Week 4: BoomWhackers

How many different ways can I say "it's time for another blog post" at the beginning of these things before I just give up on doing it? Well, I guess we'll see.

This week I had the chance to step out of the clinic and experience something new: a senior care center. On Tuesday morning, I joined one of the therapists on a trip to Suntree Center, a daytime care-giving facility provided to seniors with Alzheimer's, dementia, and other disabilities, conditions, or physical limitations. I couldn't help but be nervous on the way there and at the beginning of the group sessions, seeing as so far, in my internship experience, I had yet to leave the clinic to visit other care facilities, let alone one for older adults. Even at the clinic, while I have seen older adult patients, all of the clients I have come in contact with and observed were occasionally my age, but most of the time, younger than me. How I held myself, the tone I maintained, and everything else would have to be adjusted based on this different population I was facing, and to be honest, it was more than a bit nerve-wracking. It didn't quell my nervousness to hear that, as the therapist I was accompanying explained in the care, not all of them were verbally responsive, and that some didn't even speak English! My thoughts were jumbling together into a flurry of thoughts, of "what if I'm not needed?" and "how many people will be there?' and "will this really work out?" and more.

But those fears, as fears nearly always are, were quickly put to rest as I entered the group. A small group, with no more than 15 people, most likely, circled up, laughing and messing around with each other, greeted me and the therapist as we brought in all of our supplies (i.e. the seemingly endless amount of instruments we brought). All friendly and outgoing people, who were delighted to have another person joining their little music session, and completely ready to have a productive day filled with singing and instrument playing. And those few that didn't speak English? Some of the most chipper and energetic people there, and everything they couldn't convey with their words, they'd show with their actions, whether it be pointing to my hair and cooing when noticing how long it was, or quickly playing instrument as soon as it reached their hands. Time simply flew by as we jammed out with the Suntree group, and I left the center with nothing short of a grin on my face.

The rest of the week went by as usual, with more scooter races through the halls and impromptu sessions in the recording studio. And before anyone asks: no, I did not throw a ball at anyone's head this week. I learn from my mistakes, I swear. On the research side, I've managed to narrow down all the data I'll be collecting, qualitative and quantitative, and I've finished writing out the consent form I'll be handing out to the patients' parents/legal guardians (which I may upload online and link to in this blog, if anyone would like to see it), so hopefully, data collection can begin this coming week or the one after.

What I've Learned
As you can probably tell, I'm not really up for zesty introduction lines today, so let's just jump straight into it, shall we?

So, without further ado, this week, I have learned...

1. The more times you talk about ensuring confidentiality while writing a consent form, the better.
2. Boomwhacker Tuned Percussion Tubes are hollow, color-coded, plastic tubes, tuned to musical pitches by length. 
3. Boomwhacker Tuned Percussion Tubes are quite fun to use as drumsticks.
4. You can make a game out of anything, even if it's a mish-mosh collection of objects, including a piano, a drum-set, a guitar, a squishy ball, and a spinner board (the one to sit on, not the wheel you spin with your hands)
5. Experimentation is the key to success. Have an idea? Roll with it; it'll pay off, whether it works out or not.

Until next time, this is Aarthi Ganapathi, BASIS Scottsdale senior and newly discovered BoomWhacker-er, signing out.