HayleyGarberHawkenProjects2023

      Today was my third day, and it was by far my favorite! This was the first time I spent the entire day with Physical Therapy, and I was shadowing Jamie. Jamie graduated from PT school in May, so it was nice to talk to someone who had just gone through the entire schooling and shadowing process. We talked a lot about the whole process, and she did a really helpful job explaining the different paths. She also made sure to explain why we were doing the exercises or treatments we were doing for a certain kid. While PT and OT have some overlap, I enjoyed PT because it is more hands-on and active. Similar to OT, what we do with the kids depends on their capabilities, but we try to make activities fun and engaging while also making it therapeutic. We also started every session off in the gym and let the kids play. With some of the older and easier kids, we preplanned activities, and the kids went along with it, but with some of the younger and less engaged kids, we followed...

     Today was the first day, and I could not have asked for a better first day. On Mondays, it is solely Occupational Therapy, so I spent the day with the OTs. We saw kids of all ages and disabilities, and every session was different. A common theme I noticed among many of the patients and their sessions is that the therapist usually lets them do their own thing for the first 15 ish minutes. This allows them to get all of their energy out, and make their experience a little more enjoyable and fun, rather than them fighting and being upset all throughout the sessions. It is also important to give the kids the space that they might need, and sometimes that involves me stepping out. While most of the kids we work with are okay with a new face, some are not and react in a shy or angry way. With kids, especially those with special needs, they have a hard time participating in activities for a long time or doing things that they don't want to do, so when preparing for sessions...

Hi! I'm Hayley Garber and I'm currently a senior! For my Hawken Project, I will be shadowing at Galvin Therapy Center. Galvin provides therapy services to kids and adolescents with special needs. They have several different specialists and therapies such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, aquatic therapy, and sensory processing management. The patient's disabilities range from both cognitive and physical, with some of the most common ones being Autism, Down Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy.  I will be shadowing specifically the occupational and physical therapists, splitting up my time almost evenly among the two. I have declared a major in Kinesiology with the intention of going into this field, but I am still undecided about whether I want occupational therapy or physical therapy. By being able to shadow both of these fields, it will help me decide which path I think best suits me.  As far as specifics go within PT/OT, I am interested in working with k...