Day One of Fieldwork

My second week of the semester went well.  Things started to pile up a little more.  Friday night I watched the movie prisoners with a few students, it is a very long, intense movie. The rest of the weekend I didn't do much but school work.  I'm also reading the book Wild.  It's about a woman's journey hiking the Pacific Coast Trail from south California to Portland.

Today I started my first level one fieldwork at a pediatric private clinic in Flowery Branch.  It's about a twenty mile drive from my apartment. I was extremely nervous, not knowing what it was going to be like. All to say I loved it.  I got to wear scrubs, I stood on my feet all day, and got to meet with six children who were there for occupational therapy.  The clinic is very large with so much technology, interactive rooms, and rooms full of swings, monkey bars, and toys.

One of my favorite things I encountered today was playing on the swings. The picture I attached is very similar to what they have.  The board is attached to a hook that is suspended in the ceiling.  There is a carabiner that allows you to take off this swing and add a different attachment.  A child can sit on the swing and be swung back and forth and it serves as a calming vestibular affect on the children.  If the child is calmer, more in tune, then they may be able to better focus on the their handwriting they need working on or fine motor tasks.

I was also able to watch an evaluation of a child.  In lab last week I learned about the BOT2 evaluation and today I was able to see it as a whole given to a child.  I learned a lot more than I did in lab simply from seeing it in action.

Swing Time

Scrub Action