My Occupational Therapy Blog

When thinking about aging adults, it is not uncommon for society as a whole to assume that sex and sexuality is not an important part of an older adult’s day to day life. However, our guest lecturer today proved that assumption to be a myth. Based on statistics she shared, sex and sexual health is an important and integral part of an older adult’s life. Some key takeaway points include physical issues adults will face as they age and how it changes their sexual responses. This includes but is not limited to hardening of arteries and high blood pressure which affects blood flow. Also, cancer treatments along with other medications can cause fatigue, depression, and loss of libido. And finally, arthritis, weakened muscles, and limited range of motion can limit positioning. How and why would an occupational therapist address sexual health in the aging adult population? First, sex is an occupation that statistics show is very meaningful to older adults. There are many things occu

     Community mobility is an important aspect of an individual’s life. Today’s guest lecturer is a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist and really opened my eyes to how occupational therapists can work with clients to regain their ability to navigate their community through driving. What stood out to me was the countless ways you can adapt a vehicle in order to make driving accessible. This includes adapting the gas pedals into hand controls or installing a lift in the back to easily load an electric scooter. Another aspect of his lecture that struck me was the clinical judgement skills an occupational therapist must develop to screen clients before moving to the driving assessment. You must be a skilled clinician to observe your client and ask questions that will serve as your guide to whether they are safe behind the wheel. You may assess their cognition including process skills, judgement, or memory to be impaired and deem it unsafe to continue on to the dri

      One thing that initially drew me to the field of occupational therapy is the holistic approach to patient care. I love how the practitioner considers the whole person and their needs to participate in the things they find most meaningful. Last week we had guest speaker lecture on the importance of nutrition for the aging adult population. One thing that stood out to me was the statistics presented about how many aging adults are living in poverty and as risk for being undernourishment. The speaker also lectured about the importance of nutrition for wound healing and overall recovery.      Occupational Therapy can support the work of nutritionists and help their clients in a variety of ways that promote nutritional intake. One such intervention includes working with clients to be independent with meal preparation. This could look like working  to improve their balance and strength for cooking tasks. You could also host a cooking class at a local community center for older adults

At the beginning of my occupational therapy master’s program, a professor instructed us to create a self-portrait of a leader by answering questions and following prompts to draw certain shapes and items based on our beliefs of leadership. Now, we are second years and the same professor instructed us to complete the activity one more and compare how our portraits have changed or stayed the same. Mine surprisingly came out to look almost exactly the same. My views of leadership and leaders in occupational therapy have relatively stayed the same based on the prompts. I still believe that leadership is a trait that can be both inborn and nurtured. Some are born with traits that make for great leaders and continue to grow them, while others work to develop the traits they are lacking. I also still believe that all occupational therapists are leaders. A therapist may not be a manager or an administrator, but he or she is daily guiding and leading patients towards their goals. Finally

For my fourth and final neuro note, I chose to view a video about a young lady who told her story and experience with Myasthenia Gravis. I chose this video because I wanted more exposure and understanding about this diagnosis from someone’s personal experience. Kristen opens the video by explaining that Myasthenia Gravis means “grave muscle disease” and includes two types: ocular myasthenia and generalized myasthenia. Kristen was diagnosed with ocular myasthenia gravis when she turned 11 which manifested itself as droopy eyelids and double vision. She goes on to explain that it very quickly spread to her body and included weakness in muscles and difficulty with breathing. She reports that it took many months to diagnose. Upon diagnosis, doctors prescribed Kristen medication and eventually she underwent a thymectomy. She explains the thymus is believed to be related to the onset and could lead to a remission. She did in fact experience a remission and complete the rest of her sc