Level I OTA Fieldwork Student, Robin Mayer, shares her reasoning and results for the activity she designed for Izzy during a recent Occupational Therapy Session at Mane Stream.
THE IDEA: Take Izzy’s favorite song and incorporate activities (dancing, games and drumming) that would work on some of her goals. And make it fun!
THE TOOLS: Drumsticks, maracas, two small conga drums, and the crash pad.
THE ACTIVITY: We started out with a heel to toe walk but quickly moved on to weight shifting in time with our drumsticks (Izzy’s were decorated in shades on pink ribbon). Then came Izzy’s favorite part of the session - Izzy, Ms. Gina, Ms. Kerese and I all formed a train and walked in time to the beat of our sticks to Izzy’s favorite song “Beat It”. When the guitar solo came on we crashed into the pad, maneuvered into a cross-legged position and then resumed tapping our sticks.
By the end of the solo the adults were tired but Izzy’s endurance was spectacular!! When the singing came back on she yelled, “Let’s do that again!” So we got up quickly and started our rhythm train again. It was amazing and I’m really happy she enjoyed it. Izzy’s Occupational Therapist, Gina Taylor, mentioned there were a lot of musical toys in the music box, so we took out the drum heads, clapper, wrist bells, and just jammed for the remaining session time. Of course, her movements still need of practice but most importantly Izzy had fun and wants to do something music-based again.
ROBIN’S EXPERIENCE: When asked about her experience at Mane Stream, Robin said, “It’s been one of the most influential experiences I have had in my life. I couldn't wait to get to the grounds to start sessions and soak up every particle of knowledge from Gina (excuse me, RVCC Professor Taylor), Mel, Katrina, and the team of volunteers, the horses and most of all the children. To have been given the opportunity to observe and then have three sessions where we planned our own interventions for a child, in my case IZZY Warrior Princess was an honor.
WHY STUDY AT MANE STREAM? We know it is imperative to the future of the industry to provide hands-on learning experiences for today’s students. We also like to share the impact therapy (OT, PT, SLP) at Mane Stream can have on our clients. Whether it’s hosting monthly observation sessions or clinical fieldwork opportunities we love sharing the JOY and SMILES and RESULTS that therapy at Mane Stream provides.
