Australia Internship Portfolio

Jessica ZakLuz All Ability Services

Therapy InternHaberfield, NSW Australia

Winter Term Study Abroad 2016

Table of Contents

I. Overview/Executive Summary…………………….……… 1

-Site information

- Internship Details

II. Learning Objectives………………………….……...……..2

III. Industry Specific Skills Demonstrated………………...….3

-Patience

-Listening Skills

-Adaptability

IV. Samples of work………………………………….…..4 & 5

I. Overview/Executive SummarySite InformationSite: Luz All Ability Services

Supervisor: Sara NoguieraLocation: Haberfield, NSW

Internship DetailsWorking at Luz All Ability Services was an amazing experience. At my site, I was asked to help aid the therapists when they needed help, help the children with reading and some physiotherapy, as well as help my supervisor organize the start up of the new program. There were 7 therapists

of all therapies on site that I worked with. They were all from Brazil and English was their second language. It was very different sometimes to have my coworkers not understand what I mean because their English was not the best, but they were learning and improving everyday. I

have contributed my ability to speak fluent English. Because all of my co-workers speak Portuguese, I have been able to make them practice their English more to better help them with

their English. It was very different, but eye opening. I never realized how speaking English came so naturally to me and trying to explain how one words works better in a sentence compared to

another one really challenged my way of thinking and I had to actually think about that.I also was able to incorporate therapy into playtime by going to the park or the swimming pool and letting the kids think that they are having fun, when really they were exercising. During my

internship, I worked with about ten children, but I spent a majority of my time with the home intensive care program. A pair of twins that were two years old suffered from cerebral palsy and we had to work with them to gain strength and fix their posture. One of the twins had a very mild case while the other had a very severe case. It was very fascinating seeing these two girls work. When they started to receive therapy, the girl with the severe case was almost like jello, but now

she is able to sit up on her own for short periods of time and she wants to get stronger. The majority of children I worked with at my internship had either autism or cerebral palsy, but there

were a few that had other disabilities. When I was not working with the children, I was my supervisor’s helping hand. Anything that she needed, I was there to help. I had to make a lot of documents that would help her be more organized. I created a patient information card, many

time tables to help keep the workers hours in check, information cards for the parents, help create videos and picture slide shows for advertising, and much more.

Because of this internship I learned how therapy works at a first hand basis. Due to HIPAA laws in the states, I was only allowed to observe therapy sessions, but in Australia I was able to

interact with the children and work with the therapists. It was an amazing experience and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to do this.

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II. Learning ObjectivesBefore we left for Australia, we had to come up with learning objectives that we wanted to achieve while at our internship.

1. I wanted to become more accustomed to the Australian culture as well as the Brazilian culture as I will be working with a group of Brazilian therapists.I have definitely become more accustomed to the Brazilian culture. I’ve gotten the chance to learn some Portuguese and learn more about their lifestyles. I have met quite a few people from Australia just from walking around and I really enjoyed talking with them. I’ve gotten better at walking on the left side of the sidewalk and other cultural differences as well.

2. I would like to gain more experience with working with children in my internship and motivate them to reach their goals.I have worked hands-on with children and gotten to really learn a lot about their lifestyles as well as learn more about their disabilities.3. I would like to learn and gain more skills related to the health field.I feel that I have gained many skills related to the health field. Not only in OT, but in many other therapies as well.

4. I would like to be able to be able to effectively work in an Australian workplace and be able to understand the similarities and differences compared to the United States.The people that I work with are very dedicated to their work, but unlike in the states, they are much more laid back. During our weekly meetings, we always have dinner and talk a little bit before we get to business, and I really like that. In the states, we get right down to business and don’t take time to ease into things.

5. I would like to be able to understand more about the therapy and healthcare industryI was able to realize that being an occupational therapist is truly what I want to be. I went to this internship hoping to finalize what I want to do with my career and being a pediatric occupational therapist what I want to do.

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III. Industry Specific Skills Demonstrated

Patience is a skill that everyone should have when working with people. Not only should a person be patient when dealing with patients not wanting to go along with the planned schedule, but it’s also being able to take a step back, breathe, and recuperate from stressful situations. One of the children at my internship would not know how to express her more negative emotions so she would pinch. I knew that this was her way of telling me that she was distressed, but sometimes it was very hard to keep my calm. The pinches were very painful, but I was always able to keep my calm because I closed my eyes and took a deep breath when I started to get frustrated. I feel that from previous jobs dealing with people and babysitting/nannying, I have gained a lot of patience throughout my life, but there is always room for improvement. Nobody will ever achieve perfect patience, and that’s completely normal. I just have to make sure that I am conscious of it and I will know when to take a step back and relax.

Listening skills are not as easy as they seem to be. When working with children, there are always so many things going on around you, that you have to make sure that you are focusing on the child or who ever demands your attention. There were times during my internship when my boss would tell me multiple things to do at a time and I would make sure that I listened to what she had to say and I repeated back her instructions to her to clarify. If I didn’t know what she said, I would ask her to repeat herself or to remind me because I would rather ask for a clarification than try to do it on my own and get it wrong. Listening skills are needed when dealing with anybody. I feel that I have improved my listening skills because there were many times when I was multitasking and my supervisor would ask me to do something and I would have to make sure that I was paying attention.

Adaptability is one of the most important skills I believe a therapist needs when working with anyone, young or old. There will be times when a full planned day is changed and they will just have to plan accordingly. My supervisor had a tentative schedule for the children and if they were fussy or wouldn’t do a specific activity, we would try to find new ways to gain their attention. Adaptability is needed, especially when working with children. There will be times when they just don’t want to do an activity or an exercise and instead of fighting with them, you have to be able to find another thing to do in order to get their attention. When I was working with the twins, we would sometimes ask them what they wanted to do and go along with that because we wanted to make sure that they were doing what they wanted or they would never want to do anything we wanted them to do.

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IV. Samples of Work

In the picture above, I am working with the twins on motor skills by coloring. We were also working on color matching and practicing sharing the colors they wanted.

In the picture above, I am helping a patient with cerebral palsy on the treadmill. He needs to work on the smoothness of his walk as well as controlling his jerking movements.

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In this picture, I am helping a patient with her reading and pronunciation as well being able to define simple objects, such as a car or a cat, etc.