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Volunteer Physio in Vietnam

9/13/2015

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I had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam in February 2015 to volunteer as a physio at a government run orphanage in Ba Vi, Vietnam. I arranged the trip with VIVPS/Helping Hands. They are a group run by an Australian that places volunteers at the orphanage and assists with orientation, living arrangements, etc. while you are there.

The Ba Vi Centre houses 120 children with severe disabilities. The centre provides basic food and shelter, but no real rehabilitation services are available for the children.

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VIVPS has been placing volunteers (physio and others) at BA Vi for the past 2 years. There is now a Rehab room, covered outdoor play areas for all the children, a covered playground, 2 teachers (one regular and one for the blind), full time rehab assistants, as well as a stream of volunteers to provide rehab, training of rehab assistants and much needed love and interaction for the children.

My two weeks were spent working one on one with a dozen children, as well as training the Rehab assistant with activities to carry on after I left. The assistant had no formal training, no previous experience and little English. That made for some interesting experiences.

It was amazing to see how much a child could learn and how much progress could be made in a very short time. Some of these children had experienced so little movement, but once they began moving, rolling and sitting up, the gains happened quickly.


It is really hard to describe the conditions that these children live in. The children are fed a watery rice mixture with a few vegetables (and occasionally meat) thrown in, three times a day. They have their diaper changed 3 times a day. They are given a bath once every 2 weeks. They are not given liquids to drink, as this may make them need more frequent diaper changes, and they only get 3. Many children are left lying on their backs in their cribs all day.They may be sat up in a chair where they are then required to sit for most of the day. They are not allowed to go outside in the sun: it might make them sick. They are not allowed to go outside if it's cold: it might make them sick. The children are fed lying on their backs, as it's faster to feed them this way.
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There are too many highlights to mention here, but I know that I will never be the same person that I was before this trip. It was amazing to be able to give the gift of mobility to these children. The smiles on their faces as they learned new skills was their gift back to me. If you've ever thought of stepping out of your comfort zone and "having an adventure", I'd highly recommend a working holiday. I'm already itching to go back. If you'd like more information, please contact me through the website. Maybe we could go together!

Check out their website here: http://www.vietnamvolunteer.org/
and their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/VIVPS?fref=ts
                                                                                                                                                 Angela
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Just Right Challenge

9/13/2015

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I often encourage parents and teachers that work with children with gross motor challenges to provide a “Just Right Challenge”. What exactly does that mean? It is asking the child to perform an activity that is just slightly harder than what they can already do.

A child learns new skills or improves on skills they already have, by trying something harder. If they keep doing an already mastered activity over and over, they will not progress their skills. If they attempt an activity that is way beyond what they are physically capable of, they may become frustrated, decide it is “too hard” and stop attempting the new task.

What does this look like for you, the adult? You need to be a bit of a detective. You need to observe the child to see “what can they do”? Then you need to decide “what is the next small step that they have the ability to learn or accomplish?” This could mean you decrease the amount of physical support that you offer them: holding one hand on a balance beam instead of two; or holding their trunk while they go up a playground climber but no longer helping them place their feet on the next rung. The difficult part is knowing how much can I let go without compromising their safety. 

The next step could also be to help progress a skill. If your child holds their hands close together, palms up and close to chest in preparation to catch, could you show them how to hold their hands further apart and slightly away from their chest? You may need to soften your throw to assist in their success.

Your child may benefit from learning small pieces or steps of an activity before attempting to put all the pieces together. Once the child can do all or most of the steps, they will have an easier time sequencing all the steps together. It is normal for a child to easily perform some steps but need more help with others in the same activity.

Your job is to help when they need it and let them be independent with what they have mastered. This will lead to success and a feeling of accomplishment, rather than frustration and failure. Now go out and play!


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