Shadowing with Social Skills Groups
I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to shadow and volunteer with three social skills groups 6-8 year old kids at an occupational therapy office. Each week the group would meet for an hour and a half, with one occupational therapist and one speech therapist leading it. The groups would work on improving social skills, which are an essential part of life. The therapists would help the kids improve their interactions with their peers, responding appropriately to social cues, and regulating their emotions. Many of the activities the group did, such as building an obstacle course, may seem like normal fun activities to most people, but the OTs were very intentional with everything they did. When the occupational therapists went to talk to the kids' parents, I did activities with the kids too. I was able to help with set up for activities, interact with the kids and make sure they were staying on task. After the twelve weeks that the social skills groups lasted, their was drastic improvement in children's' social skills and it was special to be able to see this firsthand. I was also able to see exactly what the jobs of pediatric occupational therapists and speech therapists entail. I learned so much from this experience and it was so informative getting to work this closely with occupational therapists.
Shadowing at an Occupational Therapy Office
I was able to shadow a number of different occupational therapists for a day at an occupational therapy office. For the day, each hour I went with a different therapist and was able to shadow their appointments. I was able to see all aspects of the job including the paperwork that is required to be done for each child. I also learned that a new timeline for occupational therapy is changing so the kids come for a certain amount of time (6-12 weeks) and then take a break from coming to the appointments. This allows an end goal to be put in place, as opposed to before when kids would keep coming to appointments with no clear end point. I was able to shadow a feeding therapist, a speech therapist, and a few general occupational therapists. I was able to see how OTs help kids with sensory processing disorder, autism, ADD, ADHD, and even broken bones. I also shadowed a therapist who works with kids that have muscle issues. To treat this they are given braces to prevent them from using their strongest muscles and force them to use the weaker muscles that need to be strengthened. Finally, I shadowed a therapist who works with people who have cerebral palsy. While shadowing these therapists I got to work with kids and see the range of activities they prepare for the kids. I also got to see how each appointment and activity was tailored specifically for each child. No two treatments are the same which makes occupational therapy an exciting and constantly changing profession.