YMCA of the East Bay

I worked with kids with special needs.

June - July 2017 • Berkeley, CA

What I liked

I was able to learn a lot of ways to help kids with special needs in a regular classroom setting. This learning process along with the joy kids brought in the classroom were my favorite parts of the summer. It was emotionally very draining, but I am really happy with every little progress I was able to make with the kids.

What I wish was different

I wish I had gotten more information about the conditions of the kids I was going to work with, before starting the internship. It would have prepared me better (emotionally also). Also, I felt like I wasn't getting much help from the teachers in the classroom, so I had to figure out many things on my own. So, it would have been really helpful if the director of the program had communicated with the teachers clearly about necessary help and support that the interns may require.

Advice

If the intern is also interested in working with kids with special needs, I would advise her to contact the director early (before starting her internship) and possibly find information about the kids she will be working with. That way she can research early about particular conditions and how she can help kids with those conditions. She can be emotionally prepared that way too.

Be the first to mark this as helpful