April 29, 2019

        

Today was our second to last day in Antigua and we continued working at Las Obras and hosting a health fair in the afternoon. Each day the students have felt more comfortable jumping into treatments and assisting with wheelchair modifications, and it shows in the consistent collaboration with the local physical therapists. Each day we are able to rotate through different areas in order to see a different population and work with different therapists, which provides the opportunity to learn and benefit from different skill sets and purposes for interventions. Today was especially unique in that one student, Olivia DeSena presented an inservice presentation on positioning for children to promote optimal posture, interaction, feeding and how to integrate positioning into daily care. The therapists and our students were able to practice and develop solutions to common positioning problems.

In the afternoon we headed to Brillo de Sol, an inclusive school started by a local mom who saw a need for improved education for children with disabilities. We hosted our health fair and met with over 45 people to discuss blood pressure, nutrition, biomechanics, hygiene and infant health. The chance to meet and talk with members of the local community about simple ways to improve overall health and wellness has been a great part of this trip. Some of the especially valuable moments are the times when we get to watch families encourage each other to integrate the habits or practices we discuss. Overall, we are surprised to have only one day left after a trip that has involved so many experiences and are excited to integrate what we've learned in our future practice.