ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN'S THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTER (17)

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OC CHILDREN'S THERAPEUTIC &VfS 2215 N Broadway • Santa Ana, CA 92706 • 714.547.5468 • Fax 714.564.9690 • www.occtac.org Program Year2018-2019 & 2019-2020 Olda I. Hernandez Good evening my name is Olda Irene Garcia Hernandez, I am mother of a 3-year old boy and his name is Uziel. I was an at-home mom before joining the Youth Employment Program and felt like I couldn't do much because finding a babysitter was expensive, so I stayed home and took care of my son. I then learned about the Youth Employment Program and thought this would be a great opportunity for me as it would allow me to return to school and it also provided free childcare for my son. I am currently working on obtaining my Child Care Worker Certificate and should be done by the end of December. As part of this certificate, I have taken classes with Dr. Ana in Child Development and Health Education, where I have learned how to be patient with my son, understand him better, and be a better mother. I have learned the importance of reading to him because it's important for his development. My son has speech difficulties and the Early Start Program at OCCTAC has helped him create more words and small sentences. My son is receiving speech therapy and I hope this will help me have a better communication with him and understand him better because he tends to get frustrated when I don't understand what he wants. Being in this program has encouraged me to set goals for myself and my son, and it has taught me how to work in a team. It has also helped me improve my communication and when I need help, they are always there for me. I have gained employability skills and I have learned more about myself, as well as the importance of setting boundaries. My future goal is to be able to open up my own daycare center because I want to be my own boss. This will ultimately allow me to spend more time with my son.