Extra Extra: Second Day of Service Report!

Hola, parents and friends!

This is Rakhi (Occupational Therapy Practitioner) and Allie H. (Occupational Therapy Student). Today was another great day of service at all of our sites!

Reporting from Daryl's house:
Today we worked with numerous kids with disabilities from the community. It was great to interact with the kids and to help them improve their daily occupations. We had a successful system working which included teams of six. We had two therapists (occupational therapy and speech therapy) along with a translator and three students. While this group of six was hard at work, the other three students played with the children who were waited to be seen. We read books to the children, talked with them, and more!
The therapy sessions went very well. The clients were able to learn a lot along with the students. The therapists were in charge, but the students were able to provide their feedback and step in a lot during the sessions. We also made sure to make the care plans simple and understandable for the clients and their parents/caretakers. We made sure to demonstrate and teach the parents/caregivers about the treatments so that they could be continued at home. Our goal was to help these individuals, while also providing sustainability in the care plan so that the children can continue to improve. It was a great opportunity as a students to be able to learn numerous new techniques and ideas for our future careers.
There were a variety of different clients today! We saw many children who were experiencing extreme spasticity. We worked on various techniques with these children such as using a warm wash cloth to help the children open their hands. We also helped another child with mobility by using a therapy ball on which to roll back and forth. This can help with feeling and awareness in the feet. Next, we helped a child with feeding techniques.
It was really amazing to engage with all of these different children! It was a long day of hard work, but well worth it. Helping these children was beneficial for them and to our education. We were able to evaluate, problem solve, make a plan, and provide the families with instructions to continue the therapy practices.
-Allie H.

Reporting from ABI:
This is my second year as a practitioner at ABI, where we have now served for three years. The residential facility has surely made remarkable improvements each year, and the love for the residents is obvious with a core group of staff and caregivers dedicated to giving each resident a fulfilling and meaningful life. This year, the facility has entrusted our group with attempting to problem solve some very sensitive subjects, and we are honored to have gained the respect and confidence of the staff at ABI in order to gain this trust. In addition to the facility being more candid regarding pre-existing issues, the expansion of the facility has presented new and different challenges. I have been impressed by the students' maturity and insight while helping to address our difficult issues. Some of my proudest moments from today were watching the students interact whole-heartedly with the residents and being at-the-ready with songs in Spanish, choosing appropriate interventions and grading interventions to resident abilities, and working through difficult challenges with grace in the company of older and more seasoned professionals. I look forward to working with all the students in class next year as they continue to develop their therapeutic skills and techniques.
-Rakhi