HDFS 5910 Final Internship Paper

Running head: FINAL INTERNSHIP PAPER

Final Internship Paper

Jordan Lowery

University of Georgia


Dr. Kozak

HDFS 5910

December 12, 2016

Final Internship Paper

I had the opportunity to complete a semester long internship with Dream Catcher

Therapy Services. During my time, I completed 240 hours doing a variety of things for the

clinic and the farm. I had the chance to participate in many types of therapy such as

physical, speech, feeding, and hippotherapy. I learned so much about each therapy because

I was so hands on during the sessions and was able to see the joys and struggles of being a

therapist. The whole semester I was brainstorming on ideas for my project. I wanted to

have something that would be useful and could help the children in their sessions. After

some time, my supervisor and I came up with something that would benefit the farm and

would be used during hippotherapy sessions.

After much consideration, I built a horse teeter-totter to be used during

hippotherapy sessions. My supervisor told me this is what she thought would be most

useful for the farm. I was a little nervous at first because I didn’t know where to start and

had never really used any type of power tool. I did a lot of research on Home Depot’s

website to determine the proper wood and the best structure for the teeter-totter. Once I

had a design and got into the shop and was shown what to do, the building aspect was easy

and actually kind of fun. I helped clamp the wood together and drilled holes and screws to

attach the supporting beams on the bottom. Once all the supporting beams were in tact, we

finished the assembly by placing a PVC pipe through the middle so it could rock back and

forth.


A project like this seems out of the ordinary but it is very important and useful in

these types of sessions. We have a lot of children who receive therapy because they have

cerebral palsy and don’t have very much control of their bodies. Out on the farm, there are

a lot of different obstacles that the children can go through during their sessions to

improve different things such as posture, gait training, etc. The teeter-totter will mainly

focus on building core strength and balance. It will help because of the way it rocks back

and forth on the ground. The child on the horse will have to work different muscles when

going up as opposed to when he/she will be going down the teeter-totter. I am excited to

see how my project will be incorporated and how it will help multiple children during

therapy sessions.

I did not expect much going into my internship except just wanting to learn as much

as I could in 15 weeks. I was able to learn a lot about different developmental milestones

each child reaches depending on their disability. It was very interesting to me how every

child had a different treatment plan and each child liked certain things. For example, one

child I continually observed loved the ball pit and ran straight to it every time we started a

session and another one I observed hated it because it scared her so much that she

wouldn’t even go in the room where it was located. I can easily say I learned more than I

ever expected in 15 weeks and was able to participate in so many sessions.

My internship at Dream Catcher was such a wonderful experience and I am sad to

say it has come to an end. I learned so many useful tips about being a great therapist. I am

excited to use this knowledge throughout grad school and hopefully in my future career. I

am so thankful for the opportunities given to me during my time as the intern and will


always remember the people who welcomed me with open arms and made a lasting

impression.

References

"Showing Results For "2x4"" Search Results For 2 X 4 at The Home Depot. N.p., n.d. Web. 11

Dec. 2016.

HDFS 5910 Final Internship Paper

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