I stayed overnight at L’Arche International in Clinton, Iowa from October 13th-October 14th as my community service project. L’arche is a nonprofit organization that provides home, community, and and support for adults who have intellectual disabilities. During this time, my group and I participated in birthday celebrations, prayer, song, community service, and sharing life. This opportunity allowed me the chance to both learn and reflect about this marginalized population.
When we initially got to L’Arche, we were greeted by the student coordinator, Bethany. Bethany explained to us L'arche’s history and message, both of which I had no previous knowledge too. This opened my eyes to how little I know about resources for people who fall …show more content…
A member simply blended and thickened their food and handed it back. This was eye opening for me to realize that people with swallowing disorders still eat outside of clinic. I know this is silly to think about, but it is hard to realize that people can thicken and do things worked on in therapy outside of the session.
During the birthday celebration, song and dance was abundant. Members who were silent the entire night all of the sudden started singing church songs under their breath. This allowed me to notice the power of song and memorization. These church songs clearly had special meaning to these individuals who felt compelled to express themselves through song. In therapy, breakthroughs can be made by singing these meaningful songs and saying prayers that individuals value.
While members were at work, my group and I cleaned and organized one of the houses. At first, this was a little frustrating since we were not interacting with members. Once I got into the house though, this all changed. I was inspired seeing how much each member took pride on their house. It was warmly decorated with pictures of everyone having fun and sharing life. This again allowed me to reflect on the value of life. Everyone is capable of having fun, so despite different …show more content…
We were integrated into their family style dinner, conversation, and arguments. Every house member had a chore to do in preparation for the meal. These ranged from taking out the trash, to doing dishes, to setting the table. These again are all examples of the day to day things I do, but take for granted. Previous to this experience, I think I would have overlooked these functional activities, but now I realize the value that practicing these in therapy could have.
As a group, we visited some of the L’Arche members who are in the hospital for various health concerns. The light on these members faces’ when we walked in is something I will never forget. These people who were tired and sitting down when we walked in, all of the sudden became energized and full of life. It was interesting to hear about how eager they are to get out of the hospital and move back to L’arche. This was a good reminder about the value and reward of
When we initially got to L’Arche, we were greeted by the student coordinator, Bethany. Bethany explained to us L'arche’s history and message, both of which I had no previous knowledge too. This opened my eyes to how little I know about resources for people who fall …show more content…
A member simply blended and thickened their food and handed it back. This was eye opening for me to realize that people with swallowing disorders still eat outside of clinic. I know this is silly to think about, but it is hard to realize that people can thicken and do things worked on in therapy outside of the session.
During the birthday celebration, song and dance was abundant. Members who were silent the entire night all of the sudden started singing church songs under their breath. This allowed me to notice the power of song and memorization. These church songs clearly had special meaning to these individuals who felt compelled to express themselves through song. In therapy, breakthroughs can be made by singing these meaningful songs and saying prayers that individuals value.
While members were at work, my group and I cleaned and organized one of the houses. At first, this was a little frustrating since we were not interacting with members. Once I got into the house though, this all changed. I was inspired seeing how much each member took pride on their house. It was warmly decorated with pictures of everyone having fun and sharing life. This again allowed me to reflect on the value of life. Everyone is capable of having fun, so despite different …show more content…
We were integrated into their family style dinner, conversation, and arguments. Every house member had a chore to do in preparation for the meal. These ranged from taking out the trash, to doing dishes, to setting the table. These again are all examples of the day to day things I do, but take for granted. Previous to this experience, I think I would have overlooked these functional activities, but now I realize the value that practicing these in therapy could have.
As a group, we visited some of the L’Arche members who are in the hospital for various health concerns. The light on these members faces’ when we walked in is something I will never forget. These people who were tired and sitting down when we walked in, all of the sudden became energized and full of life. It was interesting to hear about how eager they are to get out of the hospital and move back to L’arche. This was a good reminder about the value and reward of