Yesterday was a doozy

I found that there wasn't as much of a need or outlet for working with the students at the high school I am assigned to and began spending more of my intern days at the elementary school I intern at because there is such a great need there and I can spend most of my days working directly with the students and providing additional support to the teachers. That changed yesterday. I came at the end of the day for my weekly one hour of supervision and my supervisor was supposed to be leaving early so I was prepared for a casual end of the day. It turned out to be anything but and Thursdays are already my intense days at the elementary school so just when I didn't think I had any more to give and was battling an intense migraine as it was, God showed me I could handle a little more...

One of the students from my autism group last semester was threatening to committ suicide and reporting child abuse by his father who he lives with. We couldn't let him go home to his dad or leave on his own because he was a threat to himself and others and we couldn't guarentee he would be safe with his dad. I ended up being the one to sit with him when he started to get angry after school let out and we couldn't let him go home until his mom who lives fairly far away came to pick him up to take him to a mental health facility. I don't think I have ever been so scared and had to stay so calm. It was amazing how instinct kicked in and to know that I had a plan of both blocking the door so he couldn't run and being able to move out of the way fast if he got physically out of hand since it was pretty intense.

I just got some great feedback from an administrator and a random teacher about it and it was helpful to hear from them what they think I did well and what I may want to keep in mind for the future. It felt so strange to be the one in charge of a situation I have never encountered in my professional life though I am all too familiar with trying to manage an out of control and angry family member because one of my cousins has some mental health issues and has always been super strong. It was also nice when I realized how supportive the security staff was and to have them wait with the student and I until the mom came. It was also my first experience working with an irrate mom who was so off base about the schools involvement with her son and blaming the school for the whole situation since it was "obviously because he is attention starved at school" when this student has so many adult and student mentors in his life it may almost be too much. I just stayed calm and did the best I could to diffuse her and make sure she knew and was going to follow the next steps in this situation.

I don't think I have ever had the number of learning experiences that I have had this year between the two schools. I have dealt with such a wide variety of issues and such a diverse population of students. I am so thankful for this experience and so sad it is about to end. I do not want to leave these students but such is life.

I better get back to case notes but stay tuned for a post about my parents surprise anniversary getaway once I drop them off for it this afternoon. So excited!