Aylin Sonmez Children with Special Needs Take Stronger Steps in Life with Aylin

“It makes me happy to see the progress of the children!”

Aylin Sönmez successfully graduated from the Department of Occupational Therapy at the university and stepped into business life. After graduation, she started working in Adana in the institution where she did her internship. Later, she returned to her hometown Hatay and continued her career here.

Aylin started working with special children and discovered her interest in this field during her internship. When she realized that working with children appealed to her strengths and provided professional satisfaction, she decided to work with special children. One of Aylin’s biggest motivations for choosing this profession is having a cousin with special needs and her love for children. As an occupational therapist, she intervenes in areas where children have difficulty in daily life and helps them overcome the sensitivities that make their lives difficult.

“I work with children with autism and apply sensory integration therapy to them. Various materials are needed in this process. I try to help children overcome their sensitivities by intervening in the difficulties they face in daily life.”

Before the earthquake, Aylin was working as an occupational therapist alongside a child and adolescent psychiatrist in an institution, and she continued her work with great devotion. However, when the clinic where she worked was destroyed in the earthquake, she had to leave the city. Despite this, her mind always stayed in Hatay and her profession. Five months later, she returned to her city, but she did not know what to do since both her home and the clinic where she worked were destroyed.

“I work with children with autism and provide them with sensory integration therapy. It makes me very happy to see their progress.”

In order to continue her work, she took a big risk and thought of opening her own clinic. It was during this process that she met MaviKalem and applied to the project. MaviKalem became hope for Aylin. With the support provided, she was able to continue her profession by obtaining the materials she needed.

Today, she continues her work at the clinic and is committed to her profession despite all the difficulties.

“Opening my own clinic was a big risk for me because both my house and the clinic I was working at were destroyed in the earthquake. There were also many procedures required to open a clinic. But I wanted to work right away and get back to my routine, so I started working in Iskenderun. The pediatric room had just been set up and many materials were missing. At this point, MaviKalem supported me. With the materials they provided, I was able to develop my business, which means reaching more children and making a better profit.”

Aylin both supports her family and invests in her education with her earnings. She actively uses social media to spread her profession to a wider audience and her business is growing by word of mouth.

Her future goals include getting a master’s degree in her field and further developing herself by attending professional trainings. She also has a message for women who want to start or grow their own business:

“Otizmli çocuklarla çalışıyor ve onlara duyu bütünleme terapisi yapıyorum. Onların ilerlemelerini görmek beni çok mutlu ediyor.”

İşine devam edebilmek için büyük bir risk alarak kendi kliniğini açmayı düşündü. Tam da bu süreçte MaviKalem ile tanıştı ve projeye başvurdu. MaviKalem, Aylin için umut oldu. Sağlanan destekle ihtiyacı olan malzemeleri temin ederek mesleğine kaldığı yerden devam edebildi.

Bugün, klinikte işini sürdürerek tüm zorluklara rağmen mesleğine dört elle sarılmış durumda.

“Kendi kliniğimi açmak benim için büyük bir riskti çünkü depremde hem evim hem de çalıştığım klinik yıkılmıştı. Ayrıca klinik açmak için birçok prosedür gerekiyordu. Ancak ben hemen çalışmak, rutinime dönmek istiyordum. Bu yüzden İskenderun’da çalışmaya başladım. Çocuk odası yeni kurulmuştu ve birçok materyal eksikti. İşte tam bu noktada MaviKalem bana destek oldu. Sağladıkları malzemelerle işimi geliştirebildim. Bu da benim için daha fazla çocuğa ulaşmak ve daha iyi bir kazanç sağlamak anlamına geliyor.”

Aylin, elde ettiği kazançla hem ailesine destek oluyor hem de eğitimine yatırım yapıyor. Mesleğini daha geniş kitlelere duyurabilmek için sosyal medyayı aktif kullanıyor ve işi kulaktan kulağa yayılarak da büyüyor.

Gelecek hedefleri arasında, kendi alanında yüksek lisans yapmak ve mesleki eğitimlere katılarak kendini daha da geliştirmek var. Kendi işini kurmak ya da büyütmek isteyen kadınlara da bir mesajı var:

“Beklemesinler, hemen adım atsınlar! Zor günler yaşadık ama harekete geçmek önemli. İçlerindeki güce inansınlar.”