YAI gave me the ability to work with people with special needs. It also taught me how to work with the elderly. The members of my program room not only had intellectual disabilities, but they were seniors with complex medical conditions, physical limitations, and communication disorders. I had to learn how to communicate effectively by using verbal and nonverbal cues. I had to learn how to assist with ambulation, how to maneuver a walker, and how to transfer a person to and from a wheelchair. I also learned about many kinds of medical conditions from the nurses at the program.
Working at YAI also helped me to become a better, more organized teacher. I had to learn how to evaluate an individual’s needs and abilities in order to determine worthwhile goals. I also learned how to take the skills a person possessed and maximize them so he/she was able to be as independent as possible.
I loved working with the “consumers” at the Young Adult Institute. The skills I gained there allow me to work with many kinds of patients, and I am able to understand how an elderly patient might feel in the dental chair. I will always strive to make patients as independent as possible by using whatever adaptations are necessary.
