-
82. Summer School
Yesterday, I finished my first session of summer school! This has actually been the first time I’ve ever taken summer school since kindergarten (which I don’t count!) and initially I was really really bummed. Everything seemed to remind me that it was summer, but I was not a part of it. Friends were ending school, some were graduating, people going to the beach, hanging out on week nights (how grandma like do I sound?), and even the beautiful weather were taunting my summer life. Buuuuut life goes on, I adjusted, and I felt better that my classmates reminded me that I’m not the ONLY one in school during the summer ;)
This first summer session was a lot of firsts for me. We had our first fieldwork, which is the exciting part of school where you can hopefully apply what you’re learning…hopefully. The focus of this semester’s fieldwork is adolescence and mental health. I was placed with 9 other of my classmates at a high school in South Central LA to work with a group of student in the special ed program once a week. Our focus was to help them improve their social skills because many of them have cognitive or behavioral problems and don’t have the skill sets to appropriately behave and interact with their peers. So we led them in games and activities each week to help them work on teamwork, cooperation, problem solving, and teaching them how this can apply to real world situations. It was really fun, and the students were awesome. In the short amount of time, I do feel like we made an impact on them, and I hope they continue to receive the support and resources they need. There were positive and negative aspects of the experience, but it was a good opportunity to wet my feet in the OT world. I am a lot more excited for our next fieldwork in the fall for pediatrics :)
Do I think that I will want to work with this population? As of right now, I’m leaning towards no. As enjoyable as it was, I think that I’m drawn towards more physical rehabilitation or something much more tangible and easily measurable than mental health. But who knows? I do have much more of an appreciation for the adolescent population in general. There is a lot that teenagers have to deal with (that even they aren’t really aware of) and to be a source of support to guide their development is pretty cool.
Another “first” for me was writing up a case study on one of the clients I observed in fieldwork. This was an assignment where I had to give background and information on the client’s history (through observations, interviews, IEPs, and asking the teachers), present evidence-based research that might help her, write two treatment goals, and two interventions I would choose to address the goals. At first it sounded like a headache, and actually it was pretty tough writing it too, but it was one of the first times I felt like I had to think like an OT. I had to assess what the needs of the client were, find research to back up my intervention, and create activities that will benefit the client as well as keep them motivated. It was kinda cool to start using the little bit of clinical reasoning I have developed over the year.
One more nerdy “first” that I’ll write about…I wrote a research proposal with two others for the first time. Research seriously gives me a headache, especially when I have so many other things to think about, but I am pretty excited about our research study. We plan to research adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Asperger Syndrome and their romantic relationships. It’s an important part of most adults’ lives, and we wanted to know if it was the same/different/existent/non-existent for people with ASD or AS. Sooooo if any of you know people who have ASD or AS and you think they’d be willing to be interviewed, send them my way! :)
This first session has had its ups and downs, but God is so gracious and continues to uphold me through the times when I feel weak and vulnerable. I feel blessed that I have this opportunity to be in OT school. Each little milestone I reach, I feel just that much closer to reaching my goal.
Here’s a picture of some of my classmates at Sgt. Peppers in LB! Sometimes we have fun too :)
