My OT journey

Overall, I think the SIM encounter went a lot better than it has in the past. I felt more confident and not as nervous this time around. I also felt like I have finally nailed down a solid elevator speech to explain what occupational therapy is, which is always a confident booster. I went into the SIM lab with a script in hand but ended up veering from the script because I noticed how overwhelmed and upset Ms. Farris was. I thought that would throw me off by taking a step back, asking how she felt, and reassuring her but it did not. Like we learned in class it is much more important to be an empathetic listener rather than making sure we "check" off all the boxes of information to give them. I tried to explain what sensory processing disorder is in layman's terms but also realized those terms still may not be everyone's layman's terms so I made sure to ask if she needed more explanation and try to do so if necessary.  If I had the opportunity for a do-ver I t...

The most significant thing I learned about this assignment was how important it is to get to know your client, and what they enjoy doing. When I was assigned the strawberry basket I was unsure of how I would incorporate the media into a functional and meaningful intervention for Jane. But when I learned she enjoyed cooking, gardening, and going to pottery classes I was able to (eventually) come up with something! I think knowing and understanding what GBS is, the symptoms of it, and the different stages of the condition made it a lot easier to come up with the intervention. Also, I appreciated the goal writing template Dr. Lancaster posted for us! It was helpful to read different examples of goals based on the type of intervention approach - preventative, modification, etc. I am no expert at goal writing but I did learn a lot more than I knew before. This assignment definitely challenged me to think outside of the box! It was difficult to come up with an idea at first because of ho...

The movie, 50 First Dates, is about a young woman, Lucy, who was in a car accident and sustained a traumatic brain injury. This TBI damaged part of her temporal lobe causing her to lose her short term memory. She didn't lose her long term memory though so she is able to remember all details of her life up to October 13th, the date of the accident.  I chose this movie because I have seen it multiple times but never paid attention to the "medical" part of the movie. It was interesting and pretty cool to watch and understand the parts they talked about her injury and the affects of it. A big part of the movie shows the various ways Lucy's father, brother, and boyfriend (Henry aka Adam Sandler) try to help her live each day to the fullest despite the loss of her short term memory. They came up with the ideas of videos that she would watch every morning before her day started. These videos told her about the accident and how it has changed their lives, but also updating...

The Theory of Everything is about the life of Stephen Hawking, a famous physicist who in the peak of his career was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, otherwise known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I chose to watch this movie because I was interested in how the media portrayed ALS as well as the rest of the world back then. Overall, I thought the movie was good and showed how far research and technology has come in helping individuals with this condition. Hawking was diagnosed with this condition in the 1960's. One thing I found interesting was in the movie the doctor and Stephen always referred to ALS as motor neuron disease and once as Lou Gehrig's disease but it was never referred to as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Also, the movie did a good job showing the different signs and symptoms of the condition. For example, it showed him having problems with walking, hand weakness, and being clumsy in his distal extremities. He had a major fall that led to the diagnos...

I chose a TED talk given by Stephanie Buxhoeveden, a 25 year old nursing anesthetist student who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) during her time in school. I chose this ted talk because I thought it was interesting how someone who spent many months learning about conditions and how to become a healthcare provider at a hospital ended up becoming a patient there. She talks about how she doesn't fit the "face" of the condition, how it affected her life, and what life is like now. Stephanie began noticing numbness in her right foot while she was working out and soon after but chalked it up to a pinched nerve. The next time she noticed numbness was right before the first time she was to give anesthesia as a student. The numbness began in her legs, she had no feeling in her waist down, the feeling and movement in her right arm was gone, and her vision became extremely blurry. This was when she knew it was time to tell someone and to seek help. Later, she left th...

I chose to watch the TED talk titled, "What you can do to prevent Alzheimer's" given by Lisa Genova because this is a disease I have personally witnessed but never really understood or knew much about until starting occupational therapy school. My boyfriend's grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. I remember they had an "out of order" sign on the microwave because he would try to use it but couldn't quite remember the purpose of a microwave or how to. Lisa Genova talks about the neuroscience behind Alzheimer's and how, without any medication or other treatment, we can possibly prevent the disease in our own bodies. Genova says neuroscientists believe that Alzheimer's begins because of the accumulation of amyloid beta in the synapses, which in turn bind together to become amyloid plaque, and eventually destroying the synapse. This accumulation can occur for 15-20 years before symptoms are present. With this information, Genova...

To restore a client's confidence in mobility it is important to educate the client on the steps it takes to reach that goal. As a therapist it is also important to talk with the client about their values, goals, and needs to adequately help the client. The hierarchy of mobility skills is as follows: bed mobility --> mat transfer --> wheelchair transfer --> bed transfer --> functional ambulation for ADL --> toilet and tub transfer --> car transfer --> functional ambulation for community mobility --> community mobility and driving. This order is what I expected because it begins with the most basic one to accomplish and understand and then it works it's way up. For example, the milestones for an infant isn't to walk right away instead it would be to grasp.  As a therapist it is important to keep in mind that a body is easier to move when: the center of gravity is moving and the base of support is small . You can think of the hierarchy of mobility as...