Author: mmk5623

On Thursday, June 20th, our group attended the second to last day of the conference. While there, we listened to several interesting talks on disability and family life. My favorite part of the conference was when Robert Martin spoke about his experience with institutions. He went into detail about the negative experiences he had while in an institution. One example he gave was when he tried to sneak a cat in and his care takers nearly through it out the window. He concluded by explaining that segregation had never worked in the past, yet we are still separating people with learning disabilities from people without disabilities. This message was powerful to me because it connected the lack of the rights people with disabilities face currently to the lack of rights other minority groups have had to fight for throughout history, and showed that like other groups, it is possible to make the necessary changes towards equal rights.

On Friday, June 21st, we attended the final day of the conference. This was an exciting day because we got to see our own group members participate in the Moot Court Competition. In addition, we al received certificates for completing the conference. Following the conference, we took the bus back to Dublin. Once in Dublin, I said goodbye to the amazing group of girls that I became close friends with throughout the trip. I am so grateful to have had such an amazing experience, where I got to meet incredible people, gain exposure to different fields within culture and disabilities, and learn about disability rights and policies. Although I was sad to leave Ireland, I am excited to share everything I have learned about Culture and Disabilities with my family and friends now that I am home!

(Certificate from 11th International Disability Summer School)

On Monday, June 17th, our group attended the first day of the 11th International Disability Law Summer School. At the start of the conference, a lecture was given on Craftivism. Cravtivism is a form of activism that uses crafts to voice opinions, campaign for justice, and bring a community to action. I thought that this was a creative way to get people involved and excited about voicing their opinions and standing up for what they believe in. Another talk that stood out to me was Freyja Haraldsdottir’s key note address. Her address was about the discrimination she experienced as a person with a disability who wanted to adopt a child. Her talk have me a better understanding of the challenges people with disabilities face in family life.

On Tuesday, June 18th, we began our second day of the International Disability Law Summer School. We listened to many great talks, and one of my favorite talks was on belonging. During this talk Rachel Lassen, the director of leap, discussed the community development approach her organization utilizes when working with people with disabilities. She explains that her group focuses on belonging because they feel it is important for people to have a strong sense of identity, and feel that a sense of identity is something many people with disabilities lack.  They believe people can form this strong sense of identity through family, community, and employment.  I though that this was an interesting approach to helping people with disabilities and would love to learn more about it.

Today, June 19th, our group got to hear more about disability and family life. One talk that stood out to me was on Deaf family life. This lecture was presented by John Bosco Conama, an employee at the center for Deaf Studies at Trinity College. He discussed the importance of Deaf culture and the Deaf community, and his message aligned with what we learned about the Deaf community at Deaf Village. He also went into detail about the division between Deaf people born to hearing families and Deaf people born to Deaf families. he explained that many Deaf people born to hearing families approach their Deafness as something that needs to be fixed through medical intervention. In contrast, many people born to Deaf families are brought up in the Deaf community and taught to uphold Deaf customs and traditions. I enjoyed his talk because it furthered my knowledge on Deaf culture and the Deaf community.

 

(Picture from the International Disability Law Summer School)

On Friday, June 14th, our group took a day tour to the Aran Islands. The tour took us on a Ferry to the Islands. Once their, we walked up to the Dun Aengus fort and cliffs. The view from the cliffs was breath taking, and I was shocked at how close we were able to get to the edge of the cliffs.  We also got lunch and shopped for wool sweaters on the way up to the cliffs. The handmade wool sweater were gorgeous. The tour ended at Kilmurvey beach, where we walked along the sand and took in the beautiful blue and green water.

On Saturday, June 15th, we explored the city of Galway. While in the town, we shopped, had an amazing lunch, and saw the colorful houses along the water. We also got to walk around their local market. The market was full of stands with artsy and homemade crafts. My favorite stand was full of paintings from landscapes around Ireland, such as the Cliffs of Moher, Aron Islands, and Temple Bar street. Overall, I had a great day exploring Galway.

Today, June 16th, our group took a trip to the Cliffs of Moher. It started raining almost as soon as we arrived at the cliffs, and our entire group got soaked, however,  the view from the top of the cliffs was well worth it. We also had the chance to stop at smaller cliffs off the Atlantic Coast, which were also beautiful. Finally, we stopped at the ruins of a castle seated right on the water. This was such a fun way to end our tours through Ireland, and I am excited for the first day of the UN conference tomorrow!

(Kilmurvey Beach)

(Galway)

(Cliffs of Moher)

 

(Cliffs off Atlantic Coast)

 

On Monday, June 10th our group attended Child Vision, where we learned about Equine Therapy. Equine Therapy is used by occupational therapists to aid in sensory feedback. The sensory feedback provided by horse back riding aids children with fine and gross motor delays in meeting their OT and PT goals. In addition, horse back riding  improves concentration and motivation, which results in improvements in other areas of learning, such as speech. I was surprised to hear that Equine Therapy is not funded by the government, despite the great results it can have.

On Monday night, we got the chance to attend a soccer game. Prior to this, I had never attended a professional soccer game. It was amazing to see how excited and cheerful the crowd was during the game, and reminded me of football in the U.S.

On Tuesday, June 11th we went to St. Michael’s School. While there, we had the opportunity to interact with the children and teens that attend the school. The students were incredibly kind and welcoming towards our group. They danced, played soccer, and talked with us the entire time we were there. Their energy and engagement towards our large and intimidating group once again showed the incredible capabilities of students with disabilities.

