Therapists Without Borders?

Any doubts* I had about coming to Belize quickly dissipated when I met my host family. Barzakh Falah is run by a married couple, Jaime and Nancy, who rank among the top people I admire, respect, and find inspirational. They have 2 children of their own with 1 on the way (i.e., any day now!) and are raising 3 adopted children, each who had been deemed "unadoptable" by the authorities around here.

The youngest of the adopted chlidren is 4-year-old "B". A child born of substance abuse, B has lived here for 2 years. Her behavior problems had gotten so severe in their home that they confessed they were ready to give up and return B to the system. But then they heard about me and my profession. Through email exchanges and her personal research, Nancy learned that behavior problems may be the result of poor communication skills. They changed their mind about returning her, and took the announcement that I was coming as a sign that they need to give this little girl another chance.

Imagine that! Just because I came, this little girl is staying.

Make no mistake -- this is not a family that hasn't tried everything. This is not a family who thinks "oh well, this one doesn't fit with us. Send her back." They've reached out and sought help, particularly from the Social Services here who are supposed to support the children and their new families. But Social Services here is bullcrap. They don't know the first thing about caring for children with special needs, don't want to admit it, and don't want to do anything to help.

At first, I was intimidated by thinking I was expected to fix everything. Now I know that they know that it's a process, and that I am not an expert by any means, and that if things don't work out, it won't be my fault.

This little girl is SO precious. She's skinny and small and hyperactive. She has mood swings and temper tantrums and speech/language issues. But overall, on the "problem child" scale from 1-10 (1 being normal and 10 being that-14-y/o-boy-with-autism-who-tore-the-bathroom-sink-from-the-wall-in-a-tantrum, or
that-7-y/o-boy-with-Prader-Willi-syndrome-who-lashed-out-at-random-to-scratch-and-draw-blood, or
that-8-y/o-boy-with-Oppositional-Defiant-Disorder-who-waited-till-you're-watching-to-grab-and-run-with-scissors), I'd put B at a level 4.

But I can see how, to parents who've raised normal children, B seems so different and difficult. From my perspective, though, B is a cute very-treatable child. For example, within the first day she learned to make the /f/ sound in the initial word position in single words with visual cues only. She responds to verbal praise and positive attention! She has scattered skills up into the 4-year-old range, but mostly seems to function at a 2- to 3-year-old level. I suspect she has Emotional Disability, among other things. And why not? She was born with odds stacked against her, and has been through circumstances no kid's ever supposed to be put through.

Barzakh Falah has hosted many volunteers through various organizations. But... I'm the first to work directly with the children. (Past volunteers assisted with construction and farming.) Because I came, Nancy and Jaime now recognize that they need to reach out for more volunteers who have skills and knowledge to work with disabled/disadvantaged children and to train caregivers like themselves.

And those 11 children that I've been seeing at the two schools? They are all behind by at least 1 grade and teachers don't know how to help them. They have been "punished" for not achieving. One teacher even said to me today that she's been teaching her students, "No one is stupid. They are just lazy."

But because I came, they started to recognize that they may have been unfair to the children, because they can't help it if they have disorders. And now they want to know how to help them. Talk about paradigm shifts!

And because I came, motivation to create my own organization has been rekindled. While there are large organizations coordinating efforts for doctors and dentists to travel to rural villages, currently no official program exists for special educators, counselors, therapists, social workers, or psychologists. With all due respect to the doctors out there... but doctors are not the ones who are out in the field helping people and their caregivers cope with their diagnoses. They are not the ones who know how to deal with the day-to-day behavioral or emotional or intellectual deviations from the norm. We have to be creative, empathetic, knowledgeable, and PRESENT for those who are struggling.

Anyone who's interested in helping me start "Therapists Without Borders" (or another name more clever than this and includes special ed teachers, counselors & psychs), or anyone interested in travel volunteerism, please let me know!

(Neuroplastic Travel, Inc.?)

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*When planning my post-podunk, IL, travels, I considered 3 options.
1) Visit friends in various parts of Eastern Asia
2) Visit Michael in Switzerland
3) Village Volunteers (VV) again and
   a) go back to Sirua Aulo in Kenya
   b) go to India's Abha Light program (I'd considered it in the past)
   c) go to Belize as the first VV volunteer

To be very honest with everyone out there, I was leaning toward option 1 more than anything else. (Oh yeah, it wouldn't have worked well for me to go to Switzerland even if we were still together-- Michael is tied up with school and studies). I was burnt out at work and sick of being an SLP. I really wanted a break AND I longed to country-hop again, like I had just done from Nov '09 - Feb '10. A whim, some encouragement from a good friend, and a strong sense of responsibility all urged me to choose option 3c. Now I realize it was God's doing all along.