Friday, November 06, 2009
2nd year is officially over...completed my 2weeks rural placement, handed in the last final assignment yesterday...not really a good report, went over the wordcount..oh well just couldnt be bothered. 2nd sem results was released yesterday as well, very satisfied with the results..thanked God. Right now, boredom has just kick in..the weather is so nice outside..what the heck am i doin at home? Anyway....some pics taken during my rural placement..
more pics on facebook..haha. It was a good placement. Went to a specialist school which consist of 29 children age 4-12. Mostly developmental delays associated with autism, a few down syndrome and ADHDs. They were all cute and cheeky..especially if they know you are new comer..they will cling on to you, try and get your attention..how can you possibly say no to a cute innocent eyes. we were asked to be more stern with the kids. Dont hold their hands if they ask you to...stop them if they talk too much lol. We get to go to every classes during the first week and observer. By the 2nd week we were ask to choose a class. for my case, since i needed to do a case study for my assignment i have to choose a child and work with the child one to one. It was exciting yet challenging at the same. time. I chose to work with an 8 year old boy who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. His behaviour was challenging enough for me. Getting him to write few sentences..hold the pencil properly even read out few words on a chart was hard enough. Was stressing myself out..wondering what can i do with this child..but i was only in the school for another 5days..not possible for the outcomes wouldnt possibly pop-out that easily. I reckon the child's behaviour depends on the child's mood as well. They can be obedient at the start of the day..and get aggitated by the end of the day.
I was focusing fully on his gross and fine motor skills..overall he is independant with his self-care skills eg: toileting, feeding, dressing. Thats what OTs usually look at. He definetely needs to work on his fine motor skills that involves handwritting. I had the opportunity to work with a speech therapist as well..she explained to me her roles and how it clashes with OT pretty much. I felt a lil intimidated when i told her i wanted to work on the child's handwritting skills..and she said he prob would never write in the next 10 years..bla bla...suggesting i should get him to learn typing on the keyboard. Oh well..first thing to work on is the child's concentration span. LOL. I was also asked to organise an activity for the class. Luckily there were only 10kids in the class. Decided to do paper marche or collage..since it involves tearing papers into small pieces..glueing..cutting..colouring..i even went to collect some sand from the beach for this activity haha. Played simon says as a warm up game before commencing the activity. Just hopping the kids enjoyed the games. One thing i learn from this task is to be specific and dont give the kids choices or they will rebel against you.
Besides placement, i had the opportunity to do some sight seeing as well. Went to the popular Great Ocean Road, couple of secluded bays! Glad that i could stay over at my friend's house for a week although i was not in my comfort zone at all times. Living with a different family with different lifestyles. lol. Decided to stay in an appartment on my own during the second week..although it was scary at the beginning..living alone in a unfamiliar place..but i get to conquer the entire place including the TV itself lol. They provided an electric blanket as well..which i would consider getting one for myself in preparation for winter next year haha. My heater doesnt seem to be working 100%!
So whats next....Holidays! Booked my airticket to KK last nite..will be going back on the 5th of dec till feb. Also im counting down the days till Aiming and Vengli touch down Melb!! or shall i say arrive Geelong Railway Station! 11 more days to go! woohoo. Better do some research of places to go to. Ahh..so much to do..have to sort out my police check for next year..planning to get driver's learners permit..gahh troublesome..contemplating if i should start from scratch getting Vic license or convert msian driving license..tho i still need to sit for the law test etc. Sigh.
Till then.
2:00 PM