My field placement is at a JCC-Y in Brooklyn, New york. It is a non-sectarian Jewish community center that services its entire neighboring community. It is a not-for-profit organization that offers social, cultural, educational and recreational services to people of all ages. The populations that are serviced by this agency range not only in age but in religion, race, and culture as well.
In the mornings, I work with three different groups. One of the groups is a basic computer skills class meant for adults that have little to no knowledge of how to use a computer or the internet. The purpose of this group is to help adults who lack knowledge in this particular area to be better equipped to communicate with friends and loved ones as well as to learn how to get quick access to the media so they are able to be more aware as well as more independent.
Another group I work with is a Jewish current events group made up of well-elderly adults. In this group we discuss the most current and relevant news effecting the present Jewish community at large. I also work with another well-elderly adult group called Coping with Everyday Life in which we discuss various topics that are relevant to the trials and triumphs we often face in our everyday lives. The purpose of these two groups is to promote the importance of socialization in seniors. Socialization is an important contributor to mental health and is crucial in maintaining a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally.
In the afternoons I work with 2 afterschool programs. One of these programs is with first graders and the main focus is homework. These first graders all come from the Hebrew Language Academy. This is a charter school in which the second language is Hebrew and it has a close affiliation with my agency. The other afterschool program that I work with is called Omek. Omek is a Jewish education program meant for kindergarten to second graders. This program includes various aspects of the Jewish religion including prayer, weekly Torah portion, Jewish values etc.
The client that I think would be most appropriate for this semester project is a girl that I have been working individually with from the first grade after school program. A is a six year old girl that has been presenting behavioral problems as well as learning disabilities when it comes to doing her homework. In the past couple of months I have decided to focus special attention on A to see if individual help will make a difference in the quality of her homework. As much as A loved the individual attention, there was no apparent improvement in either her behavior or her homework production. After consciously observing A for a while now, I noticed signs of ADHD as well as a few learning disabilities that cause her to fall behind in her school work and not be able to keep up with the rest of her classmates.
Aside from her learning disabilities, I think her biggest obstacle is her difficulty of focusing on the task at hand. It is extremely difficult to help her with her homework because she is constantly distracted by anything and everything that surrounds her. She would rather play then do her homework, which is completely understandable but it also often keeps her from participating in many of the fun activities offered to those students that have already finished their homework. I would like to find a way to help A concentrate better when doing her homework. Even if individual attention is needed, I feel that it is important that A finds a way to focus her attention on the task at hand. This will hopefully facilitate A in learning that with certain structured behavior, homework completion is an attainable goal.
Batsheva, it must be a pleasure working with groups of healthy elderly and children who share your religion and culture. I hope you make an effort to also have social work experience outside your comfort zone and with clients who have some of the more interesting psychological and social problems that we encounter in this profession.
ReplyDeleteA sounds like a challenge. Behavioral interventions for ADHD have not been as consistently successful as medication. You might look into bio-feedback and meditation, and addressing the homework in short chunks, varying it with a game that she likes, maybe something physical like Simon Says.