Introduction
Overview of the Abu Dhabi Autism Center
Founded in the year 2000, the Abu Dhabi Autism Center is a constituent of the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs. The center was commissioned by H.E. Sheikha Shamsa Bin Hamdan through partnership with the Red Crescent and the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone. The Center offers assistance in the form of specialized services to students with autistic disorders. The organization has been proactive in offering support services to those suffering from autism within the region of Abu Dhabi. Being a non-profit organization, the center is dedicated to offering series of social, health and other forms of support to its clients.
Organization vision, mission, and objectives
The mission of the organization is to provide quality and internationally-recognized educational, rehabilitation, and therapeutic services to people with special needs. The mission is achieved by offering specialized services to orphans and people with special needs, as well as through effective utilization of the organization’s human, financial, and technological resources. Its vision is to help individuals with special needs achieve their objectives and become active people in society. The vision of the Abu Dhabi Autism Center is to enhance service delivery through a proactive, friendly, and sustainable service delivery. The vision has internalized the aspects of care and long culture of reliability.
Organizational chart, funding sources, and where it reports to
The type of organizational chart illustrated for the Abu Dhabi Autism Center is the traditional hierarchal structure. This means that the reporting procedure is aligned to a specific grid since persons that have similar roles are pooled in terms of assignments in the organization. As a result, the managers report to a single higher authority in the organization. For instance, three executive managers report to a Chief Executive Officer at the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs. At the bottom of the grid, the sub divisional heads report directly to the three executive managers. The funding of the Abu Dhabi Autism Center is from the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs, government authority in Abu Dhabi, the Red Crescent community, and private individuals/organizations across in Abu Dhabi.
Overview of organization clients and stakeholders
The primary clients of the organization are people suffering from autism across the city of Abu Dhabi. The organization targets patients from health institutions and homes. Besides, the organization has hired private consultants and care specialists to effectively provide appropriate care to those suffering from autism. The main stakeholders are the financiers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, the Red Crescent, and its mother organization called the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs. These stakeholders provide financial, technical and logistical support towards smooth running of the Abu Dhabi Autism Center.
Relevant legal frameworks impacting the organization
The Abu Dhabi Autism Center operates within the UAE’s special needs care bills, the UN human rights to medical care laws, and the UAE bill on functioning and operating an humanitarian needs organization. The Abu Dhabi Autism Center has to operate within the laws and regulations of the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs. These regulations determine the scope, responsibility, and strategies that the Abu Dhabi Autism Center can apply in service delivery.
Relevant statistics on organization and clients it serves
Since its inception in the year 2000, the Abu Dhabi Autism Center has served more than five thousand clients with an annual average budget of $300,000. The organization has been active in recruitment of more partners and the number is currently at 32 organizational partnerships. In the last financial year, the company managed to receive allocation from the local government authority and the UN to expand its home-based care for those suffering from autism and build a state of art rehabilitation center.
Detail of all recent media coverage of the organization
The most recent media coverage is the sponsorship of the campaign against discrimination of persons suffering from autism through partnership through the annual Road Race event. The campaign has run for the last two months. Before this campaign, the Abu Dhabi Autism Center has received media coverage through the series of sponsorship deals with the parent organization called the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs.
Personalized internship objectives
Before commencing the seven weeks of internship experience at the Abu Dhabi Autism Center, I created clear objectives I wanted to meet before I declare the experience as successful. Prior to commencing the internship, I developed a list of learning, career development, skill development, and personal development goals that I intended to achieve. My learning goals included the attainment of knowledge and skills with regard to understanding and serving people with special needs, implementation of knowledge attained in class, improvement of communication skills, development of decision making and critical thinking skills, and enhancement of skills in consultation and counseling.
