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HDFS 5910 Final Internship Paper
- 1. Running head: FINALINTERNSHIP PAPER Final Internship Paper Jordan Lowery University of Georgia
- 2. Running head: FINALINTERNSHIP PAPER Dr. Kozak HDFS 5910 December 12, 2016 Final Internship Paper I had the opportunity to complete a semester long internship with Dream Catcher Therapy Services. During my time, I completed 240 hours doing a variety of things for the clinic and the farm. I had the chance to participate in many types of therapy such as physical, speech, feeding, and hippotherapy. I learned so much about each therapy because I was so hands on during the sessions and was able to see the joys and struggles of being a therapist. The whole semester I was brainstorming on ideas for my project. I wanted to have something that would be useful and could help the children in their sessions. After some time, my supervisor and I came up with something that would benefit the farm and would be used during hippotherapy sessions. After much consideration, I built a horse teeter-totter to be used during hippotherapy sessions. My supervisor told me this is what she thought would be most useful for the farm. I was a little nervous at first because I didn’t know where to start and had never really used any type of power tool. I did a lot of research on Home Depot’s website to determine the proper wood and the best structure for the teeter-totter. Once I had a design and got into the shop and was shown what to do, the building aspect was easy and actually kind of fun. I helped clamp the wood together and drilled holes and screws to attach the supporting beams on the bottom. Once all the supporting beams were in tact, we finished the assembly by placing a PVC pipe through the middle so it could rock back and forth.
- 3. Running head: FINALINTERNSHIP PAPER A project like this seems out of the ordinary but it is very important and useful in these types of sessions. We have a lot of children who receive therapy because they have cerebral palsy and don’t have very much control of their bodies. Out on the farm, there are a lot of different obstacles that the children can go through during their sessions to improve different things such as posture, gait training, etc. The teeter-totter will mainly focus on building core strength and balance. It will help because of the way it rocks back and forth on the ground. The child on the horse will have to work different muscles when going up as opposed to when he/she will be going down the teeter-totter. I am excited to see how my project will be incorporated and how it will help multiple children during therapy sessions. I did not expect much going into my internship except just wanting to learn as much as I could in 15 weeks. I was able to learn a lot about different developmental milestones each child reaches depending on their disability. It was very interesting to me how every child had a different treatment plan and each child liked certain things. For example, one child I continually observed loved the ball pit and ran straight to it every time we started a session and another one I observed hated it because it scared her so much that she wouldn’t even go in the room where it was located. I can easily say I learned more than I ever expected in 15 weeks and was able to participate in so many sessions. My internship at Dream Catcher was such a wonderful experience and I am sad to say it has come to an end. I learned so many useful tips about being a great therapist. I am excited to use this knowledge throughout grad school and hopefully in my future career. I am so thankful for the opportunities given to me during my time as the intern and will
- 4. Running head: FINALINTERNSHIP PAPER always remember the people who welcomed me with open arms and made a lasting impression. References "Showing Results For "2x4"" Search Results For 2 X 4 at The Home Depot. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.