Jason McKibben

Stories: Human Touch Project

   
Stacia, a 4-year old with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, spends hours every day staring into her hand -- an act of self-stimulatory behavior likely developed as a reaction to the lack of stimulation and physical touch in her surroundings. "She sees something magical in her hands," said one caretaker, not knowing that breaking such habits is not only possible, but in the best interest of the child.
   
Karen Hairston, a volunteer with the Human Touch Project and a physical therapist at Children's Therapy Services in Fayetteville, Arkansas, tries to comfort Sveta, 3, who cries whenever she is held. Three of Hairston's patients in Arkansas are former Ukrainian orphans with Cerebral Palsy.
     
  
One of the biggest challenges faced by the project is getting the caretakers to understand that it is actually alright to massage and stretch children. In fact it is a big help with cerebral palsy for example, which tends to tighten the muscles. The mindset seems to be that the children are very fragile and there is a fear of causing more damage than good. In reality the children's inactivity exacerbates the problems.
   
A caretaker reprimands an 11-year-old girl for trying to get out of bed. The girl lives in a "lying-down" room and is not permitted to leave her bed. Her leg muscles have atrophied and she is unable to walk on her own.
   
     
  
An 11-year-old child sees a television for the first time. The volunteers donated the television and some DVDs to the orphanages in order to provide at least some stimulation.
   
Karen Hairston (foreground left) and Kym Hannah (foreground right), both physical therapists at Children's Therapy Services in Fayetteville, Arkansas, evaluate a child as Ukrainian caretakers observe. Over the course of three days, Hairston and Hannah put together an action plan with exercises and instructions for each special needs child at the orphanage. Future visits by volunteers will gauge the efficacy of both the caretakers' training and the children's treatment.
   
One of the goals of the trip was to introduce simple and inexpensive techniques that would be practical for the caretakers to add to their daily routines. A large piece of stretchy fabric was used as a hammock to gently bounce and calm the children.
     
  
   
This 13-year-old lives in one of the "lying-down" rooms in an institution for children five and up. Figures are not easy to come by, but according to the staff members at a nearby orphanage, during the last four years only one child out of 26 transferred from their orphanage to this institution has survived.
   
A playroom in an institution that houses over 350 special-needs children aged five and up. No child has ever been adopted from this institution.
     
  
The Human Touch Project was started by two American families who have adopted five Ukrainian children between them. The project's goal is to increase the level of physical interaction between caretakers and special-needs orphans.
   
After being fitted with leg braces by volunteer physical therapists, this boy with Cerebral Palsy, who has spent virtually his whole life in bed, pulled himself over to the window for a look at the world outside. He remained there for nearly fifteen minutes until it was time for bed once again.