A Typical Weekend with Penny

 

I’ve forgotten how much I love getting hand-written notes. When I first arrived in Halifax, my business-smart friend Penny generously offered to have me stay at her place for the duration of my trip. Penny was at work when I was scheduled to arrive and left me her keys in the mail-box. I had received a Facebook message earlier telling me where to find the keys and to go up the stairs to the guest-room.

Upon arriving, I found the most welcoming had-written note on my bed. It was like receiving a big warm hug from my university friend. It made feel really welcome in her space and so excited to see her! It finally hit me! I was here in Halifax!

Now back to a typical weekend at Penny’s! We usually wake up and start making coffee and  a big breakfast which contains eggs or pan-cakes. If pan-cakes are on the menu, it always gets inhaled with authentic maple syrup, Acadian maple butter, and fresh fruits! At times we add a Greek or Arabic touch to this feast with feta cheese and zaataar! Food is one of the most pleasurable experiences while traveling and I can’t promise this will be the last time I write about it.

On one of those weekends, I woke up and found a note on the kitchen table.WP_20160903_001

Don’t you think hand-written notes are so heart-warming! A text or a what-sap message would not have the same effect. It’s all about hand-picked/made/written for me this summer. We are constantly bombarded with texts and emails so a little hand-written note is the perfect thing to wake up to before making breakfast.

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Above is a picture of my work station in the kitchen. I’ve always loved how kitchen’s are at the center of most houses in Canada, have big windows, and are connected to an out-door patio. When I lived in Halifax my family and friends always gathered in the kitchen for hours. It was our living room. We had a couch in the there, no TV, and a phone (the kind that was attached to the wall). As a teenager I would spend hours talking on the phone with my friends in the kitchen (before the birth of cell-phones).

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After breakfast, if the sun is out, me and Penny head out on some kind of adventure that involves driving out of Halifax to explore a new place.  This usually takes up the whole day and when it’s over we get back home at night ready for bed-time. If it’s a rainy day, we run errands or go to the mall.

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One rainy night we went to watch Beauty and the Beast at Neptune theater. The show was amazing and the songs are still playing in my head! Be My guest! Be My guest! 🙂

Rawan

 

A Journey Back to Halifax!! (Intro)

I want to start by honoring the past. Without our past experiences (which encompass all our actions/non-actions, choices, dark/light moments, and yes! even our stupid repeated mistakes!) we would not be where we are today.  We would not have arrived at this very precious moment called the present which if we are lucky enough to survive can also be reflected upon as a memory one day. Each person, place, and experience stays with us and shapes who we become.

I write this with mixed emotions as I am about to take a physical journey back to the home of my youth where I spent a good majority of those foundation years.  A beautiful city on the east coast of Canada called Halifax. A place that reminds me of my blessings, my family first of all, my mom & dad who paid the price to create us a home so far away from home. Timeless friendships. Fellow Haligonians. Mentors. Professors. Class-mates. Flat-mates. Heart-breaks. Coburg Coffee-House (a lovely cafe with the best breakfast) that was an extension of my kitchen as a hungry student). So I am a bit nostalgic…

I hope to share the highlights of my trip and include some pictures once I figure out how to do that! It’s been  a whole 12 years since I moved away and started several new lives in several new homes. As you can imagine a lot has changed in my little world, a lot has been out-grown, a lot has been let go of, a lot has been lost, and a lot has been born.

Moving there at the impressionable age of fourteen, it was a place of new beginnings, family, student life, and familiarity. Why not travel and see a new place? Well, not this time.  A soulful journey back to a place full of history or should I say her-story is on the horizon!  (To be continued in part 1)

Rawan

An Introduction to Recreational Therapy, Complimentary Modalities, and Case Studies

Glossary of Terms

Therapeutic Recreation (TR) or Recreational Therapy (RT):

A health profession that aims to improve social, emotional, cognitive, and physical abilities by recreating quality of life experiences, improving motivation, level of engagement, and independence in life and in daily tasks.

