Here Mia Robinson shares some of her experiences

Mia did a five week prac as a second year graduate entry masters OT student with the University of Queensland, Australia. She was brave enough to juggle two roles during her first prac! Firstly, a three day/week community integration and case management role with the local health department. And secondly, two days/week exploring the potential contribution of OT within a transition school for refugees with OOFRAS. Here is her account and reflections. . .

So, how did you first encounter OOFRAS?
I was assigned a part time prac with OOFRAS for my first placement. When I intially spoke with my supervisor, Clarissa, over the phone to get some information about the prac, she directed me to the OOFRAS website. This allowed me to gather some background knowledge to arm myself with before we met.

So, if you'd never heard of OOFRAS before, what did you think it would be like?
I really wasn’t sure what to expect, or how the placement would unfold. After browsing the website I could see there were diverse roles within the world of OTs and refugees. But I still wasn’t really sure where I would fit in OOFRAS over the next 5 weeks. It was a bit daunting, but when I realised I got to explore my own niche, I was excited to find something I was passionate about.

Ok, so what were things you wanted to know at the start?
Well, the more I read, the more interested I became in what role OTs played in the world of refugees and asylum seekers. I wanted to know what roles OTs currently have with refugees and how they opperate (eg in groups, with another service etc). I was aware I needed to find out about different challenges when working with refugees, either in direct services or indirect "behind the scenes" work. I was also curious to understand how OTs helped refugees to integrate into the Australian community and lifestyle.

How did you begin to answer some of these questions?
Well, the website was my first area of answers. I spoke to Clarissa about the many areas of OOFRAS, working with refugees and asylum seekers, and she gave me resources to explore myself. By exploring the OOFRAS site and becoming interested in occupational deprivation in refugee camps and detention centres, the information on the UNHCR site such as how long refugees are "warehoused" in camps took on new meaning. 

As I began researching deeper into these areas, I became more focused on adolescent refugees and asylum seekers and the impact environments, such as refugee camps and detention centres, had on their occupational performance and wellbeing when they resettled in a new country. For example, the impact of relocation on social, language learning, play, educational roles itself is huge, but may be also be complicated by long periods of depriation in camps or detention. 

From your initial research, how did you end up at the transition school?
I used Clarissa as a sounding board for any questions, queries and ideas, which was fantastic. Then the internet, talking with the OOFRAS Coordination team, and a visit to the local Transcultural Mental Health Centre for their articles, videos and refugee narrative to feed my curiosity. However, it was only after speaking to another OT who volunteered at Milpera, a transition school for refugee kids, that the real fun began.

It sounded like a great opportunity to explore my growing interest in working with adolescents that had recently relocated to Australia. Milpera sounded like a fun, exciting, and challenging experience, so I jumped at the chance to be involved. The length of stay there ranges from around 6 months to 2 years depending on their degree of English, experience with formal schooling and acculturation to Australia. I found it exciting to experience the kids and share in their journey by participating first hand.

What happened at Milpera?
Volunteering at Milpera was one of the best and most unexpected experiences I have ever stumbled upon. I began volunteering in the art and then English classes. The kids there are just amazing. My first day in the art class was so much fun. We had about 12 kids from nearly 10 different countries, all speaking their own language!

Together we helped them make Christmas cards. Sounds easy right? Well, not when some of them don’t understand how Christmas is celebrated in Australia. We had to start from the beginning, with showing them some of the different symbols and customs that represent Christmas to Australians; Christmas tree, Santa, bells, stars, presents. I learnt and realised a lot of things that day. I had never really considered that these kids would not be familiar with how to use different art tools, such as stencils, paints and glue. It was like starting at the beginning for a few of them. Their enthusiasm was amazing though, and they made some great personalized Christmas cards.

One of my next classes was fortunately interrupted by Milpera Idol auditions!!! This talent quest revealed amazingly diverse drumming, dance, music, and singing these kids have. It was just so inspiring to watch how easily they performed in front of their peers. I left that day with a buzz inside me. There was so much culture at this school, I knew I was going to learn and experience a lot just being there a few days.

