Mission Accomplished!

It is hard to believe, but today we wrapped up our program in Jenin.  The past three months have been life-changing for both our team and the families involved in the program. In spite of the challenges we faced, I cannot imagine a more successful program. We came here to help families and their children, and during the parents’ final reflections today, it was clear that we accomplished this.

The mothers and their children joined us today for a review session and a final celebration. After the review, I spoke with the mothers about their progress in the program and they eagerly shared their accomplishments in a video for this week’s UN presentation. A common theme was present in a number of the mothers’ reflections. In the words of Abed’s mother:

“I always thought that I was to blame for [Abed’s] autism because I allowed him to watch television when he was a child. I learned that it is not my fault. I advise other mothers not to be ashamed of their sons. On the contrary, they should seek out programs for their children. The more they talk about their child, the more chances they will have to be helped. If I had not told anyone about my son, no one would have helped me.”

The empowered approach of the mothers was inspiring and I know that the relationships between our team and the families will extend beyond our time in Jenin.

After the review and reflection, we gathered for a celebration. We brought lunch to the center, and celebrated with the mothers, children and translators. The mothers brought traditional sweets and a cake. I am going to miss everyone in Jenin and I hope to return to Jenin in the near future.

(Partial group photo at the celebration)

This evening, my friends from Nablus came for a final visit and we walked around the city and relaxed in a public park in Jenin. Now, we are spending the rest of the night packing for our trip back to the U.S. Monday morning. Our flight is not until early Monday morning, but we will travel to the airport tomorrow afternoon.

While our daily blogging ends today, we will continue to update the blog periodically. Stay tuned for updates about the UN, the families in Jenin and future A Global Voice for Autism ventures!

Thank you for your support,

Melissa Diamond

 

 

 

Final Few Days

As we end our time here in Jenin, we have been invited over to several peoples’ homes.  Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit the village and home of one of our translators.  She lives a little bit further away, so we had to plan a longer day.  It was a beautiful village situation on the side of a hill with views of the surrounding farms and villages.  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with her mother and sisters and then we were able to go on a long walk along the hills with one of their neighbors.  People have been so welcoming and happy to have us spend time with them.  We ended up spending the night at their house and returning to Jenin this morning.  We will also spend today at a couple different peoples homes.

On another note, I had recently been talking with Katrina about a book my work had me read when I first started in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis as a therapist.  They had us read the book “Let Me Hear Your Voice:  A Families Triumph Over Autism”, by Catherine Maurice.  This was written by a mother who had two children diagnosed with Autism and her experiences with Applied Behavior Analysis.  Her children received intensive ABA services from Dr. Brigitte Taylor when she began providing services early in her career.  The thing that I loved about this book, is that it helpful to see how the process was a struggle in the beginning, but it also shows how well the children did because of receiving these services.  I wish that this book was translated into Arabic for these families here, so that they would have another mother’s story to read about their journey.

Tomorrow, we will have our final review training with the mothers, followed by a celebration.  It will be sad to say good-bye to these families.

Sarah

More Friends and Adventures

Hello Global Voice for Autism Friends and Family,

It is so hard to say goodbye to all of the wonderful people and the new friends we have made while working here in Jenin. Today Sarah and I went to visit some individuals that we have met throughout our time here.

For lunch today, we visited one of our favorite falafel stands and took pictures walking through the city. The picture I took below was with fancy dresses that hang in the window of a store in a near by mall.

We walked to the money exchange bank owned by Mohammad’s family to chat with father and grandfather. They have shown us so much hospitality and therefore, we were so happy to see them one last time and say goodbye.

The final place we went today was the Al Miner mall. During our stay here, we spent several afternoons there. Not only has the mall been a popular place for us to shop, but it has also been a great place for our team to practice community outings with the families we have served. As we walked up the escalators and down the corridors, I was amazed at how familiar I had become with the place.

One of the last friends we went to visit was my friend Rawand. She has a small women’s clothing store in the mall, which she always keeps up-to-date with all of the latest Middle Eastern fashion trends. Each time I have visited her she has made me feel so welcomed. She has given me gifts from her store and offered me snacks/drinks each time as well. Today, she even invited Sarah and I to her house for a barbecue with her family on Friday.