Internship Experiences
Detailed internship placement
Over the seven weeks of the internship, I performed several duties at the organization. Since I am a psychology graduate, I worked in the counseling and teaching department. Most the tasks were limited to proactive patient engagement rather than advisory since the department is the nerve center of operations at the organization. Specifically, I performed the tasks of behavior analysis, constant client response reviews, and other administrative duties. These tasks involved critical generation of reports on behalf of the organization within a specific time. Most of the reports took at least seven days due to their complexity and sensitivity of the information I was dealing with. Besides, I offered secretarial duties such as arranging documents.
The initial job responsibilities included teaching autistic students how to wear their shoes and socks, teaching the students how to wear their clothes, and teaching students how to hang clothes in the clothesline. During the first week, I was actively involved with the clients in other aspects such as entertainment, programming their time, and making follow up on progress.
The second week was spent in the art class and I learned a lot of things from the art teacher about the system of teaching, evaluating and managing the class of children suffering from autism. The third week was spent in the human resource department and part-time teaching of the children about different aspects of education. I spent the remaining weeks between helping my supervisor Hamda in planning and arranging The Road Race event and supervising/teaching the children. During the entire internship period, I was assigned to report to Hamda, my supervisor.
Working assignments
My working assignments included supervising the class environment for the children, teaching life skills such as how to tie shoes, button shirt, and tucking in. The other major assignment was assisting Hamda in the planning of the Road Race event on behalf of the organization. The purpose of these assignments was to give me practical exposure in the field of care for autism patients. The outcomes of the assignments were above average since I passed all the weekly reviews. The materials I used in the teaching included digital tools such as television and video. Other materials I used include exercise books, a whiteboard, a marker pen, and charts. The pictures are appended below (Insert the Pictures and Any other Material Used).
Working conditions
The working environment was very warm since the other staff members were corporative and even willing to assist me. I was assigned to a very professional supervisor who showed me how to carry out all duties. The working hours were flexible and ranged from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm. I was allowed to take two days off in a week. I faced several challenges that made the achievement of my goals difficult and worth the effort and time that I dedicated to the internship. The challenges included poor communication with patients, rigid work hours, numerous professional restrictions, and lack of the necessary knowledge and skills to deal with individuals with special needs.
One of the major challenges was dealing with individuals who exhibited repetitive behaviors, communication problems, and social-interaction difficulties. It was very hard to conduct assessments of certain individuals because they could not keep still for periods sufficient for thorough assessment. Sometimes, the assessment was conducted over a period of 10 to 20 hours. On the other hand, the problem of social interaction made it difficult for me to attain the goal of improving my communication skills.
Social interaction was difficult because some children were detached and therefore, getting close to them was a great challenge. Several restrictions were placed on interns because they were not professionally qualified to offer certain services. I had to be supervised when conducting patient assessments. However, I had the opportunity to sit down with professionals and learn how counseling, therapy, and patient assessment are done
Professional growth experiences
The few opportunities I got to offer specialized services improved my knowledge and equipped me with skills that will be useful in my career. The experience I got increased my interest in the field of psychology and strengthened my determination to pursue career in that field. For instance, I attending four training sessions during the internship period on counseling, professional etiquette, and managing organizational performance schedules. In addition, I networked with professionals who offered great advice on how to pursue a career in psychology. The networking exposed me to various professions that students can pursue depending on their interests.
How course work was relevant to work experience
The internship was effective in facilitating the achievement of my professional needs because it equipped me with knowledge and skills that are needed to work in careers in the field of psychology. For instance, the aspect of counseling and observational skills acquired during the internship can be aligned to the psychology units such as counseling and understanding behavior of different people.
Final reflection
Abu Dhabi Autism Center is a good place to undertake internship for students who are curious, ready to work on rigid and demanding schedules, and who are not afraid of challenges. In addition, it is suitable for students who are comfortable with people with special needs and students who possess the values of patience and great self control. The internship experience was life changing since I had the opportunity to apply the class concepts such as counseling and behavior modification at the center. Therefore, in addition to enabling me achieve my learning goals, the internship offered me an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone. I am excited to finish my degree and pursue a career in the field of psychology.