Goodbye Level I Fieldwork!

November 28, 2016
by Jessica

Fieldwork

Two weeks ago was my last day of fieldwork, and it was definitely bittersweet. I truly enjoyed my experience this past semester at College View School, a specialized school for children with severe disabilities within Glendale Unified School District. Even though I was a special education teacher before coming to OT school, I had never worked with children with severe physical and cognitive disabilities, so this was an amazing learning experience for me. My clinical instructor was very knowledgeable and very supportive, which helped me grow in my own clinical reasoning skills and interpersonal skills. What impressed me most about this site is how well-resourced this school was — they had a beautiful facility with spacious classrooms, accessible playground equipment, a wheelchair accessible indoor heated pool, and a therapy gym. It was great to see that this school district really invested in making this school great for their kids with the highest needs, which is something that is not always prioritized in other school districts.

I was also impressed by how the school really wanted to give the kids the same experiences that other kids in general education campuses get. They had “student of the month” assemblies, where kids from each classroom would get recognized for their growth and progress in front of the whole school and their families. You could see the pride in their parents’ faces, beaming smiles and endlessly snapping photos of their child on stage. They also had themed dress up days, i.e. ’80s day, Hawaiian day, where the kids and teachers would get decked out and compete to win a trophy and bragging rights. Those are just a few of the awesome things that happened at College View in my short time there, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and work with all of the wonderful children and staff.

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