Somehow another week has flown by in this beautiful country. I spent the last week volunteering in a school for children with disabilities. It was been extremely challenging and exhausting, but rewarding. The children that I work with in San Rafael Hospital have more severe disabilities. None of my students can talk or walk, and the majority of them have little to no vision. The first week here I was afraid of the language barrier but nothing could have prepared me for this type of barrier. Not only can the children not communicate to me but also I can’t communicate with them in their own language. It has been very hard trying to comfort children with the minimal Spanish I know. The only good thing about the language difference is it is forcing me to learn quickly.
On the first day of my internship I was taught how to port feed a child through their stomach. This was a bit of a culture shock for me, as you need to be certified to do this in the United States. I was terrified that I was going to make the child sick from interpreting directions wrong. I felt very accomplished when I finished feeding the child successfully without any issues. That same day I also took a child to be examined and receive some therapy from a psychologist. He was trying to see how far her vision extended, and then try to get her to focus so she could see further away. The psychologist also used different scents to calm her. He used orange followed by mint that he lightly waved in front of her nose. After therapy I went outside to join some children for recess. None of the children in my classroom go outside, but I wanted to experience the other children’s playtime. I spent my time playing soccer and basketball with the kids. They loved it and were so excited and intrigued to play with new people.
Tuesday was a good day at internship. I spent most of the day holding one of the children in a ball pit. The plastic balls and other toys in this area were stimulating for sensory. I had to put lotion on his arms and legs, as his skin was so dry it was becoming scaly. He wasn’t too thrilled with this so I began massaging it into his skin. I rubbed his arms a little and then his hands. The second I started on his hands he unclenched his fists and began to relax. He eventually fell asleep in my arms for the next hour. Soon after the teacher gathered all of the children in a large circle and began playing a series of chimes for them and lit an incense. I was amazed at how relaxed and soothing it was for the children. Even the one child who always needs fidget toys in her hands was relaxed and not moving. The teacher did this for about half an hour. By the end most of the children had become so relaxed they had fallen asleep. The many volunteers then went around holding each child or lying with them. I’ve noticed this hospital is very into healing the children through touch. It’s a great feeling knowing they all love the children and express it to them. I left San Rafael feeling very happy that day knowing I was one of the people who helped make a child’s day a little bit better.
The following day was not as successful for me. I almost felt useless as there were so many people volunteering to help in my classroom. There was more than one person per child so I didn’t have too much to do. I ended up going to help out in the classroom next door as I could do more for the other children. The day seemed to creep by for me because I felt useless. On Thursday I returned to the same classroom, as I knew it would have no volunteers that day. I started the day off by spending an hour one-on-one with a student. We were working on strengthening her core and neck muscles because she doesn’t like to hold her head up. I used different techniques such as books and a multitude of toys. Before lunch we went into another classroom with her to play with a light table. It had plastic bags with different colored liquid in them, little plastic cups, and small blocks to play with. All the items were opaque so the children could see the colors and what the toys did. Teachers helped the children draw and create shapes on the bags. Even though the child I was working with can’t see far away she was still very engaged in the activity. When lunchtime came around I then fed the same child. It was slightly difficult to do, as she isn’t the biggest fan of eating. I took my time and let her eat at her own pace despite a longtime volunteer telling me to feed her faster. I didn’t want to rush and make the child despise eating that much more. I left the hospital feeling slightly conflicted that day because I didn’t agree with there feeding methods.
I've greatly enjoyed my first week at the hospital. I love that the school is all about relaxing and showing the children that they are loved. It may be difficult having more than a 1-1 ratio of students to aids but sometimes it is necessary for the children. Having constant contact and interaction appears to be crucial to the children's happiness.This week had many ups and downs and I hope next week will begin on a more positive note than it ended.
