For my STEP Signature Project, I completed an internship with Epicenter ABA Therapy in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. In this internship, I provided applied behavior analysis therapy to children with autism. I worked as a Behavior Technician to give individualized therapy to these children.

I learned a great amount from this experience. This project was not what I expected it to be like, however I really enjoyed it. First off, I learned so much about this field of work and how it can be used as a resource for children who need it. I realized that I am actually very interested in this field. I also learned a lot about Autism in general. Before completing this project, I had little knowledge about Autism and those affected by it, but as the summer went along my assumptions were disproven. Being exposed to this population gave me a new outlook and I am very thankful for that.

There were a lot of meaningful moments throughout my Signature Project experience this summer. The first of these occurred very early into my internship experience. When I first started this job, I began by shadowing other therapists and learning from them. From this, I got to experience many different types of therapy delivery, on many different types of children. One of the first children I shadowed I developed a good connection with. Two weeks into my experience at Epicenter ABA Therapy, I got to watch this child “graduate” from ABA therapy, with the intent of going to a mainstream school in the fall. This was the first time I realized how much of a positive impact I was going to have on these children and how meaningful this work was. I think that this experience made me realize how serious I needed to be in this internship, which set a precedent for how hard I worked the rest of the summer.

Another experience I had this summer that helped me to grow was learning how to communicate with supervisors. I found this internship through an internship placement program called Summer Internship Program run by Cleveland Hillel, so I had to navigate the programs required by SIP and my work schedule. In learning this balance, I had to figure out how to advocate for myself and my schedule to my scheduler. One specific example of this is when I had to get my schedule changed last minute. As a part of the internship program, we had lunch time zoom calls once a week which required my work schedule to change. There were multiple times where I had to advocate for myself and my schedule to attend these zoom calls. From doing this, I learned how to communicate in an appropriate way with my supervisors.

Finally, the main experience that shaped my summer was working with one specific child for the last month of my experience. This particular child was nonverbal and aggressive, so I was a bit nervous to start working with him one on one. I worked closely with my supervisor and other therapists so I could successfully work with this child. At the end of the summer, he had made so much progress. While I only worked with him for about one month, I could really see the impact I made as his therapist. This showed me how meaningful the work I was doing was and confirmed that I had made the right job choice for the summer. It also showed me that I can accomplish hard things with the help of others. I felt very positive leaving this child at the end of the summer, knowing I had helped him with more life skills and given him tools to succeed in the future.

Overall, this experience was very impactful on my life because it showed me a new field that I could work in. Before this summer, I did not really know what ABA Therapy was, let alone consider a career in it. But throughout the summer, I learned a lot about the field, including other ways to get involved besides what I was doing. Now, I could see myself working in this field after I graduate. I am very appreciative of my experience this summer and how it potentially will shape my future.