I am pursuing my Doctorate of Occupational Therapy to achieve my long-term goal of becoming a researcher, specializing in the cerebral palsy population. My experience at Camp Jabberwocky ignited my passion, and volunteering in UF Health Hospitals more recently has only helped my passion grow. Working with individuals with Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism, and other disabilities of all ages is constantly challenging me to problem-solve seemingly “inaccessible” situations.
I had always thought of myself as an advocate for individuals with disabilities, but I knew that my exposure and perspective was limited. To remedy this, I spent the summer volunteering at Camp Jabberwocky. My first camp experience paired me with a 68-year-old woman with cerebral palsy. She was not able to verbally communicate, and we connected by using an eye gazing board. It was an eye-opening experience living with such a complex and wonderful woman betrayed by her deteriorating muscles. In my two weeks I spent paired with her, I realized that if we optimized our daily living routine, we could maximize the time spent engaging with our friends and the community around us. So, we set our mind to examining every way that we could make her life easier. Before this experience, I was merely a friend to the disability community, but after, I felt as if I could truly be an advocate with the disability community.
After my 3 years at Camp Jabberwocky, I worked as a behavior therapist and volunteered in both an inpatient and outpatient occupational therapy setting. I loved how each experience educated the next. I saw a client at the UF Health Rehab Center with declining manual dexterity. He could not grip the waistband of his pants. When I had worked as a behavioral therapist the previous summer, a young boy with Autism suffered a similar problem, but for a different reason. At that moment, I realized every individual is a unique puzzle, but sometimes puzzle pieces are transferable across puzzles. I told the occupational therapist and the client that I was merely an undergraduate student without any formal occupational therapy training, but I had the idea to try overalls. He loved it. I saw first-hand how a young boy with autism and an older male with a physical disability could both benefit from the same solution, despite having very different challenges. I saw how a little creativity combined with OT principles, could help lives change.
Each of these experiences has shown me that there is a solution to each challenge. Some have been found already, and some are still there for those with the creativity, passion, education, and drive to create them. It will require me daily to use the knowledge I will gain to identify the gaps in accessibility that still require improving and find solutions to fix those gaps to best serve the community.