One job down, one to go

It’s been a looong week writing evaluations on my computer, so I’ve avoided writing anything else, including my blog. It quickly became clear that I didn’t allow myself enough days to put the evaluations together, so some late nights writing and early mornings printing had to be thrown in. But now they’ve been written, printed, explained to the parents, and it’s on them from now on! The meetings with parents seemed to go well – sometimes I knew that parents understood and would use the techniques at home, and for others, I’m afraid I’m not sure how far they’ll get. Or if they even understood the concept of what we were doing! Especially when they asked if they come back next week at the same time for their therapy session. Then, it’s time for an interpreter!

I went to Bahay Bata today, a Saturday missionary project nearby where parents take a sign language class while their children participate in different activities and games. There are about 80 parents who usually go, and I saw many parents from Commonwealth Elementary. Glad to see what they are doing for their children! At the end of the session, I was taken into a room, sat at a table with three other women, and offered juice and cookies. A teacher sitting diagonally from me folded her arms, titled her head, and asked when I would be able to visit her school, because there are many students who need speech and language evaluations. On the inside I burst into laughter (another school, are you kidding me?!), but on the outside I calming told her that it would not be possible as I have another contract to attend to and my days are fully booked. At this point I feel like I’ve heard that line so many times that all I can do is laugh. All the offers now are really making me see how I have to stick to what I have planned! I also have to turn down “school visits,” as every other teacher I meet invites me. It would be great, if I could be in three places at once!

Anyways, the teacher later showed me the signing book they are using with the parents and students, and it’s the same Signing Exact English book that I first started with. Personally, I feel (and so does the research) that the students would develop a more complete language if they used Filipino Sign Language, or even American Sign Language. But SEE sign? I questioned the teacher a bit on the book, but I didn’t want to say the wrong thing so I didn’t go too far. She said they do use some ASL, but they alter it because in the Philippines they like to initialize everything. No wonder the kids correct my “flat o” “eat” with an initialized ”e” “eat”! They really do initialize everything! Hmm…but they’re signing and initializing in English while speaking in Tagalog…just seems a bit much for me! Oh! I forgot! I just remembered that I wanted to ask (give a hint) if there were any Deaf adults working there. There wasn’t anyone there today, but they would surely be a rich model for the kids.

So my time at Commonwealth is done, save for a “Gratitude Program” being prepared for me on Tuesday. I’m not sure what that entails, but I’ll show up hungry - I’ve learned that’s a good idea when you go anywhere, if you don’t want your stomach to explode! Although overwhelming at first, I’m glad I spent the time at Commonwealth and took the time to see all of the children. It has given me a nice, broad picture of what a speech and language therapist deals with in a developing country. Much different from what I’m used to! And it will surely help me prepare my work for my next internship site, LINK Center for the Deaf. During the summer (April), LINK goes to the provinces to train Special Education teachers on how to work with deaf/hard of hearing students. They have asked me to add a speech component to their program. So, I will spend March preparing this, and in April we will travel to Tagaytay and Cagayan de Oro to give the training sessions. I’m looking forward to it!

This week will be a busy one as I help prepare for and then attend a Human Rights seminar sponsored by Perkins and Harvard Law School. A little transition before I begin working with LINK. I’m going to stay with the family here for the rest of my time in Manila, which I am happy about. They have been wonderful to me and it’s nice that I don’t have to move!

It’s getting hotter and hotter each day…I didn’t know it could get hotter, but apparently it can. Summer is coming, they say. Silly me, I could have sworn it was already here!

A couple of pictures of the family I am living with.  All but Grandpa made the pictures!