Original Play (OP):

A modality with many therapeutic benefits, developed by  world renowned play specialist, Dr. Fred Donaldson. The Original Play specialist models gentle and energetic play in a practical and hands on method, followed by a brief inquiry. Usually 10-20 minute sessions depending on age of the child. Original Play is not only for children and it’s benefits are available for all. I sometimes utilize Original Play in my Recreation Therapy session.

Therapeutic Recreation Activity:

A therapeutic recreation activity is any activity that is motivating and enjoyable for a person while having a therapeutic goal.

 

Case Study 1

Background Information:

Girl aged 4; 5

Attending nursery

Referred because she had global developmental delays, speech delay, ADHD

Needed an intensive & holistic therapy (a bit of everything)

Parents reported excessive TV watching, lack of play opportunities, and in-attention

Parent’s prime concern was minimal use of expressive language and inability to attend

Presentation:

Excellent non-verbal communication-using gestures to make needs known

Child could not complete a 5 piece inset puzzle due to in-attention

Unable to complete tasks

Attention span less than 5 minutes

Has expressive language but not using it

Does not engage in peer or group social interaction

Intervention:

Play-based

Holistic

Began increasing motivation for verbal interaction with favourite activities & toys

Re-arranged room to encourage requesting desired toys

Used puppet and dramatic play to increase dialogue

Began increasing visual and auditory attention with games

Used art, music, and age appropriate educational activities

Provided parents with a list of social skills/play-groups

Tasks given to parents & school to generalize in different environments

Results:

Increased use of expressive language from using 1 word requests to full sentences

Child was attending to tasks for 20-30 minutes

Child was able to complete tasks

Child was attending and completing up to 34 piece puzzles

Nursery reported increased ability to communicate needs verbally

Increased confidence and interaction with other children

Child was going on weekly play-dates with peers from the social skills group

 

Case Study 2

Background Information:

Boy aged 4

Attending nursery

Only child

Referred because of aggressive behaviour

Aggressive towards peers and teacher (hitting, biting, spitting, and using violent phrases)

Parent’s prime concern was that he would be rejected from his school for the upcoming academic year if behavior continued

Presentation:

Typically developing chid

Aggressive with peers and teachers

Impulsive and emotionally volatile

Lacking emotional self-regulation

Would become particularly aggressive when sitting next to ‘Jhon’

Intervention

Play-based

Holistic, including the natural environment (classroom, class-mates, and school)

Began addressing the emotional/psychosocial areas

Showed social stories about conflict, discussing it with the child and his class

Separated him from ‘Jhon’ during group activities

Developed emotional self-regulation skills

Identifying feelings

Finding therapeutic outlets for anger

Outlets Included: Original play, painting, asking for a break, running in the garden, breathing, brain gym exercises, and counting to calm down.

2-3, 20 minute sessions of Original play weekly

Role playing with puppets: acting out aggressive scenes and modifying them and replacing them with less destructive behaviours

Results

When beginning to push peers in line, make a fist, or shout he would stop himself and try to control himself

Child started identifying early signs of anger and asking for a break to calm down

Child started using emotional self-regulation techniques

Teachers reported reduced aggression in class and on the play-ground

Child was accepted into the following academic year

Hello World!

Bismillah!

Hi, I am Rawan, a recreation therapy professional, a world citizen, an over-thinker, a dancer, and a teacher to name a few. I immensely enjoy meeting inspiring individuals, music, Tai Chi Quan, and anything creative. I love my lazy mornings! Taking time to  dream a little and to do things is heaven. However, as you get older and wiser you realize that time and energy are limited and so are we. To make even a few of our dreams a reality focus, hard-work, and time management are essential ingredients.

I am starting this blog to share my story and shed light on my ‘Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy’ work which is an amazing and intriguing health and human performance field yet still unknown to many. My final hope is that in sharing my experiences, the reader is moved to reflect and think about the world that we are all involved in re-creating every single morning. Thank you for being a part of it!

Rawan