Social Work Internship Blog

On March 23rd, I went with Kyle to meet with a client for an admission meeting and assessment with J.Y.W.  I was able to process the experience with Grace later. J.Y.W.'s father met with us at a Zippy's in Honolulu. J.Y.W. is a recently graduated young man diagnosed with autism. He goes to Secoh and Bayada is being contracted to provide a behavioral plan for him at his day placement. I felt anxious about the experience. Much of this was self-inflicted. I put pressure on myself that I had to do it right, perhaps because it is similar to my position with early intervention. Mr. W is a Korean immigrant. He has a very strong accent. Despite my mom being a first generation Chinese woman who also has an accent, I do not alter my speech because I have concerns that she cannot understand me. However, with Mr. W, I was doing this. I was either speaking slowly and enunciating each word, or I was speaking loudly as though he had auditory challenges. This compounded the stress! Gra

On March 22, 2018, I attended a hearing for House Committee Resolution 157 regarding informed consent for immunization adverse reaction events in Hawaii. However, the public was informed upon arrival that HCR 157 would be replaced with HR 107, a resolution created at the last minute with Representative Tupola and Dr. Park from the Department of Health. The resolution would " Encourage The Department Of Health To Maintain Communications With The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention In Ongoing Efforts To Better Understand And Monitor The Immunization And Vaccination Of Children In Hawaii And Ensure Their Safety." Many attended the hearing to provide testimony for the original bill HCR 157, which in effect was now dead. Representative Tupola noted that there was so much opposition to the resolution that there was no way it was going to survive. So, as a last ditch effort to save some part of the resolution, she joined with DoH Dr. Park.  Those who testified noted that