Independent Component 2

LITERAL(a)  I, Amber Meek, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(b) My mentor, Cassandra Sanders-Holly, helped me complete my independent component two.

(c) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ged8kSTvzsDXn9v2lU16spEfqrFbAe2VBperQ1H9Xv0/edit(digital spreadsheet) (aka log of the 30 hours)

(d) For my independent component two, I did an additional thirty hours of my mentorship with Cassandra Sanders-Holly. I do my mentorship at Leaps and Bounds Pediatric Therapy in Norco. During my mentorship, I serve as a side-walker for the children riding the horse. These children have special needs, so I walk with them on one side of the horse to ensure that they don't fall off, and I assist them with anything they need help with. I help them get their helmet on, get their safety belt on, and I help walk them up the ramp. I also make sure they are always safe! For my mentorship, I also double as a horse handler. For a few sessions, I get to walk the horse and lead the session with the horse. I do whatever the therapist says, and it is fun to see different perspectives of things. I help get the horse ready by grooming and brushing them, and I make sure the saddle is put on properly for the patient. If anything were to happen, say the horse shies or spooks, I am responsible for keeping control of the horse. I ensure that the horse is safe and the patient will not be harmed.

INTERPRETIVE
Due to Hippotherapy being a form of therapy, there is a doctor to patient confidentiality that needs to be kept. I did not take any pictures with the patients, but here are a few pictures of patients who did allow pictures.

This is a patient who I work with. I work with her every Wednesday. It has been great watching her grow.

This is a shot of the arena where I volunteer at.

Here is a picture of a patient after a session. He was working on walking without his walker.

This is the owners daughter. She loves working with the horses and loves helping out with the kids.

APPLIED
This independent component helped me answer my Essential Question, because by working with my mentor, Cassie, I was able to obtain a lot of information. Cassie answered any and all questions that came up or that I had. Through my independent component two, I came up with two of my answers to my EQ. While working close with my mentor, the patient, and the horse, I was able to see how they all work so closely together. And I saw the connection to each. Without one of those three, hippotherapy would not be the same, and it would not be effective.

Updated Mentorship Log

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8EoEBm8As4OQ1RlRGR6dnlqb1E/edit?usp=drive_web

Three Column Chart: First Draft

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IjO6MGvGGO7dbv2gSHuPZ73Fj1UyQMZ1Vx8RhhrzomY/edit?usp=sharing

Senior Project and ESLRs

Content:


1. What ESLR have you excelled in most in your senior project?
I believe I have excelled most in the Effective user of Technology ESLR.

2. Please explain why you think you have excelled in this ESLR.
I think I have excelled in this ESLR because I have accessed and used Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and web resources to their full potential. I have also helped others when they needed help on something. I also had to learn how to use technology for my senior project.

3. Provide evidence from your senior project to support your claim (evidence is a photo of something you are doing, photo of something you made, etc).

 

Ginger and I know how to use a camera! Hey, that's technology at it's best...

This is a screen shot of my 10 minute presentation front slide. I used PowerPoint

This is a screen shot of my PowerPoint for my 30 minute presentation.

 

I also had to learn how to use new technology for my science experiment. I do not have any pictures of this because I was not allowed to take pictures, given it was during a therapy session.

Blog 18: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #3

1.  What is the most important benefit a child with special needs receives with equine assisted therapy?

2.  My third answer is: Hippotherapy offers postural improvement to the patient. 

 

3.  

• Good posture means your bones are properly aligned. 
•  Proper alignment is necessary for  muscles, joints and ligaments to work properly.
•  Internal organs are in the right position and can work more effectively with good posture.
• Bad posture can lead to serious health issues, including chronic back pain. 

 

4.  My mentor helped me justify this answer.  Also, a CBS news interview article i found online helped me. http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-3480_162-595438.html

 

5.  From here, I plan to look more into the positives and negatives of posture. I will look up how,exactly, improved posture is obtained on the horse by the patient. This will help me and others fully understand my third answer and ultimately give me a solid answer to my EQ.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview Questions

1)      What is the most important benefit a child with special needs receives through equine assisted therapy?

2)      How is the movement of the horse beneficial to the patient

3)      Are there different patterns you use and do with the horse during sessions? If so, what is the purpose of each one? How is it beneficial?

4)      How is trunk strength improved during Hippotherapy?

5)      How does Hippotherapy help improve posture?

6)      What do you do to help improve balance of a patient?

7)      How many times does Hippotherapy need to be repeated before it becomes effective?

8)      Does size of the horse play a factor? How much?

9)      Is there a maximum age for Hippotherapy?

10)  Do kids in your clinic also attend Hippotherapy?

11)  What are the main uses of the diaphragm? And how are they improved while doing Hippotherapy?

12)  Do you enjoy working as a physical therapist? Why? Did it take a lot of schooling?

13)  Do wish for anything in the future for leaps and bounds? Or Hippotherapy in general?

14)  How often does a horse get used for therapy? 

15)  Is it important to work with the kids off the horse as well? Why?

16)  Does the horse provide relaxation to the patient? If so, Why?

17)  Have you ever had to turn away a patient for any reason?

18)  When do you know when a patient is done with therapy? Will their improvements last forever?

19)  Does it affect the patient if more than one therapist works with them? (If you work with them one day and another therapist works with them another day, will it affect them at all?)

20)  Have there been cases where Hippotherapy just doesn’t help the patient? Or have there been cases where Hippotherapy stops helping the patient?

Third Interview

Interview with Casandra Sanders-Holly

1)      Q: What is the most important Benefit a child with special needs receives through   equine assisted therapy?

A: Trunk strength and postural improvement, balance training in a multidirectional manner with a high dosage of repetitions

2)      Q: How many patients do you see a week?

A: Is it hard keeping up with all of them! Between Hippotherapy and the clinic,     we see over 80 a week. Yes!

3)      Q: What are some factors to consider when doing Hippotherapy?

A: There are some children that are not appropriate for Hippotherapy.

4)      Q: Does age of a patient matter? 

A: The minimum age is 18 months.

5)      Q: Why do you use different horses for different patients?

A: Different horses have different movement, it depends what the child needs. Size and width matter too.

6)      Q: Does age or type of a horse play a factor? 

A: We use all ages and all types! It doesn't have to be a broken down old horse. We have 4 year olds!

7)      Q: What are the effects that Hippotherapy gives to a patient? 

A: Improved trunk strength, postural alignment and balance

8)      Q: Is it better to use a bareback pad rather than a saddle? 

A: Yes the movement then can transfer directly to the patient. Sometimes a saddle can help promote a different pelvic alignment for the rider.

9)      Q: Are there different techniques that you use for each patient? Or is it just one technique for all the patients? 

A: All different techniques, they are subtle, mostly it's the different horses.

10)  Q: Can you recommend any sources or books I can use for further research? 

A: The American Hippotherapy Association website has a lot of reading resources!