julia_dorfman

Day 8

Today was my last day here at PTA, but my first full day working with speech therapist Anna Carrick. In terms of scheduling, today was the first day I had 30-minute sessions because she had what is referred to as a “rapid-fire” day.

Speech was definitely a very different experience from OT and PT since a majority of it is done sitting at a table with flashcards or iPad games as opposed to using the gym or even just moving around the room.

I was also surprised by the sheer variety of complications the patients had – ranging from working on sounds such as SHH and ZZZ to non-verbal children who are working on learning non-verbal motions.

Another common goal is working on working on associating words with images. To do this, Mrs.Carrick has many different sets of cards with images on them, in this case, we used animals.

One major similarity I saw between all three types of therapy was the use of different types of games in between activities so that the kids get a break and it also pushes them to work harder during their session.

Day 7

Today picked up where yesterday left off, PT. All of the patients we saw were under three years old which really surprised me since I didn’t even know that you could really do PT that young. Lots of today was spent building different obstacle courses based on what each child needed to work on (balance, running, skipping, ect,).

*example of an obstacle course we set up*

Every kid also got to pick a puzzle or game that they could complete a part of each time they made a lap through the course. Some of my favorites included Mr.Potato Head, a Cars puzzle and a “make your own pizza”.

Another popular motivation is bubbles. This sounded odd to me at first but Mrs.Nixon explained and demonstrated how kids could lift their legs or knees or arms (through exercises) and aim to pop the bubble. This was a technique I would have never thought of so it was cool to see it in action.

Day 6

Today was certainly a roller coaster with internet shutdowns, cancelations, and miscommunication, but I loved every second of it.

I arrived at 8 AM and went straight to Mrs.Houser’s office. We saw four patients this morning back to back. The kids today were mostly in the 3 – 4 range with the exception on one 12-year-old girl. Throughout the sessions, we covered a wide range of activities, some I had seen the day before and some new ones. Three of the new activities included trying new foods, learning to brush teeth and playing with shaving cream (one of my favorites) to practice adapting to new sensory experiences.

I also got some exposure to other aspects of the “gym” including the ball pit and swing that can be hung from the ceiling! It was a nice preview into what I would experience more of when I started my work with PT.

At noon, it was time to say goodbye to Mrs.Houser which was harder then I expected. In a day and a half, I learned so much from her and I could definitely see myself pursuing an OT path in the future.

I headed out for lunch where I met my fellow intern Dorrit Eisenbeis at a nearby Panera. I really enjoyed talking about my own experiences so far and hearing about the work she has done. With some overlap between our two experiences, I left lunch eager to learn more about PT, a discipline she had been working in.

Having returned to the office, I was faced with the journey two doors down from the room I had begun to call “home base”. With this new room came a new discipline, PT (Physical Therapy) and a new “mentor” Rachel Nixon.

* Rachel Nixons room, AKA my new workspace!*

After rapid-fire introductions, our first patient walked in. She is what is referred to as a “toe-walker” so we did a series of exercises including wall sits, planks and jumps in order to strengthen her leg muscles. Because the exercises get tiresome, Mrs.Nixon keeps a closet of games that the patients can play in between exercises. Today we played Animal Rummy and Jenga.

Day 5

Today was my first day at Pediatric Therapy Associates in Raleigh. I spent my day shadowing Ashley Houser who is an occupational therapist. We started off first thing with a breakdown explanation of her job, an overview of the day ahead, and signing HIPPA forms (for that reason there will be no names or pictures of children in these posts).

Mrs.Houser has an office perfect for fostering fun and feelings of safety. The room has bean bags, a comfortable mat, a sensory wall, and two closets full of toys.

* A few quick pictures of the room! Note the sensory wall in the third picture. *

Another area of the office is the “gym”. Movement is an aspect of OT but a majority of PT which also happens in this space. The area features an elliptical, stationary bike, treadmill and different parts of a flexible obstacle course that therapists can design on a case by case basis.

Today was a very busy day with back to back appointments from 8 am to 7 pm. The appointments are 45 minutes long and are referred to as sessions. The age range was very large from 3 to 20. Conditions were all very different as well but I was amazed at how Mrs.Houser knew so much about every kid and was able to make a plan that worked to their strengths and needs.

One of the most commonly used techniques that I learned today was looking at your “energy” level and working on techniques to calm down when your level gets too high. A very common trend in many of the patients was an overreaction to small issues and it’s amazing how some techniques work so well for some kids while they only make the issues worse for others.

*This is a chart that shows energy levels as well as techniques to help calm yourself down*

Day 4

Today was my last day here at FPG :(. This morning, I got a crash course in implementation and research design. We also went through the mathematical background of the evaluation process once data has been collected. In addition, we discussed the pros and cons of different research methods. As you can see in the sticky notes below, images came in quite handy when trying to grasp these abstract concepts I have not yet been exposed to. However, I saw that many of the graphs and equations held many similarities to those I have seen in my math and science courses at CA. It was definitely eye-opening to see what I have learned in high school come into play in a field I am interested in pursuing.

