"I'm just coming home from work, first day!"

Okay, so maybe that quote isn't funny to most, but Kaitlin--you better be laughing. Anyways! Today was my first day of work. For those of you who don't know, I'm working at The New England Center for Children, which is an autism education center for children ages 3 through 22. I was placed in a group with 9, 11-18 year-old boys, which is quite a new experience for me. I'm not used to looking at my "students" eye to eye, or looking up for that matter. One of the teenagers is 210 pounds! Despite their size, however, they are relatively low-functioning autistics and therefore not as intimidating as they look. One of the boys is completely non-verbal; the only word he can say is his name. All of the boys are dependent on pictures to communicate--some more dependent than others. About 50% of the kids in my group have violent tendencies, so I will be taking a course in physical restraint over the next few days. Apparently I have to take a fitness test to make sure I am physically capable of performing restraints; no problems there--I'm huge. Yup.

Though I've only been at NECC one day, I'm really excited about this summer. My group of boys, as far as I can tell, are really great--very sweet and affectionate. All of the adolescents that I work with live in a residential house at NECC, though I only work with them 9-5. One of the biggest problems in working with this group is that the majority of them are going through puberty. We are only allowed to hug them from the back, for obvious reasons. I have been instructed to give the boys their "private time," but I have to check up on them when they are in the bathroom alone, etc (all of the bathrooms have peep holes). Sounds a bit crazy, but it's something I'll have to get used to and hopefully it will be more comfortable as it becomes routine. Because these adolescents are relatively low-functioning, I have been warned that many "disgusting bathroom-related events" can occur--should be exciting. At least I'll never be bored.

On a different note, as many of you have said, Wednesday/Thursday was a blast and I'm so happy to be friends with all of you! You are a wonderful group of people and I really appreciate your willingness to accept me as one of your "family." I don't think I've ever been so sad to leave Conn/excited to return. I hope everyone has an amazing summer and I look forward to keeping in touch!

Love,
Elizabeth