In collaboration with Winchester University, The Playhouse Foundation offers voluntary student placements for Psychology students to support young children with autism. Led by our BCBA (Board Certified Behavioural Analyst) consultants, they are able to learn first-hand, how to deliver an ABA programme to a young child with autism and work with the family to offer support and respite.
Molly, a student from Winchester has now completed her placement and has been offered a paid tutoring role within the charity. She explains “I have just completed my final year as an undergraduate student in Psychology at the University of Winchester and within this year I decided to complete a voluntary placement. I felt this would really help me to discover what career path I wanted to take after university, as I had no idea at the time and felt it would be really beneficial to gain some experience on my CV. I knew I wanted to work with children and was very interested in autism. I discovered a charity called The Playhouse Foundation, who work to support families with young children with autism. During my volunteering, I took on the role of an ABA tutor within a lovely team of tutors and specialists, where I was trained up to work 1:1 with a young boy at his home, encouraging his development in skills such as speech and language, listening, eye contact, interaction and lots more through play and interactive work.
Volunteering for The Playhouse Foundation has been extremely helpful in directing me towards what I now know to be my ambition – to continue working with autistic children. Whilst on placement, I felt very supported through regular team meetings, to discuss progress and had regular contact with Vicky the co-founder. This placement really encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and built my confidence as this was something I had never done before. I was also able to develop my leadership skills and the ability to teach and support a child with autism. After finishing my placement, I was offered to continue working with the charity and the family, which is where I am still currently working. I feel really positive about my future as an ABA tutor. This has been a wonderful experience and I am so grateful for how The Playhouse Foundation has supported and helped me to discover my passion.”
