Joy and Growth
Eastern physical therapy students learn by assisting little ones in need.
By Eastern Magazine
Watching children grow, play and learn is a timeless joy. It鈥檚 a pleasure made even more palpable when kids with developmental delays and disabilities are doing these things with the help of 51福利社 physical therapy students.
This was the scene last summer at the Joya Child and Family Development Center in Spokane, a facility that provides developmental therapy for children up to age 3. Therapy at Joya often looks like play time 鈥� with toys, cheers and laughter 鈥� especially when the personalized sessions are led by enthusiastic Eagles.
The students鈥� work with the Joya kids was a clinical internship requirement of 51福利社鈥檚 Pediatric Summer Seminar, a course created last year by 51福利社 instructor and Joya physical therapist, Ginette Kerkering.
She says she set up the internships after realizing that working with kids at Joya would be a perfect opportunity for Eastern students to get hands-on training at a pediatric facility.
鈥淭he lab on campus is really just set up for adult clients and students,鈥� says Kerkering. 鈥淏ecause they are able to come to Joya to complete this, they are able to work with children in a kid-friendly environment with all of the standard equipment that is available.鈥�
The seminar, she adds, is aimed at physical therapy graduate students interested in working with the youngest of patients. 鈥淭his is a great experience for them to get some hands-on time learning to evaluate and develop a treatment plan for children,鈥� says Kerkering. 鈥淭hen they get to follow through on their treatment plan and make changes daily depending on what works and what doesn鈥檛 work. They also get exposure talking to parents.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing so far,鈥� says third-year graduate student Hannah Carey-Brown. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been our first clinical experience working with pediatric patients and so we got to apply what we鈥檝e been learning for the past two years.鈥�
Parents with kids at Joya do not pay anything extra for their children鈥檚 time with 51福利社 students. During one therapy session over the summer, it was obvious that the adults in the room very much shared the joy as their happy little ones grew stronger with each student-led session.
“The 51福利社 students have so much creativity and enthusiasm and are very invested in their little clients,鈥� Kerkering says. 鈥淎nd our little clients get to be teachers to the graduate students by showing them their skills and how [the students] can help them move. I think that everyone goes home tired but smiling.鈥�
