Monday with the Sensory Team

Our sensory team (Haley, Melissa, Katy, Rachael, Mabel, Stephanie, Joan, Meridith, Kelly and Lisa) and three great interpreters (Josh, Norma, and Darvy) spent the day at Misioneros del Camino (Missionaries of the Highway), which is an outpatient clinic that is located about 45 minutes from Antigua. When we first arrived, we were very impressed with the organization of the staff members as well as the wonderful therapy equipment they had available. We worked mainly with three of the therapists there; a physical therapist, a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist (“sensory therapist”). Our day was busy, as we saw fifteen children. The children’s parents and the therapists were very interested and welcomed any and all advice of our practitioners. The children we saw exhibited sensory defensiveness, feeding issues, and developmental delays. While treating these conditions, we had many of the kids swinging or bouncing on therapy balls, playing with bubbles and playdoh, and racing scooters down the hallway! At lunch time, experienced a wonderful Guatemalan meal, including pepián (the national dish of Guatemala), rice, and homemade tortillas. What a treat!

One of the most challenging cases of the day was a three-year-old girl named Heidi, who had the development skills of a 4-month-old. She presented with increased muscle tone and appeared to have pneumonia caused by severe feeding difficulties. She had a very pleasant demeanor, which allowed our therapists and students to try a lot of different techniques and help educate Heidi’s mother about more effective feeding methods. Throughout the day, our team was encouraged by how receptive the parents and therapists at Missionaries were of learning new techniques to help the children. The kids are very fortunate to have such wonderful people who care for them and access to equipment that will facilitate their treatment. We worked very hard today to write plans of care for the children we treated. We wrote them in Spanish and included pictures so that the therapists can continue the work we started today.

Quote of the day (From Misioneros del Camino):

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up…”

-John Andrew Holmes

Con paz y amor,

Melissa (estudiante) y Lisa (terapista)