Internship Day 3

Today was a good day.  We started off doing group therapy.  However, in our first group 2 of our 4 students were not ready, so we just did therapy with the two that were ready, then we did therapy with the other two.  It actually worked really well.  Anyway, but that's not the important item of the day.

In the afternoon we attempted to do some evaluation of an older student - essentially we were wondering: "Can he operate a switch" (by switch we mean button he can push).  We aren't really sure weather he can or not.  We didn't get reliable results.  Once again, this is not the important item of the day.

And the important item of the day:

We did a home visit today.  We went to the home of a child who has a neurological tumor.  The tumor has progressed so much that it is affecting his sensation and motor movements.  We visited him to give him some 'independence'.  Independence is in quotes because he is dependent on his care givers for virtually everything.  This was only our assessment, but we were able to give him some control over his computer experiences.  He gets a lot of enjoyment out of pressing buttons, so we added a USB switch to the computer, so when the mouse cursor hovers above an icon he can use the switch and start a song, open a program, etc.  We didn't do anything amazing, by any stretch of the imagination, but we did allow him to regain a little bit of the independence he lost as a result of the progressive tumor.

Also, he really likes Billy Joel ... and he happened to like the Piano Man ... and there happened to be a piano in the room ... and I happen to know how to play the Piano Man ... so I played it and we sang along - it was great fun.

One thing I have noticed: children with severe cognitive impairments can show such immense joy.  (Granted, an unfamiliar observer may not interpret their actions as joyful, but to those of us who have spent a little bit of time with them their joy is clearly evident).  When the child we visited heard a computer program he had not used in several weeks on his home computer, he was ecstatic.  Hearing his laughter (at something so simple as a song) was great.

Anyway, I better go now...