Hi, my name is Jenny and I am a 15 year old student in Mount Mercy Colllege Cork. As part of my transition year programme I have been on ‘Community work’ in the Shine Autism Centre for the past week.
Going into Shine I knew very little about Autism and I didn’t know how the children were going to behave.On my first day at Shine I was welcomed by the staff and introduced to the children. I spent the week between three classes. Each day we spent the day doing different activities that included, visiting the sensory room, visiting the ball pool, working one to one, working in a group and going out to the sensory garden.I really enjoyed all these activities especially the ball pool and the garden because most of the time that’s where the children were happiest.
The staff members at Shine were extremely helpful to me throughout the week and they taught me a lot through their actions and by explaining things about autism. All the staff at shine were so patient and loving towards the children and I was amazed at how helpful they could be to the children.
All the children at the Shine Autism Centre are very special. I learned a lot about children with autism and the different levels of autism. All the children were very different and each one had something they love to do. One boy loved being turned upside down another loved animals and another loved the feeling of skin. All the children were very happy at shine and they were also very welcoming to me. The children were so sweet and they taught me a lot.
One of my days at shine I took pictures of the kids. A few boys adored being photographed and found the camera fascinating some of them loved looking at the pictures afterwards. Overall I really enjoyed my week at Shine and I really admire the work being done there. I wont forget my week of ‘Community Work’ and I wont forget the amazing children and staff I worked with.
Jenny Buckley
Transition Year Student
Mount Mercy College, Cork.