Barte, Anne Bernadette B.

BSOT II-A

Reaction Paper

Zapatera Elementary School: Physical Therapy and Occupational Thera

py Rehabilitation Center

Twenty-eigth of September, two thousand and ten, Tuesday. As w

e passed through the SPED Center going to PTOT Rehabilitation Center,
the area was environment friendly and everything seems to be colorful
and alive. At the PTOT Rehab Center, we noticed that there were no lon
ger patients around, because as what the staff had said, it was already
the end of the morning session, but fortunately, there was Miss Lesan S
egador, PTRP and Leo Melandro Dizon an OT intern was there to help u
s be oriented about the center and what does Occupational Therapy ha
s more in store for us.

So to begin with, the history of the Zapatera Sped Center was

started when it was organized on June of 1973 by Mrs. Evelyn Tusalem,
a Zapatera Elementary School Teacher. Mrs. Tusalem has a special Chid
who motivated her to take up the scholarship training for “Teaching the
Mentally Retarded Children” at the University of the Philippines, Dilima
n, Quezon City. Having completed the training course, she opened the
SPED Center at Zapatera Elementary School, Sikatuna Street, Cebu Cit
y originally with fifteen mentallt retarded sy\tudents. She handles the c
enter for five years before she was promoted as school principal, after
which another teacher took over the center for the succeeding five yea
rs.

In June of 1976, a hearing impaired class was opened with ten he

aring impaired students. Between June of 1980 – 1984 a class of visuall
y impaired students was also opened. Classes were dissolved due to un
availability of teachers. In June of 1982 – 1989 a class of fast learners c
omposed of twenty-five students was opened although it met the same
ill fate as the visually impaired class.

Since 1983 up to the present, Mrs. Carol Pacana heads the Zapat
era Elementary School SPED Center and together with her staff, manag
es the entire population of 158 students. Ninety-eight of which belongs
to the mentally retarded group and sixty to the hearing impaired group.

In November of 1997, the Occupational Therapy section of ZES

SPED Center was opened. Ms. Menierva Lagria, OTRP, a faculty of Velez
College of Occupational Therapy approached the ZES board of
administration fpr an approval for affliation of the said college. The O.T.
section was based on the school's clinic, wherein a maximum of fifteen
students can be accomodated. The clinical supervisor at present is Ms.
Sandy C. Bracero, OTRP. The OT section staff is composed of the
Occupational Therapy volunteers and interns offering a number of
different O.T. services to the special children in the center such as
prevocational skills training, cognitive stimulation, behavioral
modification techniques and socialization schemes to foster group
work.

The Zapatera Elementary School SPED Center is attended by a

total of 158 students. Ninety-eight (98) of the students are mentally
retarded. The remaining 60 students are hearing-impaired. Of the total
population, only the mentally retarded group has received O.T.
services. This group has been divided into three sections. Two sections
are considered into one section. Their OT sessions are held in their
sheltered workshop where the male group manufactures chalks as
their pre-vocational training activity. Funds are then gained by selling
their products to the teachers in school. On the other hand, female
group sew bags, potholders, and rugs.

O.T, sessions in the moring are allocated for pediatric patients

wherein patients are brought to the clinic for the individual therapy. In
the afternoons, the available adult MR students are also brought to the
clinic and are treated as a group.

The stated type of clients that they cater in the center were indiv
iduals with autism, global delay, ADHD, mild retardation, and CP's (cere
bral palsy). Their were several interventions they gave to their patients
to help build their abilities, such as the following:

* BMT or Behavioral Modification Technique - (i.e., verbal praises, promt

ing and prodding)

* TUS or Therapeutic Use of Self - (i.e., Active friendliness)

* TUA or Therapeutic Use of Activities - (i.e., melted crayon, blowing, w

atercolor hand painting, touring of school grounds, checklist)

* SIAx or Sensory Integration Activities - here patients play (i.e., jump t

rampoulins, shape sorter, left and right discrimination technique, matc
hing of colors)
Below is the Organizational Chart from the Zapatera SPED Center down
to the patients: