My name is Hannah and I am a 22 year old from Spruce Grove. I have lived in the same house my whole life. I currently live with my mother, father, and two sisters. I went to a French emersion school from Kindergarten to grade 6 before I switched to a Christian school from grade 7 to 11. I finished my last year of high school at catholic school. My interests include: art, swimming, going on adventures in nature and around the city, and gaming. I love people and I am a very extroverted. Being around others and working with others is something that I am passionate about. I have a very childlike wonder to me and I am able to bring myself to the same level as children and I find great joy in being able to have fun and connect with the children I work with. I have been told countless times that I work very well with children and children are often very drawn to me.
Hardships in my life and how I worked through them:
From a young age I have struggled with a handful of mental disorders such as anxiety. I have spent my life learning to understand my disorders, as well as using that understanding to help others through similar situations. The biggest thing I have learnt in my journey to healing is to always show the people around me the upmost compassion and patience. I am now at a place in my life where I am able to live and start working towards building a successful and happy future for myself. As a result of my own struggles, I am very good at working with children with any type of mental disorders or neurological disorders. I have worked with children who have been diagnosed with ADHD, autism, OCD, learning disabilities, anxiety, panic disorder, and depression. I have a lot of pride in working with special needs children and I have lots of patience and understanding for them. I have though, worked with all different children from all ages and all different struggles or no struggles. I think it's important for me to highlight my struggles, not only to be open and honest with possible employers, but to show my resilience and ability to overcome. This journey in my life has built me into the kind, patient, compassionate, and loving person I am today. I carry these values and lessons everyday with me, no matter what I am doing or who I interact with.
My experience varies from volunteer work, to paid work. I have been working with children since the age of 12 when I was able to get my babysitting course. The following work experience varies from the ages of 12-22; my current age.
Sunday School teacher: I was required to run a class environment for around 2 hours every Sunday for up to 10 children. I often ran the classes alone, and would sometimes have a assistant teacher to help me. We started the class by playing with toys, then we'd move on to a craft with a lesson about a passage in the bible and then would move on to a small snack. The rest of the class consisted of a lot of play time for the kids.
Special needs care at the Stony Plain Library: At this time, the Stony Plain library was offering a free support program for mothers with special needs children for about 2 hours, once a week. This program allowed mothers to join in activities such as yoga and a support group, while their children were cared for on the other side of the library. I often worked with the same two children. One of the children I looked for was a little girl, age 2, with low functioning autism as well as a spinal disability that caused her spine to have a very serious curve that limited her ability to walk. My responsibilities when caring for her were to focus on teaching her how to communicate with her through her iPad app. The app has images that helped her communicate her needs and wants. I also focused on providing her with fun activities such as a puppet show which was her favorite. The second child I worked with was a little boy, age 8, with high functioning autism. He could communicate his needs and wants, but was a very active and hyper boy who needed guidance when it came to safety and making the right decisions when it came to that. He experienced severe sensory issues which would often result in frequent meltdowns due to overstimulation. To help him cope during these meltdowns, we would go to a nice, quiet, comfortable area, to focus on grounding tools such as breathing exercises, and distractions using fidget toys.
Babysitting: I have worked since the age of 12 with children ranging from the ages of 6 months to 12 years old.
Swim Instructor: I worked as a swim instructor for a company called K and K. I was required to assess and teach not only children, but people of all ages. I had to be able to change my teaching style for each kid to work with their comfort level, their ability to focus, and their current skills in the water. Near the end of my time with K and K, I successfully taught every student who had classes with me how to swim. This number was around 15 students per season.
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First Aid Training, CPR Training, High School, Graduated High School or Equivalent
