So, I volunteer at an impoverished children´s hospital daily. This week, being my first, has been one of observation, evaluation, and introduction. I was placed here to do art with the c
hildren, but there are a lot of children there as you can imagine. Initially I was helping with the infants, interacting with them since the only stimulation they get is from staring at the tv that remains on at all times. They have very few toys and they all have some mental disability and or physical disability. I also help feed them lunch.
Because the children are so young and for the most part unable to participate in art activities, I have been seeking out the older children. The doctor and I decided on 8 patients ages 13 to 20 and one 35yr old, that I will plan to work with individually as I see fit. Wednesday I began my ¨evaluations¨of them where I basically asked them to complete several tasks to get an idea of what their art making capabilities are. This means I need to communicate these tasks in Spanish... draw a circle, rectangle, triangle... do your name, paint, look (I take out watercolors and demonstrate the process of wetting the brush and aquiring the paint). Then we move onto finger paints where I demontrate again and finally modeling clay.
For the most part, all of the patients did excellently. They express joy when using the materials. I did make a note that severl of the patients did not take direction from me well. I would ask them something and they would not do it. Upon speaking with Amy about my directions, it turns out that
I was not totally clear seeing as I was pronoucing some things totally wrong. Amy replied ¨those poor children!¨Where I thought they were not taking direction well.. in actuality I was not giving direction well! Well.. thats what happens when you ask a minimal spanish speaking girl to evaluate.
Today Iris came to the hospital to help me look through the medical records of the 8 patients and translate for me so I could have a better understanding of their challenges. I was not too surprised but even so, hearing that a child was abandoned and has been living at the hospital for the last 14 years is heartbreaking. My oldest patient has been living at the hospital since 1985 (the year I was born!). Several of the patients have Cerebral Palsy where they are unable to use the bottom half of their body. One is restrained to a bed, another to a wheel chair. One has an ¨organic personality disorder¨as result of having a concussion at an early age. One girl has ¨organic psychosis¨due to epilepsy. For example, she believes God is punishing her and she hears the devil tell her she is going to have a seizure before it happens. While hearing this record being read to me, I just kept thinking of God´s grace and how I hope I can be a vehicle for it. It did not come as surprise to me that one of the boys has behavior problems, but I learned today that he has an ¨organic mental disorder¨caused by a brain lesion. A previous evaluation in his record stated that he ¨thinks in images.¨ HELLO ART THERAPY! In more than one record, a note was made of art (music, dance, visual) that the client has engaged in.
So more than making the diagnoses, the doctors who created these records gave me a deeper inside to these individuals. And, for the most part, they noted how ART THERAPY could be beneficial to them. So this is where I come in. I am motivated, eager, and of course a little nervous about my 3 weeks doing art with these 8 amazing individuals. I know they will have a lot to teach me as God is already teaching me so much through this experience.
hildren, but there are a lot of children there as you can imagine. Initially I was helping with the infants, interacting with them since the only stimulation they get is from staring at the tv that remains on at all times. They have very few toys and they all have some mental disability and or physical disability. I also help feed them lunch.Because the children are so young and for the most part unable to participate in art activities, I have been seeking out the older children. The doctor and I decided on 8 patients ages 13 to 20 and one 35yr old, that I will plan to work with individually as I see fit. Wednesday I began my ¨evaluations¨of them where I basically asked them to complete several tasks to get an idea of what their art making capabilities are. This means I need to communicate these tasks in Spanish... draw a circle, rectangle, triangle... do your name, paint, look (I take out watercolors and demonstrate the process of wetting the brush and aquiring the paint). Then we move onto finger paints where I demontrate again and finally modeling clay.
For the most part, all of the patients did excellently. They express joy when using the materials. I did make a note that severl of the patients did not take direction from me well. I would ask them something and they would not do it. Upon speaking with Amy about my directions, it turns out that
I was not totally clear seeing as I was pronoucing some things totally wrong. Amy replied ¨those poor children!¨Where I thought they were not taking direction well.. in actuality I was not giving direction well! Well.. thats what happens when you ask a minimal spanish speaking girl to evaluate.Today Iris came to the hospital to help me look through the medical records of the 8 patients and translate for me so I could have a better understanding of their challenges. I was not too surprised but even so, hearing that a child was abandoned and has been living at the hospital for the last 14 years is heartbreaking. My oldest patient has been living at the hospital since 1985 (the year I was born!). Several of the patients have Cerebral Palsy where they are unable to use the bottom half of their body. One is restrained to a bed, another to a wheel chair. One has an ¨organic personality disorder¨as result of having a concussion at an early age. One girl has ¨organic psychosis¨due to epilepsy. For example, she believes God is punishing her and she hears the devil tell her she is going to have a seizure before it happens. While hearing this record being read to me, I just kept thinking of God´s grace and how I hope I can be a vehicle for it. It did not come as surprise to me that one of the boys has behavior problems, but I learned today that he has an ¨organic mental disorder¨caused by a brain lesion. A previous evaluation in his record stated that he ¨thinks in images.¨ HELLO ART THERAPY! In more than one record, a note was made of art (music, dance, visual) that the client has engaged in.
So more than making the diagnoses, the doctors who created these records gave me a deeper inside to these individuals. And, for the most part, they noted how ART THERAPY could be beneficial to them. So this is where I come in. I am motivated, eager, and of course a little nervous about my 3 weeks doing art with these 8 amazing individuals. I know they will have a lot to teach me as God is already teaching me so much through this experience.
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