TEAMworks Guatemala - Day 7 - Thursday, May 19, 2016

May 20, 2016

Day 2 Anini! And, they were still Dancing..yeah!

Day 2 at Anini did not disappoint! We started off in room one with
younger, more involved kiddos. We thought it would be fun to start
with singing and a dance party! Everyone grabbed a partner, and we
sang the Hokey Pokey and The Wheels on the Bus! Sophie and Katie
teamed up to work with John who was in a room by himself. They worked
on positioning and social language and communication through fun
songs! They also gave the nannies strategies for improved positioning
while in bed. While Craig worked on getting a foot plate for Byron,
Alyssa and Cassie worked on visual scanning, noise localizations, and
cervical strength. Cassie also modified some benik material to make
splints for his little hands. Craig and Cassie also had time to
snuggle with sweet Sophia. Craig has noticed major improvement from
last year in regards to her demeanor, positioning, and breathing.
Paige and Sophie worked with each kid on communication and
stimulation; they also talked to the nannies about how to incorporate
language stimulation in every day activities. Ashley spent her time
dancing with Sebastian and taking photos of everyone. Leo worked up a
sweat by wrangling up Gabriel, a sweet spunky little boy. Leo is every
kids favorite person to be with! We then met all the kids on the
playground and played a balloon toss game with water balloons and
towels. Everyone at one point got hit by a water balloon! By the time
we finished our game, our friend Claudia showed up with her twin boys
who we had met at Diana's clinic. She brought us yummy refreshments
which we were so thankful for! Craig got to work on their new
wheelchairs, and he set up their kidwalk gait trainer. Pablo looked so
awesome walking in the kidwalk! Alyssa was able to find better braces
for them as well. Katie, Sophie, and Paige worked with Freddy,
Daniella, and Lupita on pretend play, categorization, and requesting
items. Alyssa solved the mystery of Daniel's missing braces and the
cause of Freddy's blisters on his feet. Somehow Freddy was wearing
Daniel's braces, so Alyssa fit Freddy for his very own braces! We
broke for a quick lunch at a pollo restaurant before heading back for
our last couple hours at Anini. We are so thankful for the nannies in
each room and told them our appreciation as well as gave them gifts.
Katie and Cassie worked with a room of older boys who were more
dependent. The nannies expressed concerns over sensory related
behaviors and aggression. They were able to give the nannies sensory
strategies for calming and body awareness. They worked with Rene who
after 5 minutes of deep pressure, relaxed into Katie's arms. They also
measured him for a benik compression vest. It was very encouraging to
us to see the nannies already implementing some of the strategies such as
joint compressions and deep pressure input. Paige and Sophie educated
the nannies in house 4 and 6 on language and communication. They also
schemed with Diana and Craig on creating a wheelchair swing and a
sensory room on site.