SMonday, February 19, 1973 TH£ SAL€M1T£ Page Five Student Efforts Bring Rewards, Satisfaction _ by Margaret Brinkley The solution to a sick child’s '(worries is play therapy. He must out of that dreary room and to the sunny 7th Floor Play- jroom where there are lots of nice ■^people just waiting to help him C what he enjoys most - PLAY. ■ tWho are these people in the play- iroom? Well, four of them were fsalem College students doing ttheir January term in Play Ther apy. Nancy Adams, Averell JPharr, Betsy Hester, and I - were those Play Therapists! Play Therapy can mean mere ly entertaining the child to keep ■■his mind away from his aches and pains, or it can encourage '|the child to express all of his 'Tears, angers, and hostilities irough play. Given a stuffed limal and a hypodermic needle ■ to play with, a hospitalized jchild will give the animal all those painful shots that the doc tor has so often given him. More than that, a January term in play therapy at N.C. Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill provides a picture of the total |:hild during hospitalization. With the support and coopera tion of the entire hospital staff, I we saw the Social Worker in- ' |rolved with a child whose social history (family background and environment) kept him from re- ; |:overing medically. When parents come to Chapel Hill, dump their |en-year-old at the hospital, and do not return to visit even when |he has surgery, then Social Work can get involved and dis cover the cause of their abandon ment. If the trouble is transpor tation to the hospital, they can lllllli I III often provide the funds to bring he parents to visit. When the )arents just cannot come, how ever, then the play therapist :an provide the love and atten tion that a child needs to over come his fears of being aban doned because his illness has made him unacceptable to his family. We also got an introduction to abortion counseling and abor tion procedures which helped us to deal with a fourteen-year-ole girl who was an abortion candi date, and often came to the playroom. Her strong needs to “mother” were fulfilled by di- ■ecting the younger children in iress-up sessions that kept every- Dne in hysterical laughter. On Pediatrics, play therapists and physical therapists work very closely because all thera peutic exercises and routines have to be made into games. After all, a child’s world is his play! Knowing that a child need- ',d to stretch her right arm and extend it over her head to pre vent stiffness after surgery brought us to put “vegetables” on a high shelf in the “refrigera tor” and have her reach way up to get them. Breathing deeply to develop good habits before thor acic surgery can easily be achieved by blowing soap bub bles through a small wand. Bub bles are favorites with all child ren! Because we needed to keep a- breast of the medical progress of each child in order to plan appropriate play, we attended Nurse’s Report each morning as the night shift left and the day shift came on duty. What a con glomeration of medical abbrevia tions it was that first week! Keeping informed about the kids also meant attending meetings of the Treatment Team, composed of those involved in the hospitalization of a child. Along with doctors, nurses, so cial workers, physical therapists. Continued on page 8 The Clewell pool’s bedraggled appearance reminds one that spring ivill not be here for many weeks. time, so Dr. Wagoner rises early, CONTINUED getting in a full two hours of work before she teaches her 8 a.m. class. She feels sorry for the students arising early to catch her classes because she admitted she never awoke at that hour when a student herself. However, with the enthusiasm and zest she displayed in our conversation. I’m sure she must be just as captivating in her classes despite the hour. If you aren’t in one of her classes, you will have a chance to work with her on the literary magazine. Dr. Wagoner is looking forward to assisting the staff of Incuna bula. year is entitled The Dark Coun tess and is a historical novel about a murder trial occuring in Hungary during the 17th cen tury. At the moment. Dr. Wagon er is in the open phases of her latest novel which has an Irish subject. It deals with the trial of Roger Casement, hero of the re bellion of 1916, who was execu ted for treason that same year. Research for the novel has taken her to Ireland for the past two summers where she lived unham pered by the recent violence. Her writing requires much iiiiiiliiliiliiliiiiiiiiii : of People.. Tonight, Monday, Feb. 19 Dr. Buchanan speaks to Labitngs on Meteorology! €veryone is invited! The Salem College Pierrette Players are proud to announce the performance of their next |leader’s Theater program, the fomical satire “Animal Farm” written by George Orwell and iidapted for the stage by Nelson Bond. The players will include Peggy Bullard, Lynda Casanova, Jlary Dorsett, Kathleen Gideon, Sherrin Gardner, Nancy Porter, and Claudia Lane. Because of schedule conflicts, the date of the performance is not known at this time. The correct dat at this time. The correct date will be announced in the Salemite. rebates The maximum rebate any stu dent may receive for her January prm is $56.00. This rebate is ailable only to those students ^ho were off campus for at least two weeks. For returning stu dents, the rebate will be applied to the room reservation fee. Seniors and students who are not returning in the fall will re ceive their rebate after the room Beservation fees have been paid by the other students. [ here's ...HEND V/&M6ZDELA- Or maybe you'd dig Liberia. Or how about Ethi opia? Or Watts? If it's action you're loqking for, we can ‘^'''®£a?s?we am ACTION-a growing movement of volunteers out to help people he^ themselves. We're far away—in the Peace Corps—helping peo ple in developing countries overseas. holoina We're right down the street—in VISTA—helping our own poor get a decent shot at life. And we're even a group of college students—in University Year for ACTION—working on special com munity projects while earning credits toward a degree. The Peace Corps. VISTA. University Year for ACTION. That's a lot of ACTION. And we need a lot more people. Our number is 800-424-8580. W^hy don t you give us a call. And make a date, today. right aown me DON'T CRAWL UNDER , A TOOC. GET INTO MTION. SOO-4224 TOLL FREE. advertising contributed tor the public good