Next, we reviewed the edits I had made to the rough draft of Mr.Holland’s book chapters yesterday. It was an amazing experience to see a professional confirm my ideas and use my suggestions to make edits to his own work. As I had felt many times throughout the week, I really was an active part of the team here at FPG.

On day one, we had discussed grant writing and budget creating and today I really got to see the difficulties involved in those processes. Due to employment by the state as well as money coming from different private funders, it can be difficult to figure out where you can spend money, where that money comes from and who needs it. While I am personally not interested in business, I now understand how having a good grasp on financial management is vital to any field.

We then took a break for lunch and headed to a local pizza restaurant. We were joined by two other researchers who I had been interacting with throughout the week through meetings. I loved getting to hear different peoples experiences in the field as well as their journies to get to where they are now. This definitely expanded my horizons even more and gave me even more paths to think about pursuing.

To wrap up the day we had one last phone call “meeting” with the business manager of a programming company that FPG works with. I again was exposed to the importance of financial planning, this time between two different companies.

Overall, I had an amazing experience and learned more than I ever could have anticipated. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming, allowing me to feel comfortable since the moment I stepped inside. I am certainly going to miss working here every day, but I am excited to see what next week has in store for me!

Day 3

After a quick stop at RISE donuts, day three was off and running! We then went about our typical morning routine, going through emails and laying out a plan for the day.

I spent most of the morning reading over and editing Mr.Hollands rough draft for the first four chapters of his book. I was instantly hooked. I learned so much and I was honored that he trusted me to give my opinion on his work. When the book gets published (hopefully!) it will be amazing to know that I played a role, a small one but still, in its creation. (Right)

I also worked on annotating a paper entitled A Technical Assistance Model for Guiding Service and System Changes. Although the terminology was a little over my head, I got the hang of it and ended up really enjoying the content. (Left). I Am really looking forward to discussing these two works tomorrow.

We also attended a meeting where we discussed the first stages of a possible research intervention and grant proposal. This was the first time I got to see the process start at its roots and while it certainly was overwhelming it was also very eye-opening to see how difficult planning a project really is.

Day 2

After at hectic hour-long commute I arrived back at FPG for my second day.

The morning began by going through emails and making a plan for the remainder of the day. At 9 AM we headed across the street to a meeting entitled Research, Responsiveness and Reflection: Lessons from Rural Partnerships. The meeting was led by Mary Bratsch- Hines and Laura Louison, both researchers at FPG. The meeting began by everyone going around the room to share their name and their background. This was a unique experience in that I not only saw the very diverse backgrounds different researchers came from but I was invited to share with the group as well. During that meeting, I felt like another member of the group rather than an observer and everyone was so supportive. The content itself was eyeopening for me – while everyone wants to help people in impoverished areas, and even though we have programs designed to help, it proves very difficult to actually implement these programs.

After this meeting, Mr. Holland explained that he has been working on his own book. First, I helped him edit his proposal and then I began editing the chapters for clarity, which I will continue to do tomorrow. Getting to work on a real book is an experience I could have never have anticipated getting to be a part of.

Around 11:30 we took a lunch break in downtown Carrboro where we got pizza- it was delicious! Then we headed to the Ronald McDonald House of Chapel Hill. We spent the afternoon baking cookies and rice crispy treats for the families that were staying there during treatments. If I am being honest I was a little confused as to how this was part of his job. He explained that FPG has a quality of life committee and they believe that volunteering is one of the keys to being happy. Every month, they set up different volunteer activities for their employees to participate in. I am very hopeful that I will get to continue volunteering even when I join the workforce and that companies still see the importance of giving back.

Day 1

Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (FPG) is committed to Advancing knowledge to transform children’s lives.

The Trohanis Technical Assistance (TA) Projects group at FPG is dedicated to improving the availability and quality of services, and ensuring optimal outcomes, for very young children with, or at risk for, disabilities and their families.

Mr. Holland is TA that works for Trohanis within the Franklin Porter Graham Child Development Insitute.

Upon arrival, Mr.Holland and I sat down and talked through an overview of his work. He explained how grant proposals work and we talked through a few of his current budgets and project plans. We then prepared for meetings later in the day by looking at minutes from previous meetings and phone calls with his co-chairs via zoom calls. We also joined in on a call with a team that designs the website used to categorize data from school districts around the state.

He then explained that everyone has professional development funds and so we worked to find organizations he could become a member with using these funds.

For lunch, we attended another meeting. In this meeting, the presenter talked about RTC’s (randomized control trials) and the best practices to use when designing this kind of research experiment as well as pros and cons to taking this path in general.

Then we ran to, yes, another meeting! This one was unique because it focused on making the company more equitable. Mr.Holland chairs a committee that is committed to making the workplace a more respectful and representative place. During this meeting, we worked on writing a mission/vision statement for the committee as well as potential organizations they could partner with in the future to accomplish these goals. I was able to give outside perspective about how I interpreted the mission statement and my suggestions were used to reword parts of the statement. This was very unique but I was able to be a part of something that will hopefully hold true for the company for years to come.