CCT Volunteer McKenna Tychsen Blog Post (Hope Home)

{June 19th-July 4th}

These past 3 weeks I've been working at an amazing organization in Chiang Mai, Thailand called Hope Home. Hope Home is a foster home and community with the goal of providing a loving, caring and therapeutic environment for children with special needs who are a part of government social welfare system or families affected by disability in the community.

We work with the children to provide proper medical, nutritional and emotional needs as well as daily physical therapy, occupational therapy and special education. With the combination of volunteers and the full time staff who have experience in different areas, we are able to provide the children with useful resources and proper therapy.

The children we work with range from a variety of physical and mental disabilities as well as multiple health complications including: Down's syndrome, blindness, fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, respiratory issues, sound and temperature sensitivity hypoglycemia and hydrocephalus.

Each child is unique in their own way, whether this be with their disability, or their personality, they truly stand out individually. 

When I first arrived at Hope Home, I was overwhelmed with the warm welcome they gave me. Ryan, one of the other volunteers through CCT from Canada, gave me the run down on each child as well as the home and where everything was and what they do each day. I was introduced to each child and was able to slightly interact with them the first day to learn the ropes, however, some of the children were timid with me because I was a new stranger in their home.

As the weeks went on, the children were more trusting with me and I felt more comfortable to take on responsibilities to help out where needed. Even though we are on week 3, I am still learning everyday. Whether it be what needs to be done with a certain child, which medications to use or even just how to speak Thai. Its nice being able to ask so many questions and the other people I work with are very nice about helping me out.

Something that has been pretty challenging is the language barrier. I am taking the Thai Language class at Chiang Mai University, so I do pick up on certain phrases and words I recognize, but I can't completely converse with them, which I wish I could. But the other women are very good at understanding what I have to stay with help of my gestures and broken Thai!

I've worked with children with disabilities before back home in the United States, and I've realized that most adults don't really understand how difficult some of the most simple activities such as eating, going to the bathroom, brushing teeth etc, (to people without disabilities) is. We don't recognize the simplicity because it is such habit and we don't even need to think about it. But for most of these kids, it is a lot more challenging and some require assistance, so we are here to help them adjust and improve their daily cognitive, social and physical skills to eventually be able to do these skills on their own. Although it may seem like we don't do much throughout the day, bare in mind that these activities take a lot longer than normal because we are working to improve their skills, not ours.

A typical day at Hope Home:

-Start out the day with breakfast

-Go for a walk around the block for some exercise

-Come back and start physiotherapy

-Lunch time (for the kids who don't go to school)

-Some children come back from school around this time, take showers and a nap

-snack time

-Special education

-Play time break outside on the playground

-Dinner

(Then I usually leave around 5:00pm)

With each of these activities, we try and include certain skills that are catered toward each child and their disability. For example, one of the children, Phil, has cerebral palsy but still is very able to use his limbs (mainly is legs and feet) as a way to communicate. We have a portable chart with buttons where he presses it with his toes and the speaker says something in Thai/English. He knows where everything is on the board, so if he wants to say something, this is a good way to express his thoughts without actually being able to form sentences by voice.

 

Next week, I will go into detail about each of the children and the specifics of their needs!! 

Using Art to Soar Like Birds

Earlier this month Cultural Canvas Thailand and Art Relief International were lucky enough to host seven students and one professor from a University in Utah, USA. The group are spending three weeks in Chiang Mai as part of a Global Studies Program which encourages students to visit a country outside of the USA to immerse themselves in a different culture and broaden their experience as global citizens.

 

The students had a very tight schedule whilst in Chiang Mai, and could only spare one day to spend with our team. It is generally quite difficult for CCT / ARI to do anything that demonstrates clearly the work we do with our partner organisations in such a short amount of time. We usually require even temporary visitors to undergo a solid orientation to our organisation, our mission and objectives, the population groups we work with and the methods in which we facilitate our workshops.  Given the issues our artists are experiencing, our primary consideration is always their wellbeing, and whether what we are doing with them is of benefit.

 

In this instance however fate intervened, and whilst considering what we could do with this group of American students beyond a typical information session, we received a phone call from the manager of Baan Nokkamin, a home for young girls who are either homeless or from unstable family situations, asking if we had the time and resources to help them paint a bright and happy mural on all four walls of their common room. This is a big project, but with extra hands we could potentially complete this in a day. We quickly spoke to the Utah student’s tour coordinator, who quickly agreed to assist us, and two weeks later all twelve of us crammed in to the CCT van and headed out to Mae Rim where the home is located.

