Hello friends! Glad to finally be back after my Spring Break! It was such a sad, lonely week without being at SARRC, but I was able to pull through (even being a bit sick in the process). With my personal issues aside, let's get to the meat of what I did this week.
On the Wednesday back, I got to witness my first diagnostic session up close with a client that was only three years old. The room was a bit small, but enough for me, the adviser, the parent, and the child to roam around in. Here, they tested the child with the Mullen and the ADOS (which I talked in my Week 3 post), where they first tried to gauge his cognitive level and then second to see if he tests for autism (or is in the autism spectrum). Unfortunately for me, this child was very uncooperative, which led to a bunch of tantrums and many breaks in between the test, where he enjoyed playing with trains and cars.
Here is the diagnosis room (in weird angles):
I wish I could've taken pictures during the sessions, but that's a big no-no and super illegal, so I resorted to taking pictures of the room. There was a lot of testing done, regarding visual reception and motor skills for the Mullen. The majority of it was trying to see if the child would be able to perform the tasks that the adviser would be doing, like putting money in a piggy bank, stacking blocks, counting blocks, separating objects into categories, etc. In this case, however, it was hard to get the child to focus because he was really tired. I mean, waking up at 6:30 in the morning just to perform tests that is administered by strangers that I don't know, does not sound like a very enjoyable time. An for the Mullen test, we moved on to the ADOS (the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule).
Here is a packet of what the ADOS Module looked like: (sorry for the blurriness)
We had to use the Module 2 version because the child was capable of Flexible speech (or Phrase speech), which is a word used to describe a child's ability to form coherent phrases or sentences rather than just short words or random sounds. For this test, it was a lot of playing pretend. On the right side of the ADOS cover, there is a list of tests that have to be performed for the child to complete the diagnostic session (unfortunately you can't see it). It's a detailed list that has categories like: Construction task, Make-Believe play, Conversation, Demonstration task, Birthday Party, Response to name, etc. The second picture shows the scoring guidelines after the test has been completed, which then the adviser can communicate to the parents whether the child might have autism (or is in the spectrum), and may refer their child to some programs for treatment.
That was the really big thing from my first day back. On Thursday, this was where the real work was done. It's actually a good thing I love to organize because what came next was very intense.
For my mission, it was my job to input the "Early Intervention" information from a patient's file into an Excel spreadsheet, so that we have a clear list of the clients that had reached out for treatments or other programs that we don't have information on. This spreadsheet helps track the progress of said treatments so that we can see if the child has been improving. Though it was repetitive, the job was really easy mentally, but very physically taxing. Since my office was away from the client shelves, I had to walk back in forth to get the files, input the info, and return it back to the proper spot (yes, they were organized by specific numbers). Although the task seemed daunting at first, I had a little fun with it and made a little competition for myself, trying to see how many I can get in an hour (Probably like 8 clients files an hour. I'm so slow!!).
Here is what the shelves looked like:
Oh and the shelves were cool because you can turn that little knob there for it to slide over side to side. I did enjoy the mechanics of that thing. At the end of the day, I was able to make almost 30 client files, which I call a success (maybe?). I can't wait to see what they have in store for next week.
Well that's it for my week back from Spring Break. I'm glad you guys came back to read my post and hopefully you stay to read the next one. Bye!
It's good to have you back and blogging, Robert! I'm sorry you had to be sick over your spring break, but at least you had fun at the Spring Arts Festival...maybe? It seems like you've wasted no time getting back into the swing of things at SAARC. Which day did you like better, the testing and the child evaluations or inputting info into a spreadsheet (those shelves you talked about are so cool!)? I have a similar situation over at Mayo, and I would have to say I, like you, really enjoy the organizing part, but of course, interacting with patients does help improve my lack of social skills. Thanks for posting...to Week 5 and beyond! :P
ReplyDeleteHi Kiri! It's very true that I love to organize, but it's also true that I get frustrated at it as well. I would most definitely say that observing these sessions has interested me more because it helps give more insight to what SARRC intends to do in finding a possible early step in ASD detection. But I would also agree that organizing those files play a somewhat significant role in the the whole early detection then treatment process as well, which i find as important.
DeleteThanks for the comment! And yes the Spring Arts Festival was a blast!
Sounds like you got a lot done. Being sick doesn't sound fun, but it seems to be a common pattern. Does being able to see a child tested influence how you view this field or the process of testing? It sounds like valuable information you've been learning about. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your experience.
ReplyDeleteHi Olivia! Nice to see you again! I'm deeply moved by your dedication to comment on my blog even during your Spring Break. I felt like watching these sessions up close has shown me the ups and downs of being a pediatrician or any kind of doctor that works with children. At times, the are well-behaved and cooperative, but there are some cases where tantrums and screaming is a common theme in a lot of these kids. I had a little bit of both during my time at SARRC so far, and that was quite a time. The testing itself doesn't really seem as scary as how it sounds. When you here like children being tested on something, it really doesn't give out a positive connotation. The majority of the test just seemed like actual play time, which made it less of the intense experimenty kind of vibe people usually assume.
DeleteThanks for the comment Olivia! You're cool!
Hi Robert! I'd be pretty bratty as well if I had to go to a weird office at 6:30am to take tests, so I empathize with that kid. Did the tests go as expected or was there something about the procedure/experience that surprised you? Looking forward to next week!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah! I would agree with you on that one. If i had to wake up early as a child, I would be crying too. As for the tests, there weren't really any surprises to me that I didn't already expect. Before i went into my first session, I already researched some of the specific details into what kind of tests they would perform. Really, the only surprising aspect of the whole diagnosis was the amount of time it took to get thee child to cooperate with the study.
DeleteThanks for the comment Sarah!