which we call fidgets in ehir hands.

     It was getting close to the end of the day. At that time we clean the classrooms and have closing. I started cleaning up the kids desks, and had them help me put the chairs up. I began gathering their personal items and put them in their backpacks. Then one by one, I took them on bathroom breaks. I grabbed their bags and put them straps on their shoulders. Then started walking them to the house.

    As I was walking the two boys down the hallway, I saw one the teenage girls I also work with. She asked me how my day was, and I told her it was kind of crazy. She then says to me " Well the boy hav smiles on their faces.", I replied "I don't know why, with the day they have had." She then said " Because they got to be with you all day. If I got to be with you all day, I would have a smile on me face too!", and at that very instant that made my day so much better. That one comment reminded me why I choose to work with children with Disabilities and Mental Illness.


   

     I was given an assignment for my Writting Communications Class to choose a subject I could write about all semester. I had to think about alot of things. When first thinking about this, I thought " My passion is my job!!!". What better subject could I come up then what  I do for a living? I work with kids ranging from the ages of 5-21 with disabilities and mental health issues. 

    When I first started this job, I was hesitant. I had never worked with kids that have Autism, let alone Explosive Rage Disorder. I was bad at my job, and didn't understand why these kid had to live on schedules. I even failed my first employee evaluation. I was ready to give up, and find another job.

    Then, one day it all clicked! One of the children I have worked with was having a bad day. Everyone I worked with was trying to de-escalate the situation. I thought " What do I know about this child, and what can I do to help her out of the situation?". I rememberd she loves hip-hop music. I thought her favorite artist, and started singing on of his songs, out of tune and all. She started laughing, and that changed my whole thought process in what my purpose was in this job.

    Almost three years later, and complete changes with children leaving, and houses shifting, I have found the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Now I have been told Im one of the strongest staff , and my supervisor feels she can put me with any child, having confidence I will do my best to make a positive difference in a childs life. Im happy at 29 years old, I have found where I want to start my career, and future.