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...

Internship, Day 1

Welcome to the very first posting of my blog. Hopefully I will be diligent in posting, but you can never know how much time I'll have to post.  

Anyway, Thursday, September 6, 2007 I began my internship at Croyden Avenue School.  For those of you who don't know, Croyden is a center based learning facility for children through the Kalamazoo County School District with severe cognitive and emotional deficits.  My supervisor (Elizabeth) is a speech-language pathologist there.  She is also the assistive technology (AT) coordinator for the district as well - so we will be doing some site visits periodically throughout the semester - to make sure our students have access the the technology they need, and that the technology is functioning as it is intended.

Anyway, we began the day with a tour of the building.  The building itself is an interesting design.  There are two levels, and the upper level is essentially a large circle with arms extending off on several sides.  The downstairs is less organized - I didn't get a good sense of a distinct shape.  I'll talk more about that later.  

Anyway, as we walked through the building we would see students and teachers in the halls.  Every time we meet a student Elizabeth would engage them in some form of communication.  (Which is good - especially because many of these children are poor functional communicators - they have a difficult time communicating everyday needs, let alone complex forms of communication like writing, recounting activities in days past, etc.).  We could not walk 15 steps without meeting another child.  (Croyden is not like your average school, obviously.  There is a great deal of structure, but it's in alternate forms than your typical school. We'll get to this later).

So, when Elizabeth and I finished the tour we went out to lunch with another SLP, Dan.  (The students call him Dan-Dan-the-Speech-Man, more about him later).  After lunch, we were supposed to go to an IEP meeting (Individualized Education Plan Meeting - a requirement for every student who needs 'special' services in schools).  The IEP got cancelled because someone was unable to be there - no one bothered to tell us, or the occupational therapist (OT), so you know. 

Anyway, all in all it was a good day.  I had few interactions with the kids; however, the ones I did have were quite funny.  For instance, there was a little girl, we'll call her Jill.  Jill was certainly my friend.  As soon as she noticed me she reached her hand out to grab mine.  I obliged, and started talking with her.  Unfortunately, she was not verbal (she didn't use words).  She pointed a lot, but it was difficult to understand her message.  

That was a little bit about my day - more to come.