When it comes to hard skills needed to succeed at my internship, there are many. The most important thing, in my opinion, is knowing the individuals at the facility. Each person there has different needs, different levels of competency, different support levels, different ways of expressing themselves, and more. For example, there is one person there who is named Jorge. Jorge has a limited vocabulary and tends to repeat different words/phrases. Recently, a new intern started at the facility. It was me, her, and Jorge in a room together when Jorge started asking her a question, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying/asking for. Because I had been there longer and knew Jorge better than her, I was able to step in and help her with what he wanted. Another example is with a woman named Saleta. When she wants attention, she says “I’m cold” or “I need to put on a jacket”. The first time she said this, I was like okay, let’s go get you a jacket from your room. This is when my supervisor explained to me that she isn’t actual cold and doesn’t actually want a jacket, rather, she wants to get your attention and spend time with you. Now, when she asks those questions, I reaffirm her that she is not cold (especially since its 95 degrees outside) and try to instead give her some attention. For soft skills, I think I am developing a lot, although they may not be obvious at first. For example, I am developing my ability to multitask and make quick decisions. I have been put in situations in which multiple people need my attention, however, I have to prioritize who needs my attention first and give my support there while also keeping my eye out for the other people who need my support to make sure the priority doesn’t change. A huge part of my job is patience. In general, while working at a facility like this patience is important, but it is extra important as I am assisting the psychologist. That and, in conjunction with patience, being able to listen is super important. For example, today we were talking with a patient named Sonia. Sonia didn’t sleep at all the previous night, meaning her emotions were a bit more temperate because of the sleep deprivation. She asked to speak with us because she was upset about something, so we took her into the office and sat down to speak with her. She started crying because she was frustrated that her roommate snores and that’s why she couldn’t sleep last night. She wanted her own person room, that way she didn’t have to deal with the snoring. This couldn’t happen, since there is a finite number of rooms, and they have to share. We tried explaining this to her, and that if she falls asleep before her roommate she won’t hear the snoring, but she continued to insist on getting her own room. There is construction going on in the facility right now, so once the construction is over the room arrangements are going to change. After listening to Sonia, it was clear that her fear was that she will never get a good night’s sleep again. We reassured her that the sleeping arrangements will be changing soon. We gave her a specific date and timeline, that way it felt more tangible that just it happening at some point. This interaction took about 45 minutes. It’s easy to get frustrated when someone isn’t listening and to remain calm, but that is a skill I am developing. It’s also important to remember that they feel the same way. They also feel like someone isn’t listening and become frustrated and upset, like anyone would, when they aren’t being listened to. I have also been developing my critical thinking skills. There have been a lot of moments where I have had to look deeper than what is this surface level problem to figure out what they actual issue is and how to help. When someone is having a breakdown, it usually isn’t about the thing that just happened to trigger it, and rather about a larger issue that has been bothering them for some time. For example, earlier today I was working with someone who began having a breakdown and hitting the table. She is barely able to speak, so we couldn’t ask her what happened. Moments before the breakdown, multiple people entered the room and began speaking. We figure out that the real problem was sensory overstimulation due to the construction. The loud noises was upsetting her, so when more noises were added, it became too much for her. Because my job is so specific, assisting at a facility for adults with intellectual disabilities, it sometimes feels like I’m not developing any practical skills. However, I actually feel like I’m learning a lot and developing a lot more skills than I originally thought.