Astra School Internship

Astra School Internship

Position: occupational therapy/ special education
Number of available positions: (2)
Duration of internship: 10-12 weeks

 Are you interested in a career in education or occupational therapy?  Do you enjoy working with children, specifically children with disabilities?  Well you should consider an education and occupational therapy internship with Astra School in Cape Town, one of the world’s most beautiful and vibrant cities.  Education summer internships frequently form part of teaching degrees, and even if your particular course does not demand it, exposure to the real-life teaching and occupational therapy environment will prove invaluable to your educational and professional experience.  A summer spent working at a school for disabled children in Cape Town will look fantastic on a resume!

The Astra School, located in Cape Town, South Africa, is a school for physically disabled children that offers an internship opportunity which combines occupational therapy and special education.

As an occupational therapy intern, you will participate in occupational therapy-oriented activities that target rehabilitation for disabled children.  Occupational therapists (OT’s) use scientifically chosen, meaningful activities to assist people who suffer from conditions that are mentally, physically, developmentally, or emotionally disabling with regard to advancing their ability to perform tasks in their day-to-day living and working environments. Occupational therapists help people strengthen, recover, or maintain daily living and work skills. This includes tasks like wheelchair handling, seating and mobility, gaining access to the classroom, personal care and hygiene, self-feeding and the use of cutlery, as well as hand function and writing. As an occupational therapy intern, you will work with Astra School’s dedicated staff of occupational therapists, and assist with all aspects of the rehabilitation of disabled children.   

On a typical day as an occupational therapy intern at Astra School, you can expect to:

•    Aid children in performing various activities and tasks.
•    Employ physical exercises in order to increase patient strength and dexterity.
•    Instill in patients an ability to discern patterns and become visually acute by engaging in various learning activities.
•    Design or construct physical equipment that children may require to function optimally at home or in the classroom.

Astra School also offers an internship that focuses more on special education than on rehabilitation.  If you are studying or considering a career in education and are willing to work with disabled children, you should definitely consider this internship.  As an intern, you will work in the classroom assisting the teacher with education-oriented activities.  Your responsibilities will include everything from actually leading the classroom to grading homework.  Even if you have no background in teaching, but you have a passion for working with children, you should go ahead and apply for this internship!

An internship at Astra School is a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, particularly because there are few internships in Cape Town that focus specifically on special education. That is why the education summer internship at Astra School is so important. You will not only be given the opportunity to make a real, tangible difference in the quality of life of disabled children from disadvantaged backgrounds; you will also stand to gain rare insight into the workings of an establishment that boasts a team that is dedicated to the betterment of each and every individual that crosses their threshold.

Sign up for the education/occupational therapy internship today. Your help is needed!

-Kajsa Snyderman, a graduate student from Pacific University School of Occupational Therapy.

 See photos of past interns working at the Astra School in our Cape Town internship gallery.