 

After a quick introduction and ice breaker with the group and the twelve or so girls, we paired off the students with the artists and got to work by first drawing the mural on to the wall using led pencil, allowing for any mistakes to be quickly erased. The girls had requested birds, butterflies and other flying creatures, symbolising their new found hope and freedom through the support they received at Baan Nokkamin. It was no real surprise that some of the artists (and the American students) were gifted artists, and some of the drawings of birds, trees and flowers were very cute, typifying the feeling of the warm and welcoming home.

The final result, whilst possibly needing some very small and final touch ups (we did indeed run out of time, just), was absolutely beautiful, and the girls (and the manager) were very pleased. What was even more pleasing however, was the seamless way in which students, artists and ARI staff collaborated and worked together, sharing ideas, colours and smiles throughout the day despite the perceived language barrier. A big thank you to participating students from Utah, and of course an even bigger thank you to the staff and artists at Baan Nokkamin for hosting us and being so hospitable as always.

Dan Hales 

Farewell (Stacey Braun)

Pick a city. Any city. Any one of the thousands of thriving metropolis' around the globe.

The roadways are blanketed in a chic coat of chrome cement or asphalt as black as night. The polychromatic signage forms an eclectic gallery along each avenue. And amongst all the radiating bulbs and the mod-podge of reverberations, your journey through the city almost always comes to an abrupt halt. A halt at a red light.

Throughout history, the colour red has carried multiple meanings. Red was noted as the hue of extremes. In fact, our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the colour of fire and blood - anger, fear and danger. As the centuries have past, as a species we have evolved from living in caves to driving automobiles and red became recognized as the international colour for stop.

A stop. By definition, a stand still; a termination; a hindrance; a roadblock. A pain-staking colour that signals us to come to a standstill. And though we like to see ourselves as "upgraded models" in comparison to our Neolithic predecessors, our interpretations of red, in this sense, is remarkably similar. For these modern red lights bound within their metallic casings catalyze feelings of frustration and rage within each of us.

However, we don't just encounter these negative red lights on the physical roadway. Instead, as a wise woman once pointed out  in the backseat of a truck, we encounter these unexpected stoppages in our personal lives as well. In fact, being immersed in a foster-care facility in Chiang Mai for children with disabilities has illustrated that exact fact to me each day, for the past 87 days.

Like a pedagogic documentary projecting onto a screen in front of me, my eyes have bore witness and my ears have absorbed through narration each child's different and unique red lights. Each of them has experienced the life roadblock of their disability. The roadblock of all the developmental delays. The roadblock of the health related ailments. The roadblock of the cloud of stigma that surrounds their everyday life in their native land.

Nonetheless, I have not just witnessed these life roadblocks through living beings under the age of ten. Alternatively, two exceptional women have also allowed me to take a peak into their metaphorical closets and absorb their skeletons of roadblocks faced. One has had to experience: the roadblock of moving long-term to a foreign country ripe after academia, and the roadblock of volunteering in a misunderstood field.

The other has had to experience: the roadblock of garnering and juggling funds to help an under serviced  sector, and the roadblock of making decisions invariably linked with the life of vulnerable children.

While cumulatively, both women have grappled with the ever-growing roadblock of holding onto themselves in an environment where it is so easy to lose oneself completely.

In the end, each and every one of us will face red lights; interruptions in our journey forward. But what all of these individuals' life hindrances has shown me is that it is not always about moving forward. Sometimes that extra time spent stopped is a gift - a treasure. Sometimes in that time, you will battle through treacherous rain and hail and your inner strength will grow. Sometimes in that time, you may find an unanticipated route that will change your perspective completely. Or sometimes in that time, you may just have an extra moment to stop, take a breath, and realize all the miles that you've put behind you and all the growth that has already occurred.

Overall - thank you Chiang Mai and Hope Home for all that you have entailed. Thank you, for my trip - my unexpected life stoppage, my red light - has taught me so much.

Cerebral Palsy & Blindness (Stacey Braun)

Visual impairments can result from problems with any part of the visual system, including the eyes, eye muscles, optic nerve or areas of the cerebral cortex that process visual information (Book et. al). Because cerebral palsy frequently affects the visual system, children with CP are more likely to have visual problems than are other children. In fact, according to a study conducted by Black, "up to 75% of children with CP are impaired".

