Last Session

November 30, 2012
by Ricky

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

My last day of fieldwork was this past Wednesday. For those of you who caught my post, “First Session,” from a few weeks back, I have continued to work with the same child. Fortunately, things have become so much easier. I’m learning to adapt, on the spot, to meet the child’s unique needs and interests on the given day — always focusing on goals and functional performance, of course. Things are much less awkward, but I still get nervous and feel unprepared before each session. My fieldwork educator has been very supportive and reassures that she still feels unprepared at times. And really, things always end up going a lot better than expected. It’s only been a few weeks, but I definitely see improvement in both my client and my therapeutic self. I’m learning to appreciate that patience is a very strong/important trait for me. My client would become easily frustrated and tantrum. Keeping a cool head and providing simple cues, very calmly and soothingly, really helped me cultivate an environment of tranquility for everyone. I’m happy to report that tantrums ceased after the first few sessions and that my client has become more tolerating of certain situations. Further, now that I am more comfortable, I have become more playful — and as I become more playful, I become more comfortable (oh what a terrible vicious cycle, haha!). I’m really grateful for this experience, and especially grateful to my client and his parents for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to practice being an OT . . . and for letting me sing. 😊

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