Kezia Robinson

What are your past/current experiences working in the field of disabilities, allied health, education, or school?  

While in undergrad, I volunteered in Ochsner’s PICU as a critical cuddler which entailed providing positive touch, human touch, to infants who received mainly negative touch from monitors/tubes, soothing fussy babies, and playing games and coloring with older kids. While on my gap year, I worked as a trainer at Split Second Fitness, which is a fitness center designed for people with disabilities. As a trainer at Split, I developed exercises for people with SCIs, TBIs, strokes, MS, MD, amputations and hearing, speech, or cognitive impairments.  Currently, I work PRN as a rehab technician at Ochsner’s Boh Center Therapy and Wellness for Children. I’ve interacted with children from newborn to 18 with diagnoses such as: CP, down’s syndrome, spina bifida, autism, torticollis, hemiplegia, and paraplegia. I play with and help keep children engaged in their speech, occupational, and physical therapy sessions, but assisting the physical therapists with gait training is my favorite part! 

What are your goals for your Interprofessional Preparation experience?  

My goal for IPP is to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to learn about the development and health of children and health care services, laws, and educational programs that support the journeys of children with disabilities. My hope is that the program fosters my development into a competent, enthusiastic pediatric physical therapist that is able to cultivate a child’s independence and development by delivering the best care, support, and referrals to appropriate health or educational entities. By the end of this program, my goal is to be a better advocate for children with disabilities to help them received the best services or devices to enable their independence in the community and school settings.  

What do you wish to contribute as a future Related Service Provider &/or Special Education Teacher?  

I have always been drawn to working with children, which led me to seek opportunities revolving around the educational and health needs of children. Witnessing the juxtaposition between children with disabilities and typically developing children, sparked my interest in pediatric physical therapy. My contribution entails using the transformative power of physical therapy to erase or at least blur the physical differences between children with disabilities and their peers who haven’t faced the same challenges. My hope is that the skills that I will learn through my PT education and the IPP program will help give children with disabilities a fighting chance at having high-quality, independent, healthy lives.