A bit of a break

I’ve finished all the evaluations at school – almost 60!!  Now I’m on to writing results and recommendation for parents.  I have a one-page limit because of printing costs, and we’re asking the parents to pay.  In some ways this makes it easier for me, but in other ways more difficult and limiting.  I’ve created some picture diagrams to help explain things, so all in all, I think the parents will get the information that they need.  The writing’s not as bad as I expected – once I have a basic template for each disability, I can just tailor it to each student and her level.  And after so many long days at the school, it’s nice to have some quite time to myself to write:)

At the school, almost all of the deaf students are girls.  The other classes have more boys than girls, but not the deaf classes.  When working in Madrid, I only worked with boys.  Strange that it’s so different here….I can’t figure it out.  Are the boys not sent to school?  Is there another, better school, that they attend?  I wonder if they’re at the Philippine School for the Deaf…  I think I will be visiting, so I’ll check it out.  Otherwise, I will have to ask about that at Commonwealth next week. 

Gender relations are interesting here – it seems like there’s a tradition of the superiority of men, but it’s also changing as needed.  I was told how when Ocaboy was born, he was spoiled by everyone because he was the first grandson in large family.  His mom specified “boy.”  Another women couldn’t go to a meeting because her husband wouldn’t let her (at least that’s the reason I heard).  On the other hand, in the Philippines, the eldest child usually helps the parents financially with the younger children, such as paying for school.  This seems to be for both men and women though!  And there are many, many fathers who accompany their children to school each day.  I do remember reading in my research that both parents help raising kids as needed.  In this family here, the father worked from home and watched the kids while the mother worked outside of the home.   Just some observations!

Speaking of research, I learned before I came that in schools throughout the country, classes are taught in English and Filipino, not the child’s native language.  This has posed many setbacks for the children and the schools are not doing well.  But, it appears that in 2011, the language of instruction will be switched over to the local dialects.  I think this will be good for the students to at least be able to learn in their own language – they will have their native language Kinder-3^rd grade, and then English as well after 4^th grade.  But who knows, I guess we’ll see the results after many years.

Every person seems to have a family member abroad!  The most popular places I’ve heard are Maryland, California and Sweden.  I hear again and again that all of the Special Ed. Teachers and Speech Language Pathologists have gone to work abroad.  One boy I saw had an SLP until October, when she went abroad.  Now there’s no one to take her place.  The SPED teachers I’m working with are asking me how they can go to work abroad, even with limited English proficiency.  (A bit jokingly) They do seem to understand that where they are needed most is in the Philippines though.   I wonder if that’s a tough decision, knowing that you are needed at home, but having the opportunity to live and make much more money abroad. 

I went to Camp Pag-Ibig last Sunday, where SPED students from all over Quezon City spent the day, doing general camp activities.  The night before, there was a Valentine’s Day Party for the teachers, which I attended.  I was called up by someone important (I have met far too many important people from the school district, I can’t remember their names or titles!) and recognized for the work I am doing.  She then encouraged everyone to spread the word abroad that Quezon City schools would love volunteers.  She also stressed that as former SPED teachers return from work abroad, they should be encouraged to come and share what they have learned.  I really like that one – I’m sure there’s so much they can offer as they know the Philippine system but also have further, outside experience. 

Camp was hilarious – I had people coming from every direction to take pictures with me.  So many older women too!  Once one person stood next to me for a photo, 5 more would jump in.   Even in line for the bathroom! I asked them to take pictures with my camera too at first, but then it got a little out of hand so I just stood and smiled.  As you’ll see in the photo here, I’m also a head taller than everyone else, so I’m sure there are some pretty funny looking pictures!

Ok, well back to writing evaluations.   I will be back at Commonwealth Elementary next Tuesday-Thursday to meet with parents and give the evaluation results.  I’m trying to keep my language simple and easy to understand without making parents feel stupid.  It’d be so nice to be able to translate everything into Tagalog:)  Oh well, I just have to work with what I have!

Picture time as soon as I arrived at Camp - teachers from Commonwealth Elementary, and the principal is the man next to me.  I feel a bit tall...

Photos

Teacher Evelyn with her multiply disabled visually impaired class.

Evelyn and I with some of the Deaf students

Classes are out at Commonwealth Elementary School.  Imagine four of these buildings, surrounding a huge, central, covered plaza.

