Hello! I am a senior at Calvin University studying Special Education and Elementary Education. My hope is to work as a teacher for students with high support needs. This summer I worked as a direct support professional at Ascendigo Autism Services Summer camp. I worked 1 on 1 with campers who had intellectual and developmental disabilities to help them accomplish a wide variety of goals- technical skills like buckling a life jacket for the first time, adaptive sports like wake surfing, social like making friends, etc. I gained a new appreciation and love for this line of work as I got to meet so many amazing campers who changed the way I see the world. This work can be very challenging at times, even with experience working through challenging behaviors. That does not deter me, because I believe all behavior is a form of communication that deserves effort to try and understand the meaning of.