One such of these specific impairments is labelled cortical visual impairment. Cortical  visual impairment or CVI results from injury to the brain's visual centres on the cerebral cortex (Book et. al). A child with CVI is thus able to pick up visual information with their eyes but the child's brain cannot process and interpret the information correctly. It is analogous to an imperfect computer chip which cannot fully process the input from the keyboard.

Generally speaking, the most common CVI symptoms presenting in children include an abnormal light responses, inconsistent visual responses to the same stimuli, and decreased responses to visual stimuli when auditory stimulation is present (Giord et. al). But the loss of vision does not only exhibit itself in symptoms directly related to the field.

When a child is blind they have lost one of their basic senses - they are under stimulated. Many of these children resort to other behaviours and forms of self stimulation to compensate for this under stimulation. These behaviours can include head banging, poking, rocking or staring at sources of light (Edelson). It has been reasoned that the head banging may even provide a form of pleasure related to movement titled kinaesthetic drive.

Though these behaviours can be a negative influence in many spheres, developmentally these behaviours are important for blind children as connections are made in the brain where the body is (Coots).

In fact, in the past two months I have witnessed the importance and predominance of these behaviors. In specific, one CVI-blind child at Hope Home fully engages in these actions, though there are two additional CVI children at the home.

However, though these children may seem lost in their world of behaviors that are difficult to comprehend - these children have NOT lost all of their senses: they still have viable feelings remaining. Most importantly, these remaining sensations need to be exercised to promote development. Presently, at Hope Home the developmental pursuits revolve around two core senses: sound and touch.

Stimulating the sense of sound is one experience that is constantly integrated into these children's lives. A variety of genres of music are being incessantly played on the stereo or sung. In addition, at times the children actively engage in creating their own music using instruments such as tambourines, bells, and drums. Therefore, not only to they to revel in the therapeutic auditory sensation but they also get to experience the tactile stimulation associated with banging ones hand against the firm surface of the percussion instrument.

Similar to the sense of sound, the sense of touch is almost effortlessly innervated into each of the three children's our times. In conjunction with the unintentional "touch" lessons, such as putting on clothes and feeding, toys such as a ball-pits and sensory boards provide opportunities to optimize each of these children's development.

Overall, though their condition has robbed their sight from them like a thief in the night - not all is lost. And this can be no more clearly than in this smile below.

More Than Just A Set of Wheels (Stacey Bruan)

According to the AARP, it is estimated that only 5-15% of people who need wheelchairs actually have them. That means that spanning the globe and its seven continents, as many as 350 million people are lacking the support, accessibility and mobility that these devices provide.

In the year 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada became one such of these persons who required a wheelchair. After misjudging the shallowness of the water in Chesapeake Bay, Joni became a quadriplegic at 17 years of age. Following years of struggle and rehabilitation, she founded an organization called Joni and Friends.

Since the year 1979, Joni and Friends International Disability has been dedicated to assisting people affected by disability and those around them. One of the organizations means of doing this is through their program called "Wheels for the World". As according to the program's mission statement, this project "provides FREE wheelchairs to children and adults affected by disability around the world".

As can be extrapolated by the immensity of that goal, this is not a single link chain of delivery but instead it is a step-wise process. Overall, it can be defined by the following steps: drop-off, transportation, restoration and distribution.

Initially, donated chairs are dropped off at specified locations. These chairs are given for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the donor's condition has changed and they require a different chair or no chair at all. Sometimes the donors outgrow their chairs. But regardless of the reason, the chairs are collected. Following collection, the chairs are transported to shipping ports. These ports serve as hubs where each piece of equipment is routed to a different restoration centre.

Currently, "Wheels for the World" operates restoration shops at correctional facilities across the United States. Inmates are trained to restore the chairs to "like-new" conditions. After each of the individual wheelchairs have been mended, they are shipped internationally to various distribution centres. Interestingly, the Kingdom of Thailand is one of these sites.  Though their movement spans the geographical range of the country, Chiang Mai is one site within the country where dispersal occurs.

In fact, on November 11, 2014 I was on hand at an event that occurred at Payap University's Faculty of Nursing. At this event, there were 3 special guests in the spotlight. Two of these guests were selected cerebral palsy children from Hope Home and the third was a foster child affected by Dushenes Muscular Dystrophy.