Work and Life in the Philippines

It’s been a busy week of work, and it's only half over! I have evaluations scheduled every hour from 8am to 4pm, but luckily they don’t last an hour, especially since I have no standardized tests. So many of the children are still at such a basic level that it doesn’t take long to figure out what they need. Teacher Evelyn hopes that the parents will be more receptive to suggestions from me, as an outsider. She says that no matter how many times they tell the parents of the concerns they should have, the parents don’t listen. Well, they say they agree, but then do not follow through. This is especially true with the number of families who don’t sign with their deaf children. It’s interesting that each time I have suspected that there is no sign in the home, the parents have confirmed it. I’ve seen so many kids already, and more and more keep coming. One mother brought in her 27 year old daughter who has speech difficulties (I suspect a sub cleft palate), and admitted that the cause was a medication she took during pregnancy to try to abort her daughter. Whoa! From my impression, parents seem very open to suggestions and many of them want to know how to help their children. Some are just looking for their nonverbal children to speak and they hear nothing else, but I hope I can make them see otherwise. Communication is a little difficult with the parents, with their limited English and my nonexistent Tagalog. But mostly we get through fine, and Evelyn or other parents are always there to interpret if needed. There are usually many parents around, very helpful for me!



So life in the Philippines - food is fun! Haha. I’ve tried a few Filipino dishes that were vegetables only, or I picked out the meat (to make people happy, mostly), but all I’ve tasted is fish in every bite! Ick! Of course, they then tell me, it was soaked in fish sauce, or was made with dried shrimp and fish. Haha.... I then tell them that since I haven’t eaten meat or fish for so long, I don’t think my body can handle it, and that seems to work pretty well. But I do try! Especially when people tell me it’s vegetarian, then I have to. I did receive gifts of fruit from two people today, so maybe they’re starting to understand that all I eat are fruit and vegetables:)

Another funny thing is that people both at home and school thought that I didn’t like rice, since I didn’t eat it at EVERY meal. So I’ve started to eat it more, since apparently there is much disappointment if I don’t . No matter how many times I explain that I do like it, but I don’t need any at the moment….it just doesn’t make sense for Filipino meals.
I think I’m ready to visit a province, where I can breath fresh air! So are the people here, as so many of them cover their mouths to not breathe in the heavy smog. The bus and jeepney rides are quite fun though, despite the smell of diesel. Everything is so animated outside the windows, and so many markets! Miles and miles and miles!


After work, I collapse for a bit, cook my dinner, spend some time reading, knitting, writing, doing crossword puzzles. It’s so nice to have time to relax:) Maybe walk around sometimes or get some food at the market. Yesterday I visited the spa for the first time and had a fabulous, $6/hour massage. Can’t beat that!

Baby chicks! All the baby chicks that I wanted to raise are right outside, with their mother hen. I get my baby chicks after all, and now don’t have to keep, or kill, all of the roosters when they grow. They’ll do it:) How exciting! There are two hens, and the other is still sitting on her 10 or so eggs. So soon…!

I’ve never had so many people so exited that I’m Catholic! My response to, “What religion do you follow?” has resulted in a lively cheer every time, without fail. Very amusing:)  At least I have the right answer!
This weekend will be busy so I’ll take part of Friday for myself. There’s a camp for children with special needs from around Metro Manila. I’ll attend Saturday-Sunday with the other SPED teachers and students from Commonwealth Elem. It’s the weekend, but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless! I’ll just have to bring my own food, and rice;)

I've Made it to Manila

Here I am, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.  I’ll be here for the next three or four months.  Working at Commonwealth Elementary School for one month, and with the LINK Center for the Deaf for two to three months.  Here we go!

I suppose it’s been an eventful first couple of days.  My time in Manila began with a taxi ride to my host family’s home.  It’d a modest house in a relatively beautiful, gated neighborhood.  It’s hard to imagine that just on the other side of that gate is the bustling Commonwealth Avenue, complete with 9 lanes (officially marked, that its) going each direction.  And out there, dwellings held up by corrugated steel, wood planks and tarps line the road, each outfitted with a shop out front.   And as you drive down the road the poverty just continues without end.   But in here, it’s quite and calm….such a difference.

