There was a huge change from last week in the Wellness Group which is a group I run on a Monday for the older ladies in the community. The week before was disastrous with nothing going right and I was ready to give up but decided to push on and try something different this week. It started on Monday morning phoning to see who was coming and reminding them to bring their photos. There were a few that mentioned that they weren't interested in scrap booking so I had planned to do it with those that had brought photos. Well by the end of it everyone that didn't have a photo was planning their scrap booking page for the next week because they could see they were missing out. I think it was because the session was more activity based than a discussion. One of the key aspects of group formation is for the leader to build rapport and I really left that principle out for the first session so by bringing in an activity that allows me to learn more about them and help them do it really helped with forming relationships with each of the ladies. I was also surprised with how much they got into the activity, I had to upgrade a lot by giving them the decorative scissors and not so much assistance and they came up with some brilliant end products as you can see in the picture below. Unfortunately I only have one more session left with these lovely ladies but this is definitely a group the next team needs to carry on because they are the heart of the community and are needing more constructive things to spend their time on.
Khetiwe this week was a challenge because the lady who normally runs it was out on a home visit and there was only one child coming and it was for the Speech Therapists and not us OTs so we were confused as to why we were there. Nevertheless we decided to play some games with the child and screen and see what OT intervention could be done. This child has a very mild form of Cerebral Palsy so therefore was very functional but wasn't communicating, she had difficulty with gross motor, hand function and perception. We made up activities on the spot for treatment because we had no knowledge of the case and no time to plan so we did what OTs do best, on the spot therapy planning. We did an activity with sticking numbers one-by-one onto the mirror with water and then taking them off one-by-one again which worked on hand function, body awareness, sensory etc. The child responded so well to the activity and was motivated afterwards to be involved with other therapy activities placed in front of her. It was so encouraging because we haven't had much experience with children yet and we were able to have a 2-hour therapy session with the child and the Speech Therapists even got involved and added their bit to the activities. It just showed us what it is going to be like when we are qualified and how important it is to maximize the time that you have with a child because they are only seen once a month and you need to make that time count.
Friday was such an amazing day because we finally got around to painting a play area for the children. The majority of the children that attend the schools in the community are bused in and because of this they are left with nothing to do after school while they wait to be picked up. The group before us came up with the idea of painting on the tarred open area and turning it into a play area for the children for better use of their time after school. Play is defined as a transaction between the individual and the environment that is intrinsically motivated, internally controlled and free from many of the constraints of objective reality (Bundy, 1991, Another more simpler definition of play is it can be spontaneous or as part of a planned activity. Play can be defined as a physical or mental activity that has no purpose or objective outside of pure enjoyment or amusement (Definition of play, 2004). Play is a very important area in a child's life and has many benefits such as:
1. Better Behaviour- It gives the child a chance to blow off some steam and therefore will be less frustrated and perform better in the classroom.
2. Teamwork- Teaches children to play together by making them aware of other's feelings and their own which therefore teaches them skills that they can use later on in life.
3. Movement- Play that is physical will encourage children to become more active in their later life and therefore will lower their risks of getting heart disease and other illnesses.
4. Learning- It has been proven that children that are able to acheive and pass tests during play are more likely to do well in academic tests because they are learning fundamental concepts during play.
5. Fun- Play is a natural part of childhood and it is a chance for a child to explore their imagination and have fun with their friends.
and lots more.
One very exciting project that has been started in this block is a Facebook page. This was started to keep the residents informed of what projects we were running in the community and updates of any events or pictures that we want to share. The residents already have their own group where they discuss important issues happening in the community but this is closed to the community members. We have been very excited with the response we have gotten on our Facebook page with people liking and commenting. Here is the link to the page if you would like to view it-https://www.facebook.com/otinmariannridge. There is still a lot more that can be done with the Facebook page but it will be a handover for the next group.
So this is it....FINAL WEEK!!! This brings with it a lot of work and the tying up of loose ends. There is also lots of fun things happening this week like finishing the play area, assessing a child, hippotherapy, newspaper articles etc. So watch this space for a full report on my final week in the community.