In a room filled with occupational therapists, physical therapists and mechanics, each child was fitted with a new wheelchair. Firstly, this process began with a subjective interview with the therapists gathering information about the condition and lifestyle of each child. Questions posed ranged from range of motion to the arrangement of each child's home. Progressively, as increasing amounts of information was acquired, the focus was shifted to a more objective view. During this time, measurements were taken. For example, these tabulations included hip breadth and chest width. Subsequently, it was these numbers that were used to determine specifications such as the size of the seat and seat back. Lastly, once all sizes were gathered, the appropriate chair was then selected and the mechanics then altered each chair to fit the child as best as possible.

Though simply owning a wheelchair is imperative, having a proper fitting wheelchair may be exponentially more important. A proper fitting wheelchair can slow the rate of degenerative conditions, prevent scoliosis, eliminate pressure sores and many other secondary disturbances. However, a wheelchair is important for more than just its role as a sponge for medical jargon.

The query of "what does a wheelchair mean to a person" is impossible to intricately answer. Each individual is defined by a unique set of circumstances and variables that would cause infinite variation in their responses. Nevertheless, from an observational perspective I can generally state that a wheelchair means so incredibly much.

A wheelchair can mean that a child previously unable to feed without being physically held, now has increased independence and self-actualization by feeding in the chair. A wheelchair can mean that a child heavily impaired by hypo sensitivity now has an environment that accommodates learning. A wheelchair can mean that a previously confined child now has the tool necessary to experience adventure and personal discovery. Overall, a wheelchair is more than just a set of wheels. A wheelchair provides hope for a fulfilling future.

Two Million (Stacey Braun)

Two million. A number that contains a whooping 6 zeros. A number that contains 7 digits. Two million. A number that can be broken down into 2 x one million or 4 x 500,000. But no matter how you approach it, the number commands attention . For this reason, the fact that Thailand has over two million people living with disabilities makes this number an important one (NSO).

Though individuals with disabilities have faced hardships world wide, their challenges have been particularly pronounced in Thailand. So why is this so?    More than 90% of Thais are Buddhist. Accordingly, in the teachings of Buddhism disability is an outcome of a vice that a person had in his/her previous life (Driedger). Because of this, Thai children with disabilities have been viewed by a large number to be useless and worthless (Hill). In fact, the stigma was so predominant that many Thai children with disabilities were kept at home and even denied basic education. Even "with the compulsory Education Act of 1935, the Ministry of Education allowed a child to stay at home because of his/her disability (Sukbupant, Shiraishi & Kuroda).

Furthermore, this trend continued for another half-century following the 1935 act. Before 1998, only 7.3% of children with disabilities in Thailand of school age were receiving an education ("Country Profile on Disability: Kingdom of Thailand", 2002). After this shocking statistic was published, the Ministry of Education designated the year 1999 as the "year of education for disabled persons". Several plans to enlarge educational opportunities for persons with disabilities were drawn up. Largely, this education was to occur through the promotion of inclusive  learning in regular schools. By definition, inclusive learning is an approach to education where students with disabilities spend the majority or all of their time with non-disabled students (Allen & Schwartz). However, contrary to the plans - this idea has not held in practice over a decade later.

Predominantly, Thai children with disabilities receive their educational services through special education schools located throughout the kingdom (Traiwicha). It is at one of these schools, Special Education Centre Region 8, that Hope Home's children attend school. Each of the children spend varying amounts of time at the school catered toward their individual needs. For example, one child attends every day all day. Whereas, some attend once a week.

So what doss their learning consist of at Special Education Centre Region 8? The intellectual lessons include activities such as counting and colouring. Whereas, the physical components range from threading (for hand-eye coordination) to physical and occupational therapy. Chiefly, the later of these lessons are what I have specifically witnessed.

From passive stretching and ring stacking to light therapy - a variety of therapeutic avenues were travelled on Tuesday. Overall, I would say that the children seemed to enjoy this change in sensory environment. However, such a stimulating day lead to some overload and exhaustion.

Though I do value that these children are getting the best education available to them and their providers, I cannot help but wonder where 1999's plans got left. Still to the date, less than 40% of Thai children with disabilities actually attend inclusive school programs (Traiwicha). Yet, time and time again studies have illustrated the benefits of inclusive education.

As illustrated by a study comparing integrated and segregated students with disabilities, "disabled children in the integrated sites progressed in social skill development whereas segregated children regressed" (Sale & Carey). In fact, additional studies have demonstrated "increased self esteem, increased motivation, and increased completion of learning goals" in students with disabilities in inclusive education settings.

