Sample Practicum Reflection

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This was the first opportunity I had to work with people with different disabilities. First, I was very nervous and did not know what to expect. On the one hand, I was excited that I was going to put all that I had learned in class into practice, on the other hand, I was a little anxious about how I was going to perform and communicate with them.

My one-week practicum, which lasted from October 23rd-29th 2016, was at group home of Elmwood Residences Inc. Elmwood residences are home for the physically and intellectually disabled. There are about 12 group homes under Elmwood Residences Inc. and in each home, there are 5-6 individuals. The staff provides help and take care of the needs of the individuals in each group home. Most of the residents
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There are only two support worker in each group home at a time except in the night shift it is only one. They told me that there are five residents in this home and four of them are fully dependent on us and uses a wheelchair for mobility. All of them suffered from cerebral palsy, cortical blindness, speech impairment and physical disabled. We started off by waking up the residents. Support worker told me about each resident about how to change their clothes, how to do personal care and how to use the transfer lifts and machines to transfer them to the wheelchair. Each resident’s wheelchair was different according to their needs. Support worker also told me how to use the wheelchair. So, I assisted the worker in changing the clothes, transferring them and providing them personal care (changing the diaper, shaving them etc.). It was my very first experience and I find it very difficult in performing those tasks. Whenever I was in doubt or having trouble in completing the task I always ask the workers for help. Support worker told me about the locations of particular things in the rooms of individuals like shirts, pants, bed sheets, products for bathing and personal care etc. while we were helping residents in getting ready the another support worker was preparing the breakfast for the residents. The direct support worker told me that everything from getting them up and until bedtime in the night …show more content…
I learned to pay attention to my participant’s non-verbal communication, their moods, their strengths, their weaknesses and I learned about teamwork. Every day I had to wash my hands and changed gloves after every resident. I also took necessary measures to ensure the safety of the residents while they were in the lifts or in the wheelchairs. Most importantly we always had to ensure the privacy of the residents while they were being changed. Personal care was hectic but I got to appreciate the code of conduct with respect to working with people with disabilities. I also got to appreciate codes of ethics and person-centered planning. As all of the residents were non-verbal, unable to move and very calm most of the time, so I did not get to deal with challenging behaviours and unable to achieve my one goal. I am thinking to do my next practicum at a group home with an independent and verbal

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