Our last few days here in Jenin, as you can see, have been filled with lots of goodbyes, hugs, and thank you’s for everyone’s kindness. As we get closer to the day of our departure, the farewells will probably continue. While I will be happy to see my friends and loved ones back in the US again, it will be sad to say goodbye to the new friends I have here.

Until we meet again, Jenin! May peace be with you.
departure, the farewells will probably continue. While I will be happy to see my friends and loved ones back in the US again, it will be sad to say goodbye to the new friends I have here.

Until we meet again, Jenin! May peace be with you.

Submitted by Katrina WAlker

The First Goodbyes

*Note: Our internet is not working so we apologize for short or sporadic blog posts during our last week.

 

It is hard to believe that our three months in Jenin are coming to an end. There were times that were challenging, but overall, these three months have been enlightening and rewarding. Living in Jenin has given us all a perspective on the world that we could not have gained anywhere else. Throughout all of our experiences, a constant highlight is the close friendships we have formed in the community. As we say goodbye to each of our friends, we do not know the next time we will see each other, but we do know that we will stay in touch occasionally and remember each other often.

 

This afternoon, we went out to lunch with one of our translators, Dima, at her favorite restaurant in Jenin. Not only has Dima reliably helped us translate at every Saturday and Monday session for the past three months, but she has also accompanied us on community outings with the program participants and has invited us to her home. Yesterday, Dima was hired for a permanent job and we are all proud of her! We went out to lunch today to celebrate her new job and to celebrate our time together.

 

We have a week full of plans to visit friends in their homes and to gather at the center. I hope that one day everyone has a chance to visit Jenin and to meet the wonderful friends we have found in this city.

-Melissa

Final Skills Session

Today, we had some fantastic sessions with the families.  It was our last skills training session and we saw some great progress with the parents and the children.  It was a great way to end our time here.  Two of the newer parents especially had great sessions with their kids.  Aref’s mom has done a great job the last two weeks with working on manding, imitation, and following directions with Aref. Last week, Sharif had a harder session with surrendering preferred items in order to work on manding or compliance, but this week, he did fantastic with these things as well as showing off his play skills.  His mother was very pleased with the progress that he made today.  Additionally, we were able to get the mothers to work with the other child and build rapport and work on a social activity with both boys. Both boys like to jump and so we tried to have them do this together with the mothers and roll a ball back and forth together.

In the afternoon, we had 4 children and the parents continued to work on skills that they have learned over the past three months.  A couple children had a more difficult day with being tired and sick.  Basil’s parents have both been coming learn how to work with him. They continue to work on manding, following directions, receptive skills, and today we showed them some strategies for getting more sounds out of him.  Adnan has also been doing better with following directions and more compliance. He is also using more language and said “Katrina” when he walked in the door.  Since we were able to observe an Occupational Therapist working with him a few days ago, we showed his mother some of the skills we saw him display and worked with her on how to get him to do similar things.

Sarah

Our Last Week in Jenin

Hello Global Voice for Autism Friends and Family,

We have almost completed our work in Jenin.  Our families have only one more remaining session, a review session  and a final celebration to wrap things up.  Since I last blogged, we  had another practice session and lecture with our families.

One of many stars in last week’s sessions was  Abed.  Abed and his mother have been coming to our programJanuary.  He is 4 years old and is non-verbal.  When Abed and his mother arrived last week, he began to cry.   He also made several attempts to pull his mother back towards the door.  We realized, at that point, that he was not motivated by the setting here in the center and probably wanted to go home.   Due to his non-compliance, I decided to redirect him with various activities and observe his behavior throughout this time.   Observance of this behavior showed me times that he would stop crying for brief periods.

Observing a child to note when they exhibit target behaviors and when they do not is a very important strategy in assessing behavior.  In Abed’s case, his crying decreased when another child was watching a video near by.  With this information, I decided to look for similar videos for Abed to watch on a separate computer.  Presenting this reinforcement for Abed seemed to decrease the intensity of his crying.

