The 4th and final installment of Abdi and Karen’s Lockdown Journey is finally here! To read the rest of the journey visit the news section of our website.
Abdi
“We started using Zoom and things got a lot better. We could do some different things. We played Hangman which is now my favourite game, Guess Who, noughts and crosses and lots of others. Karen showed me a website called “Toy Theater” which I now play on my own in my spare time.
I struggle to remember things and the games have really helped me. It’s tough looking at the screen – it makes my eyes feel a bit funny but I know I’ve been working hard.
I liked it when I was able to see people for real but it’s not been too bad using my iPad – especially when I win. I will be glad when I can have face to face therapy – we can do so many more things.”
Karen
“We eventually managed to use Zoom on Abdi’s iPad – we could now get technical! It seemed to be user friendly and finding out how other have been making it work has really helped.
We started playing games with the Whiteboard – Hangman, noughts and crosses and Squares; I could load up an interactive game and give Abdi control of the cursor so we could play all sorts of games and activities to work on executive functioning skills; I created PowerPoint presentations so we could use some other activities – Guess Who and Brain Box are just a few – helping Abdi’s working memory and concentration difficulties. We have worked out recipes and written this Blog – all through the screen. I can record some of the sessions (with permission) and refer back to the detail.
It can be tricky with household noises going on in the background and, like all of us, Abdi can find it challenging to keep looking at the screen. We have struggled with positioning our devices to be able to see what we want to – a flexible arm and mount didn’t really work as the arm was not long enough and his iPad heavy. We have recently acquired an “OSMO” – this device provides a base and a clip on reflective mirror, changes the angle of the camera so I can now see what he is doing on the table – Amazing!
Things did start to get back to some normality for a time – Abdi’s school provided and outreach service and started visiting him and taking him out once a week; Physio and OT were able to complete a face to face visit to check some things that were impossible to do remotely – muscle tone, positioning and some equipment issues.
Abdi has worked so hard and although finds it tough, always has a smile on his face.
Whilst remote therapy by no means replaces face to face sessions, it certainly provides an adjunct to the work we do. It provides a different view of a client than when you are in the room – it can be like taking as step back and watching.
Going forward, I am sure I will use a mix of remote and face to face when addressing some of the things I do with my clients but can’t wait to get back out on the road.”