Placement Students

To write about my experience as a placement student at CHILD, I asked myself where do I actually start but I guess I will start from the very first day. I came in really not knowing what to expect but I met a friendly, experienced and passionate Sandy who explained to me how the programs at CHILD are structured. I must say I was a little bit overwhelmed but I was assured by Sandy that with time I will not find it so overwhelming.

The first two weeks at CHILD I basically observed the programs being implemented, how data is collected and recorded. I shadowed different instructors working with different kids with different needs, behaviours, strengths and challenges.

For some kids the programs were more of self help like loading dishes, cleaning the table after snack or lunch. For some it was more of targeting their challenging behaviours for example learning to take turns during play without getting frustrated. Some programs were more academically inclined like pronouns, colours and alphabets. All in all I observed that at CHILD programs are implemented by trying to make the environment as natural as possible and through play.

The therapists at CHILD really welcomed me and made me feel at home and were always eager to help me  understand what they are doing and why they are doing it that way. I learned the importance of having the therapy done in a playful manner and natural setting for the fact that children love to play and they live in a natural setting so why not teach them through the way their everyday life is structured, honestly this really made sense to me.

Through some of the programs being implemented I learned some signs for different objects and actions like ball, car, train, walk and even computer. I have been taught receptive and expressive identification of colours, letters, numbers and alphabets theoretically but I got the opportunity of seeing how it is implemented. I actually was given the opportunity to implement it with a child under the watchful eye of the IA and I must say that I was really excited after that.  I was introduced to something new and that is the touch maths program and it is a really cool program and I am amazed by it.

Every week provided an opportunity for me to learn something new whether it is how to manage a child during a meltdown or how to redirect a child displaying some challenging behaviours during therapy session. All in all the staff at CHILD provided information, ideas, and their own view point on how to handle some situations and I really appreciated it.

Some of the exciting and rewarding experience I had were when I was given the opportunity to work with some children and implement some of their programs. Like the teach to play program to enable a child  play with objects functionally and at the same time work on the child social and communication skills by playing pop-up-pirates with another child that way teaching taking turns and encouraging speech.

The highlight of my entire experience was when Sandy gave me a challenging opportunity. At first I was really scared and skeptical but I surprised myself by what I did, after that day I realized within me that yes I can work in this field and make a difference in a child’s life, no matter what the challenging behaviour is, all I have to do is to put myself in the right frame of mind, and be mentally and physically prepared for whatever may come my way as one never know what to expect each day.

I really had a swell time getting to know therapists who are real mothers and ever ready to explain the data collection process, and who had faith in me and encouraged me to try out some programs, and who made Monday mornings easier and really taught me to always manage the behaviours before presenting any SD and to show love to the kids but at the same time to be firm and carry out my responsibility which is making sure that learning takes place. Thanks for allowing me to learn along with you and for listening to all my analysis and observations, you are true teachers. I learned the importance of having control and confidence. The wealth of knowledge is really appreciated and thanks to everyone for just being you and making me feel at home at CHILD, and for all the time you took to fill out all my paper work, I say a big thank you.

Ngozi Megwa

Placement Student