When calm, I also directed his mother to practice having him point to the computer any time the video was paused.  Continued practice using this strategy may strengthen Abed’s ability to communicate with others.  With future practice, this strategy may become his alternative method for speaking.

An alternative method of speaking can include sign language, gesturing, picture communication, or using an electronic communication device.  Using an alternative method of speaking should not be thought of as giving up!  It just allows an individual to voice how they feel and communicate with others more effectively while also learning how to speak with words.  Giving a child and/or adult who is non-verbal this option gives them a voice!  This will help them decrease problematic behavior and increase their quality of life.

Have a great week!

submitted by Katrina Walker

Lockdowns, Trainings and Family Visits

Last night we awoke at 3a.m. to the sounds of gunshots and helicopters. This morning we learned that there were clashes in the nearby  Jenin Refugee Camp overnight. A Reuters article said that this was the most violent incident in Jenin since 2002. We were safe throughout the entirety of the incident, but we felt its effects today as we looked out upon a deserted city. After last night’s events, all businesses in Jenin were closed today. We worried that we might not have parents at our training today as a result. However, we still had three new families and two old families show up to the session today.

 

(Manal, Moayad and Adnan’s sister watch Arabic children’s videos while their parents participate in training upstairs)

Today we had our last powerpoint training with the families. The training focused on toilet training and daily living skills. The parents from the first group were able to share their successes and offer advice to the new group. Although everyone was slightly distracted today by last night’s events, the parents said that the training was excellent and that they are excited to work on these new skills at home. On Monday, they will return in their small groups to complete a final supervised skills sessions. The mothers plan to continue meeting in their skills groups on Saturdays and Mondays after we leave in order to continue working together. We will stay in touch with them monthly over Skype.

After the session, Adnan’s mother invited us to her house for lunch. We spent the afternoon with the family and loved seeing Adnan in his home environment and practicing Arabic. Their family made tabouleh and homemade pizza for us and then we sat outside in the garden eating fresh green almonds and pea pods while talking and watching Adnan play. He has a tricycle at home that he loves and he spent hours walking around carrying the tricycle around the yard. We have noticed that he likes to break things and put them back together and we are trying to think of some activities that will satisfy this behavior without being destructive.

(Our team with Adnan’s brothers and sisters)

In spite of the lockdown in Jenin, we still had a great day and were happy to escape the situation and spend time with one of our program families.

-Melissa

 

Communication and Verbal Behavior

Today was our third session for our second round of trainings.  We were able to review some aspects of identifying the function of a child’s behavior.  The parents were able to identify some of the common reasons that their child might engage in negative behavior as well as explain the meaning of Antecedent, Behavior and Consequence.  Reviewing this information was helpful in leading into a discussion of teaching their child to communicate using words or gestures as an alternative to crying, grabbing, etc.  We talked about the main Verbal Operants (Mands, Tacts, Receptive, and Intraverbals) and explained how to teach these to their child.  This was a wonderful opportunity to have the mothers who had been previously trained to help present the information as well as demonstrate the skills with each other at the end of the training.  Mohammed’s and Basil’s mothers did a great job at demonstrating Mands, Tacts, and Receptive skills to the rest of the mothers.  The mothers who have already received the training have been continuing to share some successes that they are having with their child, such as increased independence with toileting skills.

Katrina and Melissa continued working with the siblings downstairs.  Today they talked about some challenges they have been facing with their siblings, played some games, and worked on a project to present to their mothers on the final day of the project.

Sarah

Volunteer Spotlight: Katrina Walker (Behavior Specialist)

What is your favorite part about the Jenin Autism Project program?

My favorite part about this project has been working with the families here in Jenin.   Every  Saturday and Monday morning they arrive ready to learn more about their child’s disability.  I love that they are asking questions about their children’s behavior.   I applaud them on their interest in learning how they can help their children communicate better.

What is your favorite part about the Jenin Autism Project program?

My favorite part about this project has been working with the families here in Jenin.   Every  Saturday and Monday morning they arrive ready to learn more about their child’s disability.  I love that they are asking questions about their children’s behavior.   I applaud them on their interest in learning how they can help their children communicate better.

