Things I learned in Africa....
14 years ago
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Blessed
It has been an eventful week filled with language enrichment activities for the children and adult I have been seeing. The four of us girls- Marja, Rachael, Jamie and I all have succeeded in establishing a routine for the children to follow. The kids are clearly getting accustomed to the routine. They will often sing transitional songs once an activity has been completed. When doing classroom activities the babies and children are able to identify some of the animals and the noises they make. For example, pig says “oink, oink, oink.” They know once we have talk about an animal when it is time to say, “hello” and when it is time to say, “bye” while imitating gestures such as hand waving during language activities. I am hearing a lot more utterances from the children, a lot more inflection in their voices, and a lot more social engagement with other children and infants. For some of the kiddos I have noticed they are using more eye contact, object permanence, and means end skills. During my time working at the Haven I have been able to witness many new developmental milestones being accomplished. The children that were not talking are now starting to talk and thrive. The adult I’ve been working is also meeting many milestones. Gwembe, is starting to imitate words and phrases and because he knows a lot more Tonga than English he has been coming with a one on one named Elvis who is able to translate. Gwembe is following 1-2 step directions and is starting to learn yes/no questions. Continuous repetition is needed for him to understand yes/no questions. He is doing a great job and seems to be making great progress. I feel like this means a lot to Gwembe as it seems he was not given many chances in his earlier years. Living in Africa has gotten me to realize how different are beliefs are compared to children with special needs in Africa. I feel I'm making a big difference while educating others with and without differences. I too have learned a lot from these individuals and have to say that what I've learned has made me stronger as a person and prospective SLP. Working at the Havens and at Eric's house has been a truly rewarding experience for me.
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Yay! That's awesome to see such progress, I'm sure it's so rewarding to see them learning and picking up on the goals yall are administering! Do you notice a difference in the way the kids down there learn? It sounds a lot like the Harding TLC class. I hope they carry this over and continue to do these classes with them when yall leave! Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you feel that you are making progress!! Blessed is the correct title for this journal entry. How is doing therapy here in the United Sates different from doing therapy there in Africa? Does it require any more or less patience? Does it require any different skills? Keep up the good work everyone!!!
ReplyDeleteI know that seeing progress in the children makes everyone smile!! Are the session set up like TLC class at Harding? Are the songs the same everyday? Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of progress is being made. And I bet you are making a big difference in his life. Most ppl there will or have given up on him, so you are giving him motivation because you believe in him.
ReplyDeleteI am also working on yes/no questions with some of my young kiddos. It seems to be a prevalent goal with the Autism population! Glad to see you are making progress with your clients! Miss you all!
ReplyDeleteIt's so good to hear all the amazing things you are accomplishing with these children. Seeing these milestones being met is so awesome. What different teaching techniques do you use during therapy in Africa that you don't use in the states? And how was it working with a translator when doing therapy with Gwembe? Miss u guys!
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