Michaela Zoller
Childminder from France.
Tell us about your experience and needs working with autistic children and dealing with caring issues
Actually, I do not have experience working with children with autism. However, for me the ChildIN training represents a way to raise awareness about autism. Also, it is a cornerstone that would help me when I will have to deal with a child that has these symptoms.
When dealing with a child with autism, in my opinion, it is important to have a desire to understand what makes the child different and to accept him as he is. It is important to have tools and methods that could ease the difficulties encountered by the child, the parents, and the childminder.
How are you dealing with difficult and crisis situations when taking care of a child on the autism spectrum?
As a childminder in France, a part of my job is to prevent a crisis from happening by paying attention to the child’s needs and adapting them to my own needs. I am trained to non-violent communication and to Montessori method of education for children between 0 and 3 years old.
Why are you interested in the ChildIN project?
For me ChildIN project and training is a way to raise awareness about autism which should be presented to all the childcare professionals, but also to parents, in order to accelerate the diagnosis process and allow the parents to prevent their children from suffering.
Why do you think that it is necessary to develop a training on autism for childminders?
In France, the home-based childminders are the first professionals that take care of children before nursery or any other childcare centres. Therefore, it seems logical to me that these professionals follow an appropriate training.
What would be the project’s most valuable information/tool/result for you?
The most important result for me after participating in the ChildIN training, would be to have professional recognition and to consider the childminders as being real professionals and part of the team caring for children with autism.
