Kopek Terapi

Life at the new rehab center is great. I have been observing consistently here, but I am learning a lot, and it is actually marvelous experience for life (including my resume). With the exception of a couple group classes, all the education here is done as one-on-ones, something that is just getting started in the states. Most of the students I work with here have autism, which is the population at home that also get one-on-one therapy. I have been consistently impressed with the amount of one-on-one that goes on in Turkey. In the different "one-on-one" settings that I worked in the states, the ratio was actually more like 2 or 3 students per teacher. I think the difference is due to how we choose to spend our minimal funding (a little one-on-one for everyone vs. a lot of one-on-one for a few).

This week however, I got to observe something a little different from my normal one-on-ones. The center is one of the few to pioneer the concept of "dog therapy", which I think sounds much better when said in Turkish (kopek terapi). I have heard of the idea, but I don't really know what it entails in the states, other than to use a dog as a reward in the classroom.

The two dogs at our center are used in physical therapy, in a couple different ways. The first is to use the dog instead of a pillow or cushion to physically support the student during therapy. I was amazed that Komur (the dog) was able to lay completely still for almost half an hour while the therapist was working on leg extension with the student. The student loved having a dog for a pillow (I admit I have tried with Alex, and he won't stay still and complains horribly!), and was in a better mood because of the dog's presence.

The next way seems like the most fun for the dog and the student, and the observer as well. The therapist helped the student cover his hands or feet in yogurt (yes, yogurt) and then Komur got to lick it off! I am not a physical therapist, so I don't know all the great benefits behind this, but I do know that it helped with sensory issues and cross-lateral movement in particular. Plus, education (and physical therapy) should always be fun!