Today, June 12th, we completed our final site visit at Friends of the Elderly. We served food, coffee, and tea to everyone that attended. We also had the opportunity to speak with some of the groups members. There was a great band, and we all sang and danced for most of the day. This was a great way to end our trip to Dublin, and I can’t wait for the second half of our trip in Galway!

(Us at the soccer game)

On Thursday, June 6th our study abroad group attended Enable Ireland. Enable Ireland provides occupational, speech, and physical therapy to over 400 children. While there, they explained that the services Enable Ireland provides are paid for through Ireland’s Health Services, therefore, the families of the children receiving services do not pay any money out of pocket. This was interesting to hear, since copays and out of pocket costs are common in the U.S. In addition, we got to tour the facility, see the therapy rooms, and learn about various forms of technology used by occupational and physical therapist.

On Saturday, June 8th, our group took a trip to Northern Ireland! While there, we got to go into the Titanic museum, explore Giant Causeway, and cross a unique rope bridge. This was my favorite trip so far because of the magnificent views. The cliffs and ocean in Northern Ireland were like something out of a fairy tale, and none of the pictures I took could do the view justice. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see the Northern part of Ireland.

Today, June 9th, our group attended high tea. We got to sample an assortment of finger foods, pastries, teas, and coffees. I had a great time trying foods I had never had before, and my favorite thing I tried was the stuffing wrap. This tea was the perfect end to a great weekend!(Rope Bridge)(Titanic Museum)

On Monday, June 3rd our group took a day tour to New Grange. While there, we saw the most amazing tomb that was built in the Neolithic period. The entrance to the tomb was aligned perfectly with the Winter Solstice, therefore, the tomb creators had to have a vast knowledge of the sun. The tour also took us to the Hill of Slane, which had ruins and beautiful open fields.

On Tuesday, June 4th we visited a charitable organization called Fighting Blindness. While there, researcher Melisa Jones gave a presentation on sight loss research. She explains that the organization is looking to learn more about inherited sight loss and age related macular degeneration. Furthermore, John, a psychotherapist that worked for Fighting Blindness, explained the therapeutic services the organization offers to those who are blind or affected by blindness. He also discussed his personal experience as someone that lost his vision. He explained that he has accepted his blindness and has a positive relationship with it. He also explained that everyone has experienced loss and hardship at some point in their lives, however, people are resilient and capable of recovering from life’s challenges. I found his message about resilience and personal experience with overcoming hardship to be inspiring, and hope I can remember this talk the next time I am faced with something I find challenging.

(New Grange)

(Hill of Slane)

On Thursday May 30th our group attend Stephen St. Michael’s House- Templeogue, which is a day program for adult with intellectual disabilities. This day program helps people with intellectual disabilities to find job placements within their local communities. In addition, the program works on education for those with intellectual disabilities. The  participants are also encouraged to become active citizens and volunteer within their community. St. Michael’s house wants their participants to be active members of society, and the program utilized PECS and Board Makers to keep all program participants on a organized and productive schedule. It was interesting to see Board Maker and PECS in use at St. Michael’s facility because I have learned about these tools in my Communication Science and Disorders (CSD) classes, however, I had not had the opportunity to see these tools in practice until this site visit. I was happy to observe these systems in practice because I may need to use them in my future career.

On Friday May 31st our group attended Mental Health Ireland, where one of the faculty members presented information on the organization. The speaker talked about three main themes: mental health promotion, organizational fitness, and living life well. One part of the presentation that stood out to me was Mental Health Ireland’s efforts to prevent suicide and overdose. They were able to identify medication overdose as one of the four main methods used to commit suicide. Mental Health Ireland then took action and had a widely advertised collection of unused prescription medication.  The organization was able to collect 60 tons of unused medication. I found this interesting because I knew that overdoses was a common problem, and believe that this could be an effective way to prevent overdose.

After our site visits, our group spent the entire weekend together exploring Ireland. We went to the Temple Bar Area’s market, took a boat ride around Howth’s harbor, and hiked through one of the local islands. This left me excited to continue touring and visiting sites within Ireland.

(Garden at St. Michael’s House) (View when hiking in Howth)

On Saturday, May 25th I arrived in Dublin, Ireland. Once there, I had the opportunity to meet and explore the city with the other nine students in the program.

On our first site visit, we got to see Trinity Disability Services, where occupational therapist Claire Malone discussed how the University provides services to their students with disabilities. She revealed that the majority of students who utilized the college’s services have mental health conditions. This was surprising to me because mental health conditions often receive a negative stigma, yet they are the most common health condition  at Trinity.

In addition, I had the opportunity to attend a Science Fair at Trinity. At this fair, ten first year students with intellectual disabilities presented their projects. Each student created their own project that was based on their area of interest. These student had to talk about and present a poster presentation on their chosen topic.  Some of these topics included:the effects of speaker volume on rice movement, the relationship between the number of goals scored in soccer and distance from the goal, and what the year 2030 will look like. My favorite project was entitled “The Sound Project”, and it examined outdoor and indoor sound sources. In addition, this student’s project explained that there are certain decibels at which sound is painful to our ears. This project stood out to me because the student who created it was incredibly passionate when discussing his work, and was able to articulate the purpose of his project with confidence and professionalism. This is something I feel that many people, myself included, would struggle to do in a large and crowded room. Overall, this experience gave me a better understanding of the capabilities each student possessed, and left me excited to learn more at each site visit.