Delays

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We have screened 25 children up to date and I am more comfortable doing the Denvers now. Over the course of the summer, I believe I can process everything more fluidly. The majority of the children are all presented with delays regardless of the treatment. There are some frustrations with the screening test, particularly in the language and personal-needs section. For example, learning colors seem to be of little importance here and the children cannot identify certain words such as "lake" and "curtain". Furthermore, two of the activities we've come across (brushing the teeth and eating cereal) in the personal-needs section are not common, which we will have to take into account during our analysis. We've also come across a handful of children whose age have been estimated. The test requires the age up to the month, so that was another thing we did not take into account as their caretakers may not know their exact date of birth. All in all, we find the process more fun than work, but I'm not sure what to make of this research in the final analysis. That may be looking too far ahead though.

We expect to complete everything by the end of the month and submit for IRB before the chart review. Hopefully, things will go smoothly this time.

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Another frustrating part about our work is knowing that there's a lack of resources available to the community. There are no schools or programs that cater to special-needs children. The alternative seems to be an uneventful life at home, where sadly, they are not given a real opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. This is so different from the states where a handicap can be honed through various skills and individuals are still able to become productive members of society. We learned that there is one private school here for autistic children, though the majority of our population cannot afford it. They can barely afford public school. This all seems rather depressing, but there has been a universal ideal that I've seen across every situation. At the end of the day, it simply leaves me in awe to witness the unconditional love between a parent and their child. I think that's the only kind of real love that exist where one doesn't have to know anything about the other individual - it's unexplanibly wonderful and so touching to see. Many of the women carry their young ones in a sling-shot wrap on their backs that look both comforting and secure. It makes me smile to see such warmth and I hope that amidst their harsh reality, they are happy and warm.

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