However, the reason I believe that inclusive education should be the end-goal for Thailand is not just for its benefits for disabled children. Research has shown  that non-disabled students in inclusive school settings show remarkably improved perception and increased positive attitudes towards people with disabilities (Bennett et al). As Gandhi so clearly highlighted, "if we are to reach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with children". Therefore, if the end goal is to change the perspective towards disability in Thailand - inclusive education may serve as a catalyst for this movement.

Hope Home week 2 (Stacey Braun)

The daily routine. What comes to mind with that phrase? Likely some monotonous, mind-numbing sequence of events that you go through diurnally sprung into your mind. In reference to my life back at home, my daily routine as a student was defined by the following: wake up, get ready, eat breakfast, attend lecture, eat lunch, go to additional lectures or lab, eat supper, study, and finally go to bed. Black and white. It was this basic routine that structured my life. A skeleton.

As anybody who has a general knowledge of the human body will tell you, our skeleton is imperative to our functioning. So the same could be extrapolated about our daily routine - our daily skeleton. With that in mind, I would like to introduce my new skeleton for my day at Hope Home.

At 7:30  I get picked up from the volunteer residence by a red truck or songthaew. After an approximately 30 minute jaunt with some minor traffic and horn honking, I arrive at Hope Home. Upon arrival I am greeted with many "wai's" and "Sawasdeeka's" before getting briefly informed of the plans for the day.

Subsequently, from approximately 8:00-9:30 am it is relax time. Preceding my arrival, the nurses complete feeding breakfast and administering medication. Therefore, my arrival allows them some time to sit and recollect before moving on to the scheduled task. During this time with the children, I provide them with some company and laughter by chatting and playing little games.

Then from 9:30-11:45 am, the tasks become dependent on the day. Mondays are filled with hydrotherapy at Chiang Mai University pool. Normally, Tuesdays are booked at the special school. However, currently the school is on break. Wednesdays are infused with ARI Art Therapy. On Thursdays we travel to Chiang Mai University for physical therapy. Finally, on Fridays the weeks are closed out with a "free day". Each of the above activities provides a different therapy to the children and act to supplement their quality of life tremendously. Thus, in subsequent blogs on the following weeks I will focus on these treatments. What do you do? How do they work? What are the childrens' responses? I will try to address all of these questions.

Conversely, I regress back to my schedule. From 11:45 to 12:15 pm is lunch time. During this time I directly assist with feeding. Though some of the children can eat independently - not all of the children have this luxury. Then after all their bellies have been filled, it is nap time for the children and it is dishes time for me. The slick metal sink and soapy suds essentially wrap up my day as my songthaew arrives to pick me up at 1:00 pm.

If at this point you are thinking, some more pictures would have been nice... Yes, I know. However, I got permission to take photos of the children from Judy Cook to late. Next week I will!

Thanks for reading,
Stacey

From Canada with love

Hello! My name is Stacey Braun and I am from Altona, Manitoba Canada. Before arriving in Thailand I completed my BSc in Biology from the University of Manitoba. So with that fact in mind - why did I chose to volunteer at a placement completely unrelated to science? The answer is simple.

Over 30 months ago I began work at an organization in my hometown called Blue Sky Opportunities. This organization is involved in maximizing the independence of adults with intellectual disabilities. As I commenced in my employment those many months ago, my work morphed from being a way to generate an income to a passion. A passion to serve this under serviced and vulnerable sector. In turn, it is through this found zeal that I selected Cultural Canvas Thailand's Cerebral Palsy Assistance program.

As according to the definition provided by the Mayo clinic, "Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a disorder of movement, muscle gone or posture that is caused by an insult to the developing brain". Notably, CP is one of the most common congenital disorders of childhood. Therefore, it is logical to surmise that multiple children in Thailand are affected by this disorder. Which is the exact conjecture by which Hope Home was founded in 2007.

As stated on the Hope Home website, "Hope Home provides residential accommodation for children with a disability who are orphaned or abandoned, until they are fostered long-term or adopted with a loving family". And it is at this lovely home I will be assisting

In closing, stay tuned each week for an update of my journey here in Chiang Mai and my doings at Hope Home. Though I am not a fervent photographer by any stretch, I will attempt each week to provide some pictorial supplement to my writing.

Thanks for reading!
Stacey

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert