T.C. Harris:
My first full-time experience with caregiving
I wanted to create this page because my work at T.C. Harris was the most influential part in my career path, up until my grandfather passed. My story started when I moved up to Lafayette. At that time, I was working part-time at Best Buy and decided when I moved to just transfer to a store in Lafayette. I worked there for the first couple of months after I moved, but needed something more substantial to support myself, so I began looking for any full-time jobs that I could find. I randomly came upon the job posting for a Youth Counselor at, what was then called Indiana Developmental Training Center (IDTC), saw that it had to do with children, and thought that it would be a fun job where I could gain some professional experience. I applied and within a week was called for an interview.
When I went in for my interview, I was taken on a tour of the facility and had the opportunity of seeing some of the kids that I would be working with. I immediately fell in love with the type of work it involved and was fortunately hired an hour after my interview. The two weeks of training felt so long because I was so excited to get onto the units and begin working directly with the kids.
I began working on a girls unit with an age range of 11 to 21 years. These girls had a broad range of disabilities including fetal aclohol syndrom, anxiety disorders, anger management issues, various cognitive disabilities, and/or minor forms of autism and aspergers. All the kids within the facility had been placed through Department of Corrections, Department of Education, Child Protective Services, and a few through private insurances. On a daily basis I would work with the girls on their behaviors, help them with homework, mediate social interactions with their peers, and help them to better understand the importance of rules and structure. It was unbelievably rewarding being able to teach these children who had all suffered painful and difficult lives to move beyond their disadvantages and work towards much brighter futures.
After about a year of working on the girls unit with some experience on the other units, I was moved to the non-verbal autistic unit in the facility. This unit required a much different approach when connecting with and teaching the kids. These children were of similar age range as the girls' unit, but suffered much more severe forms of autism, obsessive-compulsive, self-harming, and physically aggressive behaviors. I began working on this unit and developed some of the strongest bonds with other human beings that I will ever have. These children required much more hands-on assistance with every-day living skills. I helped to teach the kids everything from brushing their teeth and bathing themselves to coping skills that were appropriate for their cognitive levels. It was very difficult work, physically and emotionally, but for every bad moment, there were five amazing breakthroughs or emotionally moving experiences. The picture above is after taking these children outside during the summer for a sprinkler session. Due to the sensitive nature of the kids' lives and backgrounds, I was not allowed to take pictures with them, so I included that picture to truly display the effect the kids had on me. I may have taught them important things, but these kids taught me how to accept people for who they are, how to love unconditionally, and opened my eyes to a very discriminated and feared population.
It was because of this job that I determined I wanted to go into the caregiving field. People tend to fear what is different from themselves. These children could not talk and looked different than people without disabilities. Because of these differences, they are at a disadvantage and need people to help communicate for them while allowing them the opportunity to learn as much as they can. This experience opened my eyes to the discrimination against disabled people, as well as the elderly population. While caring for my grandfather, I recognized some issues in communication within the hospital and that many times the elderly are brushed off due to people assuming that they do not understand modern methods or technologies. My goal in becoming a nurse is to protect the rights of these disadvantaged populations and give them the voices they need to be able to communicate their needs and wants.