So do tell, what did you learn from the kids there?
One of the biggest things I learnt was how different their learning levels and styles were compared to other kids of the same age that had been in Australian schools since the age of 5. Even with my basic knowledge of learning and developmental difficulties, I could identify needs that these kids had within the classroom. For example, holding a pencil effectively, planning craft activities, or positioning writing in a page appropriately. We saw in 14 year olds, problems I had associated with primary school kids. My little OT light bulb began to go off, and I wondered how OTs could play a part in such a diverse environment. I wanted to be a part of this.

What was the next step?
It's one thing to realise there is an OT contribution that can be made, and another to figure out how to make it accessible! So I organised a meeting with my supervisor and a few teachers at Milpera. We wanted to introduce them to OOFRAS as well as begin a network and ongoing dialogue. At that meeting, I realised that they aslo were aware of the learning and developmental difficulties some of the kids were having. They even had a basic knowledge that OTs work with such kids, but knew these kids were not likely to be a high priority for the scarce OT servies in the education system. I was surprised at how quickly an idea could become a project. It's all forward and cretive thinking from here on in.

Where to from here?
Milpera is constantly bringing in new kids from all around the world, so the need for OT is not going anywhere. Now we have started a dialogue about how to get access to OTs, the future can only bring bigger and better things. Practically speaking actions we're taken/plan to take in the immediate furture to get OT services closer to the refugee kids:

• We met with some staff at Milperra
• We're networking with an OT going on 3mth prac at Milperra for post grad studies
• We've planted the seed for final year pracs in 07
• We've discussed with the local uni's paediatric clinic the opportunity for outreach
• We've got meetings planned for 07
• We're planning to find out how this issue is being dealt with around the OT world (eg write article for association newsletters, website etc)
• After this, new actions and opportunities will emerge, so stay tuned :)

What an exciting challenge ahead!

How has this journey changed you as an OT?
This journey has allowed me to build and develop a stronger interest in adolescent health and understand more about the occupational therapy can contribute to so many adolescent life roles. I have really enjoyed working in the multicultural setting more than I ever thought. I would love to continue working in this area in some capacity after I have completed my studies. Doing a prac with OOFRAS has allowed me to see how only a few people with a lot of motivation and passion can create a new and exciting initiative.

What advice would you give to a supervisor when first beginning with a new student?
One of the first things that I found very useful was having the "hit list" of different resources and contacts available for me to explore. Although it can be overwhelming at the start, it allowed me to take some initiative and do some DIY learning on the vast array of topics related to refugees. It also allowed me to find my own area that I became interested in and passionate about.

The other thing that helped was to have a supervisor available as a sounding board whilst I narrowed down the areas I wanted to concentrate on over my prac. This helped me develop a small project of my own. This sounding board is important so that I knew what realistically could happen within the prac but also had a vision for what could evolve beyond the prac.

What advice would you give a student when starting this journey?
Try not to get overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information out there. Begin by choosing a really small question that you have, and try and find the answer the best you can. Take it all in your stride, but try and explore an area that you are personally interested in. The more motivation you have to get out there, the better. Most of all, have fun with it because I certainly did!

Sounds great, what could interested OTs and students do?

• If you're a paediatric OT in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - email us for a phone date and start/join the OT Qld special interest group
• If your're a paediatric OT around the globe - email us for a phone, internet, MSN date so we can network, join the group email list, find out about your local transition school
• If you're a student with a paediatric interest in Brisnane, Queensland, Australia - email us for a phone date, start/ join the OT Qld special interest group, email us if you want to explore an OOFRAS prac, research or group project 
• If you're a student with a paediatric interest round the globe- email us for a phone date, email us if you want to explore an OOFRAS prac, research or group project 
• If you're a researcher with these interests - talk to us, research could open some doors to help refugee kids get access to OTs
• If you're a educator with an interest in diversity - talk to us, we are happy to discuss some realities of doing "standard pratcice" with "diversity"
• If you're an OT with another flavour but an interest in this area - you could supervise a project prac (full time, part time etc) or find another goove, so talk to us!

We wish Mia all the best in her journey to being a fabulous OT. . . and can't wait to see what grows out from small and unexpected beginnings :)