I’m living with a family who has a student, Ocaboy, in the Special Education program.  He is nineteen years old, has only peripheral vision, and he has autism. There is also a six-year old daughter, Carina.  Ocaboy’s caretaker, Gretel, is a cousin and when the father passed away a couple of years ago, she promised him she would stay and take care of Ocaboy.   The mother, Gina, works in an office during the week.  Her father is also around.  Gina is letting me stay at the house in hopes that I can offer some helpful advice regarding Ocaboy.

On my second day, I accompanied Ethel and Ocaboy to Commonwealth Elementary School, where I will be spending my days.  We jumped into one of the colorful jeepnies that barely stopped to pick us up, and I had to heed extra caution not to hit my head, even when seated.  Down the busy road we went, stopping for more passengers to jump on along the way, until 5 minutes later we made it to Commonwealth Elementary.  The school building itself is massive, and a market and children lined the street outside.  We wedged our way through the gate into the grand courtyard.  Three story buildings surrounded us, all adorned with colorful green and blue gates.  The school is supposedly the largest in the country, with over 9,000 students attending school in 3 sessions between 6am and 6pm.   Wow! 

Over in the Special Education center (SPED), in their new building, I met teacher Evelyn, with whom I will be working.  She teaches the visually impaired students, many who have additional disabilities as well.   These students will be my main group, as I have been brought to the school by the Parents Advocates for Visually Impaired Children (PAVIC).  My supervisor from PAVIC, Marie, met me at the school as well. 

In discussing what I would do for the children, everyone immediately became excited when I said I could do assessments.  I was a bit surprised when I went back the next day and Teacher Evelyn sent one of her students over to me for an evaluation.  Already?!  I then explained that I had assessment forms I needed to print and that I must speak with the parents and teachers prior to working with the student.  After a wild goose chase through the school (where I couldn’t print from my USB drive for fear of a virus) and eventually to an internet café down the road, I was able to print my materials.  The next trick would be to photocopy them.  The school was almost a safe bet, but it turns out they will only photocopy in the hundreds, go figure, and I didn’t need hundreds.  Finally today, I decided just to copy them myself at a photocopy center in the market.  Five dollars in the end, but I think I can handle it and we don’t need to ask parents for money. 

By the end of the day, I had met with over 20 parents, discussing their child’s strengths and weaknesses and where to go with an assessment.  I never knew how much the parents knew as they were sat down with me, but it became clear that they didn’t know the service was free.  Boy how their faces lit up when they heard that!  I now have kids lined up for next week for assessments.  The idea will be to then give the parents a home program to work with their child.  A couple of students have been to an SLP before, but the prices are high and many can’t afford it.  I know there won’t be an SLP when I leave, and as parents are a child’s primary teacher, hopefully the family will benefit from the plan. 

It’s a bit overwhelming, all that’s coming at me.  Parents were constantly thrown at me today, many with children with disabilities that I have never before worked with, such as autism.  If I take it one step at a time, however, and use what I know, I think I will be able to help in some way.  I hope, at least!  I have to be careful not to lead the parents to too high expectations but to stay more realistic.  For children who are 13 years old and non-verbal, for instance, it’s probably time to think of an alternative communication mode since speech is clearly not going to be their strength. 

This also surprised me, that so many kids are nonverbal, yet none have assistive devices.  Not even picture boards!  The poverty, I was told, is the reason for this.  I’m working now on trying to think of a cheap system to enable these children to expressively communicate.  A picture board, I think would work best…now just to get the cost way down so that it’s not out of reach to anyone.   

Language assessments are also an issue.  This is such a huge part in development, but not something I can provide for all of the kids because of my lack of knowledge of Tagalog.  For those at a very basic level, however, I think I will be able to help. 

Well, I have my work cut out for me…  I do hope there is something I can offer these children and their parents.  The teachers and parents are looking for a solution, and looking to me.  I hope I made it clear enough that I can’t solve the problems, but that I can offer some help.