During my fieldwork experience at Easter Seals, I had the opportunity to work with children age 6-16 in the North Penn
School District. There, I would go into classrooms and help children of varying diagnoses (autism, ADHD, Tourette's, PDD,
etc.) with classroom skills such as handwriting, cutting and pasting, and computer skills. I utilized the Bruininks-Oseretsky
Test of Motor Proficiency, the VMI, and clinical observation skills to develop a treatment plan for the children. I learned
that clinical observation skills are a must in any therapeutic setting and learned to develop those skills through the fieldwork
experience.
I also did some sensory integration therapy at the Easter Seals, working with a young boy and his mother. Through this
experience I learned the impact of parents on therapy.
I had the opportunity to also go into a middle school life skills classroom and work with a young girl with Rett's Syndrome.
This was a stressful experience because at times it felt like I was not helping her. But there were days when she would be
one top of it, and it was then that I felt the services I was providing were benefiting her.
I learned to write IEP's, daily progress notes, and attend IEP meetings. I also had the opportunity to meet with teachers
and parents and discuss the child's progress. Through this fieldwork experience I learned that I would one day like to become
a pediatric occupational therapist, however, I feel that I would not be as successful in this area as an entry level therapist
because of my lack of experience and confidence.
