Babysitting a child with Autism
I used to work at a childcare center and there was a family that I adored. There were three children. Her four-year-old son has Autism, making it difficult for her to find a babysitter that she trusted or that was willing to care for a child with Autism. Already having a relationship with the children, I was comfortable watching them even though I did not have previous experience with Autistic children. When I arrived at the home the baby was sleeping, the 6 year-old girl was coloring, and the Autistic child, Sam was watching a movie.
At first I was nervous about what to expect but I talked with the mom about the concerns I had. I knew a few things about Sam because he attended our daycare center, but I was rarely in the same room with him. I asked her what made him tick, how they calmed him down, and what kind of behavior issues I would be dealing with. She left me a note with his routine and a few tricks to keeping him happy. When the parents left, I went into the living room to talk to Sam. I asked him what he was watching and he pointed to the TV and said something I didn’t really understand. It was kind of a high-pitched noise and mumbling. His complete attention was on the movie. I did notice that he was playing with the buttons on the TV a lot. He turned the volume on the TV up and down numerous times in a short period. Not wanting to upset him, I let him do his thing. When the movie was over, he ran off. This was only the beginning of me chasing him around. When it was time for dinner, he threw a fit. He was playing with a train and I asked him to set it down and come eat. He was not about to give up the train, so it came to the table with us. He ate dinner just fine, but didn’t seem to interact with his siblings or myself. He talked to himself most of the time, but I had a difficult time understand what he was saying. Most of it was noises and hand movements. When he finished eating he ran off to the...