PUPPETS!!!

Kids on the Block! Happy March 29th!!

Last class period Dr. Navar taught us how to be puppeteers! This was a fun class. Dr. Navar brought in a few of the actual puppets from Kids on the Block, and we were able to learn how to hold and move the puppets. We watched a video about the proper form and movement. This is the official Kids on the Block website: http://www.kotb.com/. The Kids on the Block go around to different schools (mostly elementary) and they teach about different disabilities. They sing songs and allow kids to ask questions to the puppets who have those different disabilities. This is an AWESOME program! I wish that I had it when I was in school :}

Here are some of the puppets!

After Dr. Navar was done with her presentation and we had stopped playing with the puppets. We were asked to get into our groups, brainstorm different kinds of puppets and plan an activity to teach 5-8 year olds about domestic violence, perform a multigeneraltional activity, or reach out to young teens with eating disorders.

There was a large list of the different kinds of puppets: animals, finger, stick, bags, sock, marionettes, shadow, and many more.

My group had the first option of teaching 5-8 year olds about domestic violence. We decided that for this topic it might be better to have simple puppets so as not to distract the children because this is a very important topic to talk about. We thought that the puppets should come together at recess and one would be really tired because he/she stayed up all night because his/her parents were fighting all night. The other puppet would say that his parents never did that; he/she would mention that they did fight sometimes, but one or both would always appologise after. Then we thought that either another "teacher" puppet would come up and start talking about what is right and what can be done or just one of the childrens real teachers could.

As a class we also talked about how puppets can be a very good way to reach out to patients who may have been sexually abused because the patient might not feel comfortable talking face to face with another person about his or her experience. They may, however, open up more to a puppet.

Thanks a lot!

~Sarah

Innovation in Life's Recreation (part 2)

Happy March 22!
Sorry about the lateness you'all; I was relaxing on SPRING BREAK!! (well; back to school)

The last groups to present in class were on Hiking and Rock climbing and on Hunting and Fishing.
The hiking and rock climbing group taught us about the different innovative equipment used for people who are unable to use their legs or their eyes. There are special wheelchairs used for rough terrain such as the .

When rock climbing there is something called the ascender that allows a person to climb up a rope without sliding back down.

I was fascinated to learn about the Brain Port (NEI); this devise allows s person who is blind to see by way of their tongue!! How insane is that?! :}

In this way, a person who is blind is able to rock climb by themselves without someone telling them what is in front of them! INNOVATION IS SO COOL!

The next group, discussed hunting and fishing. There are a lot of adaptations for the equipment such as arm stabilizers and holders for wheelchairs.

This is a picture of a strong arm that helps a person cast and hold a fishing pole with ease. There is also

a power fishing caster for people who might not be able to hold, grasp, or move their body to cast the line into the water.

When it comes to hunting, there are similar equipment mechanisms for stabilization but there are also tree stands made for people who have disabilities requiring them to be in wheelchairs.

The groups were very informative about regulations required for hunting and fishing and about the safety precautions needed when rock climbing.

In the last part of class, we watched two amazing and inspiring videos about people overcoming their disabilities and societies view of their disability. The first video was Beyond the Barriers by Eric Perlman and Mark Wellman. This video was about three men who each had a different disability and went rock climbing together. They worked as a team helping each other by being the eyes, feet, and strength of each other. The video also followed a young girl who was a body boarder, and man who found his freedom in scuba diving, and another man who found joy in para sailing. By watching this, I was able to see the courage, inspiration, and perserverance that people who have disabilities have. http://www.nolimitstahoe.com/videos/beyond.htm
The other video was Not on the Sidelines; this video focused on organized sports that people with disabilities can join and be apart of like soccer, hockey, and tennis. The people in the video spoke about how they felt after their accident and what ways they were able to overcome their feelings over their new disability. Everyone in the video had a very positive view on their condition and one of their main topics was that "it isn't the end of the world" and that a person is only restricted by society and his or her own views or mind set. http://www.fanlight.com/catalog/films/280_nos.php

Thanks guys!
~Sarah

Innovation In Life's Recreation

Happy March 8th Everyone!

Last week in class we had four presentations on fun activities and the new innovative equipment that has come out.
The first group was Boating and Kayaking. The very first action that they had us preform was to rearrange our tables so that they were all facing the front of the classroom lengthwise, and then they had us sit on top of them! We were supposed to be pretending that we were kayaking. :} This was fun and just something new to get us all out of the everyday classroom presence that we have during the week. During the presentation, I learned that there are a few different kinds of kayaks such as a one person covered or top, double, wide and narrow, and different specialty kayaks. The presenters also talked about having partners with people who may have a server mental disability or vision impairment.
Websites: http://www.kayakhelp.com/kayaking-strokes.php and http://www.adaptivepaddling.org/book.htm
The group also covered adaptive sailing. This was completely new to me! There are sail boats that are made for only one person to manage that are actually really cute and small. These boats are designed for people with disabilities; the joystick that is used to control the movements of the boat is made to be moved with any part of the body be it the mouth, foot, or chin. These dinghies are specially made so that it cannot tip over! How cool is this! AND I learned that there was a new "joystick" made where the boat's movements are controlled through breathing in and out of a specially designed pole used to automatically control the rutter by a person's breath. That is ingenious!! :}
This is a youtube video that shows this amazing innovation:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hosNDp6bIk
My favorite part of the presentation was the very end when we pretended to kayak while listening to "Just Around the Riverbend" from Pocahontas!! :}

The second group was my group! We talked about adaptive horseback riding. There has been a lot of research done on how being with, caring for, and riding horses helps to increase muscle strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. We also taught the class how to "Horse Whisper!" We taught the sweet spots on a horse and how to communicate and bond with the horse, but the best part was that we brought in stuffed animal horses for everyone in the class to practice on!! :}

The next group taught the class about the adaptive equipment used with art. A lot of the equipment were items that I had seen or heard about from other places, but one thing that did stand out to me was the adaptive mouth paint brush. I had heard and even seen these before, but I did not know that the section placed in the mouth was curved to fit perfectly into the artists mouth. A technique that was shone in a youtube video used with people who paint while having a visual impairment was that the artist would first paint an outline of the picture with paint that raised. Then the artist would be able to paint with whatever colors he or she wanted.
This is the link to the youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P84bfFpVWE
The group also talked about museums that allowed for people who may have visual impairments.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art are two places that provide  braille labels, large-print booklets, verbal imaging tours, and even have art pieces that are able to be touched. I think that these provisions are very important to have, but many don't even think of these simple things.

The last group to present taught about High Ropes Courses and the adaptive equipment that is used for people who have disabilities. I learned that this is not something that is new, and that the equipment used is simply adding ramps and pulley systems. There are some adaptive accessible chairs and harnesses that are used as well. The group was able to find personal stories of how one organization called Adventure Education was able to help in the lives of people who have disabilities: 

“While I was at AE I realized that it is okay to trust others, and that I can rely on other people than myself. I've never really been able to do that so I couldn't communicate my emotions. Now that I'm home I don't put on the mask that I wore constantly. I am not afraid of people seeing me be weak. They [AE] showed me that we are all weak at some point and that we do need the ability to be honest about what’s hurting us. Now that I know how to talk to others about my troubles I am encouraging my friends and family to do the same. My friends/family and I have never been so close and it’s helped me with all of my other problems. Thank you sooo much AE!!" – Britney

The other important things that struck me were that many of the people who were able to participate in the high ropes courses said many times that they would forget about their disability or that it would be left on the ground with their wheelchair. This is something that makes me excited to be a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist!

~Sarah