What impact do you think the autism parent training program has had in the Jenin community?

Since living in Jenin, we have met many individuals in the community.  They may live in different villages and have different occupations in the city; however, they have one thing in common.  They all care a great deal for the children who live here.  For this reason, I feel that this program has done a remarkable thing for this community.  There are many individuals here (i.e teachers, social workers, college professors, speech therapists)  who have the ability to work with children that have a disability such as autism.  Lack of awareness about autism and other disabilities prohibits them from getting the treatment to those who need it.  This is how I believe programs such as the Jenin Autism Project can make a difference.

What have you learned about autism through the program?

This program has increased my awareness of autism and its ability to impact an entire community.  Autism is an disorder that has no boundaries.  It crosses all borders and effects the lives of many geographically, socioeconomically, and culturally.   This program has made me see that more knowledge on disabilities, including autism, is needed globally.

What do you want foreigners to know about Jenin?

I am delighted that I took the opportunity to visit such a great place.  The city’s beauty can be seen in its villages, mountains, sunsets, and green farmland in areas that stretches for miles.  There is always a smiling face and hospitality to welcome you everywhere you go.  After three months of living here in Jenin, I have met many and have grown close to quite a few.  Despite many challenges and heavy hearts, those who live here are very strong and hardworking indiviWhat impact do you think the autism parent training program has had in the Jenin community?

Since living in Jenin, we have met many individuals in the community.  They may live in different villages and have different occupations in the city; however, they have one thing in common.  They all care a great deal for the children who live here.  For this reason, I feel that this program has done a remarkable thing forhis community.  There are many individuals here (i.e teachers, social workers, college professors, speech therapists)  who have the ability to work with children that have a disability such as autism.  Lack of awareness about autism and other disabilities prohibits them from getting the treatment to those who need it.  This is how I believe programs such as the Jenin Autism Project can make a difference.

What have you learned about autism through the program?

This program has increased my awareness of autism and its ability to impact an entire community.  Autism is an disorder that has no boundaries.  It crosses all borders and effects the lives of many geographically, socioeconomically, and culturally.   This program has made me see that more knowledge on disabilities, including autism, is needed globally.

What do you want foreigners to know about Jenin?

I am delighted that I took the opportunity to visit such a great place.  The city’s beauty can be seen in its villages, mountains, sunsets, and green farmland in areas that stretches for miles.  There is always a smiling face and hospitality to welcome you everywhere you go.  After three months of living here in Jenin, I have met many and have grown close to quite a few.  Despite many challenges and heavy hearts, those who live here are very strong and hardworking individuals.  I have seen a great level of love and respect for family and pride in the character of those in the community.  Before arriving here, I did not know much about Jenin and did not know what to expect.  This experience, however, has proven that everything is not always what it seems.

Volunteer Spotlight: Daniel (Behavior Specialist)

What is your favorite part about the Jenin Autism Project program?

The best part about the Jenin Autism Project is being able to work with families directly and provide hands on support every day. Whether we are walking parents through training and practice sessions, or giving community lectures all of our time here is spent directly with those who will benefit most from our knowledge. Getting to know each family and being able to address their child’s individual needs is really exciting. It is really rewarding to hear a parent come back for the next training and say that they have applied a new technique at home and that it made a difference.

What impact do you think the autism parent training program has had in the Jenin community?

The autism parent training has the potential to create a growing network of families who can support each other and advocate for individuals with autism in the Jenin community.  We have seen our first group of parents grow both in numbers and in relationships with each other as they collaborate during trainings and work with each others children. These connections will be the foundation for a growing community that can provide much needed support and awareness for families impacted by autism in Jenin.

What have you learned about autism through the program?

This program has shown me that autism truly crosses all geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural borders. Fortunately, so does ABA. Despite language barriers and all the differences in our cultures, we have seen the families in this program make progress with their children, and this gives me hope for the future of all those impacted by autism.

What do you want foreigners to know about Jenin?

Jenin is a remarkable city inhabited by hardworking and warm people. For all of the challenges the people here face, they always smile and offer us hospitality everywhere we go. It has been a wonderful experience living in Jenin for these last few months.