It seems like ages since I sent my first email, although it was only 2
weeks ago! I've done so much since I've been here, and there's not time
to tell you all everything, so I'll try and give a brief summary! The
weekend before last was my first proper one here... I met up with two
other 'GapGuru' volunteers Hannah and Habibah. On the Sunday the three
of us hired a car (and driver!) and went to Agra for the day - home of
the Taj Mahal. We had an amazing day, seeing all the sights (and
forts!!), before heading to the Taj in the afternoon. It sounds cheesy,
but there really are no words to explain how amazing the Taj is - the
first glimpse you get through the main gate is just completely
overwhelming. I've taken loads of photos to show you all when I get
back.
So, I guess I should really tell you all something about the project I
came here to do rather than my social life?! The work itself is really
varied...from 9.30-12.30 I am working on something called the
'mother-child programme'. This involves working with parents of children
with autism, teaching them how to work with their children in order to
get the best from them. It's so interesting to see how these approaches
have been adapted for the Indian culture, and how the parents use them.
From 12.30-1.30 I usually observe an 'intervention', which is either a
one-to-one session between one of the therapists and a child, or a
counselling session with parents. This is really interesting, and some
of the sessions have focused on similar issues to those I came across
back home, for example how to help the parents manage behaviors at home,
which do not seem to be present at school or vice versa.
From 1.30-2.30 I either have lunch with the teachers from the school,
or with the people who work in the office. The teachers mainly speak in
Hindi, which is obviously quite hard for me to follow, although I'm
starting to understand some things!! Then from 2.30-5.30 I'm in the
office or the library, doing some admin based work, or reading. I also
attend some of the lectures which are run for the trainee teachers,
which are really interesting.