In Their Own Words: My Summer as an Autism Speaks Intern
By Alice Simcoe-Matthews
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
By Alice Simcoe-Matthews
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
In this edition of “In Their Own Words” Alice Simcoe-Matthews, a senior psychology major with pre-medical and biological psychology concentrations at the College of the Holy Cross, describes her experience as a summer intern in Autism Speaks' science
department. Providing support for Autism Speaks' newly introduced Global Autism Public Health Initiative (GAPH), Alice talks of expanding her knowledge of autism while learning firsthand how the goals of Autism Speaks, to raise awareness, provide services, and fund research around the world, are intertwined.
As the beginning of my second semester as a junior at the College of the Holy Cross (HC) rolled around, summer internship deadlines started to creep up on me. Most college students have realized that real world experience is absolutely crucial to becoming competitive in today's job market, but actually tracking down a company that is willing to provide an intern with meaningful work can be difficult. Luckily, Holy Cross recognized the importance of these positions and developed a Summer Internship Program (SIP) that offers select sophomores and juniors the chance to apply for internships with challenging work specifically designed for HC students.
Often organizations that support SIP internships have alumni ties to the school, which is how I found myself excitedly looking through Autism Speaks' website one afternoon after seeing that co-founder Bob Wright was a member of the HC class of '65 and had developed a position for an SIP intern. The internship description said that it was in the Etiology Science Department conducting research on autism advocacy, service, and research organizations around the world for Autism Speaks' Global Autism Public Health (GAPH) Initiative. I had never done international health research before, but as a psychology major with concentrations in biological psychology and pre-medicine, the internship seemed like it would be a great fit for me and immediately became my first choice.
Although the many psychology classes I had taken gave me a solid overview of autism, I spent quite a bit of time before my first interview reading about the spectrum of disorders, current research, and Autism Speaks as a whole. My preparation proved useful as I was asked back for a second interview, this time at the main offices in New York City. To be honest, I was more nervous about getting lost in the city than the interview itself.
Three members of the Etiology team met me at the office, and we immediately struck up a conversation about one of my classes on stigma and mental illness in film and other media. As we talked, they not only asked me questions about my background in research and knowledge of autism but also explained how they became connected to Autism Speaks. Hearing about some of the work they had each done in their respective areas really hit home to me just how complex the disorder is and that there is much more research that needs to be conducted on environmental and genetic factors as well as epidemiology both here in the U.S. and around the world. By the time the interview was over, I was even more excited about the prospect of joining Autism Speaks for the summer.
The next week I was thrilled to receive a phone call offering me the position, and before I knew it I was settling into my apartment in New York and getting ready for my first day. Michael, my supervisor, had me start by compiling a list of core questions focused on the steps a family takes from the time of first concern, to receiving a diagnosis, and obtaining appropriate services for their child affected by autism. In addition, the core questions looked at the existing infrastructure currently in place for autism awareness, services, and research in a territory. Over the course of 11 weeks I used those questions to guide my research and come up with answers for GAPH priority countries including Albania, India, Chile and South Africa. Trying to find contact information for treatment centers and special education schools and the best way to obtain a diagnosis in a given country was at times very frustrating. Information often wasn't available or it was dated, sometimes referencing schools and facilities that had shut down within the last decade. I quickly found myself imagining just how difficult it must be for families who have a child with autism in these underdeveloped regions if I couldn't even find information using high speed internet and multiple databases.
Realizing the struggles of those families pushed me to uncover as much information as I could within the given time frame. I collected and analyzed data and compiled it into a comprehensive report that will help guide Autism Speaks science staff in developing strategic action plans for enhancing autism awareness, services, and research around the world. Now, looking back at the summer, I see that I absolutely gained some of that “real world experience” that everyone says is so important. My research, analytical, and writing skills have improved, but I'm more excited about what I've accomplished in terms of what it can do for the international autism community. My work is just a small piece of the larger effort that is GAPH, but hopefully it will help to inform future activities in those countries and make even a slight difference in the even larger puzzle that is autism.
If you want to read more about my summer in New York working at Autism Speaks, you can visit my blog at: http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2008-2009/alice_simcoe_matthews
Often organizations that support SIP internships have alumni ties to the school, which is how I found myself excitedly looking through Autism Speaks' website one afternoon after seeing that co-founder Bob Wright was a member of the HC class of '65 and had developed a position for an SIP intern. The internship description said that it was in the Etiology Science Department conducting research on autism advocacy, service, and research organizations around the world for Autism Speaks' Global Autism Public Health (GAPH) Initiative. I had never done international health research before, but as a psychology major with concentrations in biological psychology and pre-medicine, the internship seemed like it would be a great fit for me and immediately became my first choice.
Although the many psychology classes I had taken gave me a solid overview of autism, I spent quite a bit of time before my first interview reading about the spectrum of disorders, current research, and Autism Speaks as a whole. My preparation proved useful as I was asked back for a second interview, this time at the main offices in New York City. To be honest, I was more nervous about getting lost in the city than the interview itself.
Three members of the Etiology team met me at the office, and we immediately struck up a conversation about one of my classes on stigma and mental illness in film and other media. As we talked, they not only asked me questions about my background in research and knowledge of autism but also explained how they became connected to Autism Speaks. Hearing about some of the work they had each done in their respective areas really hit home to me just how complex the disorder is and that there is much more research that needs to be conducted on environmental and genetic factors as well as epidemiology both here in the U.S. and around the world. By the time the interview was over, I was even more excited about the prospect of joining Autism Speaks for the summer.
The next week I was thrilled to receive a phone call offering me the position, and before I knew it I was settling into my apartment in New York and getting ready for my first day. Michael, my supervisor, had me start by compiling a list of core questions focused on the steps a family takes from the time of first concern, to receiving a diagnosis, and obtaining appropriate services for their child affected by autism. In addition, the core questions looked at the existing infrastructure currently in place for autism awareness, services, and research in a territory. Over the course of 11 weeks I used those questions to guide my research and come up with answers for GAPH priority countries including Albania, India, Chile and South Africa. Trying to find contact information for treatment centers and special education schools and the best way to obtain a diagnosis in a given country was at times very frustrating. Information often wasn't available or it was dated, sometimes referencing schools and facilities that had shut down within the last decade. I quickly found myself imagining just how difficult it must be for families who have a child with autism in these underdeveloped regions if I couldn't even find information using high speed internet and multiple databases.
Realizing the struggles of those families pushed me to uncover as much information as I could within the given time frame. I collected and analyzed data and compiled it into a comprehensive report that will help guide Autism Speaks science staff in developing strategic action plans for enhancing autism awareness, services, and research around the world. Now, looking back at the summer, I see that I absolutely gained some of that “real world experience” that everyone says is so important. My research, analytical, and writing skills have improved, but I'm more excited about what I've accomplished in terms of what it can do for the international autism community. My work is just a small piece of the larger effort that is GAPH, but hopefully it will help to inform future activities in those countries and make even a slight difference in the even larger puzzle that is autism.
If you want to read more about my summer in New York working at Autism Speaks, you can visit my blog at: http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2008-2009/alice_simcoe_matthews
If you have a story you wish to share about your personal experience with autism, please send it to
editors@autismspeaks.org.
Autism Speaks reserves the right to edit contributions for space, style and content. Because of the volume of submissions, not all can be published on the site.
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