{"id":4510,"date":"2017-08-31T06:38:45","date_gmt":"2017-08-31T12:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/?p=4510"},"modified":"2019-01-31T09:37:20","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T15:37:20","slug":"dr-williams-and-her-therapy-dog-layla-spend-the-summer-with-community-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/2017\/08\/31\/dr-williams-and-her-therapy-dog-layla-spend-the-summer-with-community-children\/","title":{"rendered":"PT’s Dr. Christi Williams and Her Therapy Dog, Layla, Spend the Summer with Community Children"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Children<\/a><\/div>\n

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Christi Williams spent the summer spreading joy throughout the community\u00a0with her certified therapy dog, Layla. A 7-year old yellow Labrador Retriever, Layla has been volunteering for the past two years as a certified therapy dog through Pet Partners, a local nonprofit organization. Williams and Layla visit many locations on a volunteer basis, including Vanderbilt Children\u2019s Hospital and Vanderbilt One Hundred Oaks, to spread smiles to patients and health care providers.<\/p>\n

This summer Layla volunteered with Vanderbilt\u2019s Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic\u2019s Constraint Camp, a camp that focuses on promoting use of the involved upper extremities by casting the uninvolved side. While there,\u00a0Layla eased the children\u2019s\u00a0fears and encouraged\u00a0them to try new and often challenging tasks. They worked on their gross motor skills alongside Layla by petting and brushing her and finding special stickers inside the zippered pocket of her vest. Gathering stickers from her pocket allowed the children to work on these motor skills, while also proudly displaying proof of the day\u2019s therapist \u2014 their favorite yellow lab.<\/p>\n

Though Layla loves all her time at camp, Williams said one of her highlights is playing fetch with the children and her favorite pink tennis ball. A very challenging task for the kids as it requires skill to grasp, hold and release the ball, they are determined to play alongside Layla. \u201cShe is always patiently waiting for them to throw it her way!\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

One of Layla\u2019s many walks throughout the facility.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Children also enjoy taking Layla for a \u2018walk\u2019 throughout the facility where a small leash is attached to Layla\u2019s harness for the kids to hold. Despite the physical challenge this can present, they are eager to participate. A\u00a0physical therapist herself, Williams loves to work with Layla in the rehabilitation setting. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like watching self-doubt immediately turn into pure confidence when Layla\u2019s \u2018leash\u2019 is placed in these children\u2019s hands. Their faces change and they no longer think about it as a challenge. They just do it\u2013and with such confidence!\u201d<\/p>\n

Layla and Williams also spent time this summer at Monroe Carell Jr. Children\u2019s Hospital\u2019s Dog Days of Summer \u201cPaw-ty\u201d where Layla, and other certified therapy dogs, joined children in games, activities and more. Children watched the dogs do tricks on stage and received some takeaways, too \u2014 \u00a0a dog stuffed animal and a paw print stamp of the therapy dogs who participated.<\/p>\n

Layla\u00a0then traveled to\u00a0Camp TALK, a camp for children with speech deficits, where she taught children about therapy animals. The kids practiced talking to and giving commands to Layla including \u201csit,\u201d \u201clay down,\u201d \u201cshake hands\u201d and \u201chigh five.\u201d Layla also showed off her catch skills and played hide-and-seek with the kids.<\/p>\n

\"Layla\u201cFor these children, Layla\u2019s presence creates an environment where they are no longer anxious\u00a0to try new things or speak in front of their peers,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHaving Layla in the room shifts the children\u2019s focus from their disability to simply having fun with the dog!\u201d<\/p>\n

Visiting with patients and helping children during their rehabilitation is a big part of what Layla does as a certified therapy dog, but she often has the greatest impact on the health care providers who are working alongside their patients. At the Center for Women\u2019s Health, Layla\u2019s \u201cjob\u201d is to visit with the nurses and physicians, providing a necessary break during the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis visit tends to be one of Layla\u2019s favorite stops because these nurses spoil her rotten,\u201d Williams said. \u201cShe\u00a0knows exactly who has treats for her and which drawer or cabinet they are stashed in. Being a health-care provider can be very stressful at times, and Layla provides that much-needed mental break!\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Vanderbilt Pediatric Rehabilitation at One Hundred Oaks and\u00a0Monroe Carell Jr. Children\u2019s Hospital at Vanderbilt.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Christi Williams spent the summer spreading joy throughout the community\u00a0with her certified therapy dog, Layla. A 7-year old yellow Labrador Retriever, Layla has been volunteering for the past two years as a certified therapy … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exercise-science","category-chs","category-physical-therapy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4510"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4512,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4510\/revisions\/4512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}