A Day in the Life of an AEIOU Learning Facilitator

Otto Evans is a learning facilitator at AEIOU Foundation, who is known for his enormous personality and great sense of fun. The children respond very well to him, and here he tells us about a typical day for him at his centre.

“Every morning, we start with play time, with many of the children arriving after 7am.  I look at the kids and think right, now I need to be ON. I see a big part of my role as engaging with the children and keeping them engaged throughout the day. 

I make sure I’m filled with energy and behave like I’m the star actor in a show. I really try to lift everyone’s mood by being super energised and entertaining.  All kids love to play and I love to play in a really child-like way with them

I’m a bit like the ‘pied piper’, finding things to grab the children’s attention to encourage them to communicate, and interact with me and each other.  I’ve got a bit of a repertoire of songs and actions that the kids do with me and just love.

From 9am, we head to the classroom for circle time. Me and the team assist Ash, the teacher and class leader, through a structured series of activities that support the learning and therapy needs of the children. We ensure the children are able to attend to the tasks at hand, and stay in the circle, sitting on their chairs, staying engaged and having fun.

Next it’s morning tea time, where we encourage the children to independently feed themselves. This is also a good opportunity for them to practice their communication skills, with a tangible reward – for example, they know they can use pictures, their words, or another method to ask us for help to open a container or packet for them if they can’t do it themselves.  I’m there if they need me and even thought it’s tempting to jump in and help them I think it’s so important for them to learn to ask for help, and also help them to grow in competence and independence.    If I can help them to be self-sufficient in the classroom, it gives them a chance as they get older to be self-sufficient out there in the world.

After this, we break into groups with three learning centres and children move between each centre.

In these sessions, and now that we’re in Term 3, we’re focusing on social games and identifying letters.  It’s a big world out there and I love helping the children, and having an impact on their future by helping to build their capabilities, grow as people and find joy in the things they are learning to do things for themselves.

After our learning centres, it’s time for a short break of outdoor play time again which balances up the intensity of the learning for the children. This is where I get to have a bit of fun too, and can deliver a bit more of my interactive musical theatre and dance repertoire!

Later we head inside for another hour of learning centre rotations which is really stimulating and fun for the children and then we have lunch and rest time.

When rest time is over, the children have ‘choice-time’ for half an hour inside where they choose a particular activity, then afternoon tea and outside play.

I’ve always had a great empathy for children and any people with extra needs. My background is in early year’s education in the U.S. working with children with autism.  I have a 15 year old cousin with autism at home who I was close to when he was younger and when I chat with my Uncle I really try and put myself in his shoes and work out how he feels and how he is thinking and why he is doing something or not doing something.

I’m loving my time at AEIOU, I particularly like working with the children who have high needs, and specific challenges. Many of them are still getting used to the routine, and learning what it is we expect from them, while they start to develop skills in different areas. For that reason, I find there is a lot more room for improvisation and the kids seem to love my energy.

The highlight for me each day is when the children surprise you and do something you don’t expect them to do, or didn’t know they could do.  We spent three weeks recently trying to get one child to say ‘Hi’ and wave his hand, then one day he just came up to me and said “Hi” independently and all I could think was ‘wow!’ It was like a party, you just want to give them so much love and praise, it was just priceless!  It’s a great start and great that he’s responding to someone other than his parents. 

I’m looking forward to our Open Day on 28 August, it’s  great to be able show other parents who are often processing a new diagnosis what we do here; how much the children are learning, how they are responding and the fun they have and how much fun we all have working with them.

That’s the thing about AEIOU – we’re all about the children and the families and making sure that the children are engaging in fun, social activities even when they’re working hard. And we like to have fun, too!"

If your child or a child in your care has a new or suspected autism diagnosis, please feel welcome to come along to an AEIOU Foundation Open Day on Thursday 28 August at the centre closest to you. 

This is a great opportunity to observe how the AEIOU early intervention program works for young children with autism, meet the team, and ask questions.  The Open Day would also be beneficial if you are an early childhood educator, GP or allied health professional, please join the team at your local centre.   Click here for further information and registration information.