My Occupational Therapy Blog

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...

                For the media project, I was assigned the case study about a woman named Susan who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The case study informed me that her mobility status was worsening and she was experiencing muscle weakness and fatigue. As an occupational therapy student, I knew I wanted to first focus on what activities were meaningful to Susan and how I could help her continue to engage in occupations as her disease progresses. One activity that Susan enjoys is playing cards with friends and family. Due to her limited mobility, weakness, and the progressive nature of ALS, I knew playing cards was an appropriate activity for my intervention and also determined that adaptive equipment would be very beneficial for Susan.   I decided to create the “Playing Card Holder” as my adaptive equipment from my assigned object, note cards, in order to address her muscle weakness so ...

     “Alex’s Journey with ALS” is a tribute video by   Marissa Coriell   to her husband, Alex,   who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 2013 and passed just two short years later. It was clear throughout the video that his “clinical carrot” or motivation was his faith. He knew this wasn’t the end for him and his belief that he would be healed was what motivated him to continue to be joyful and live life with purpose despite his devastating disease.       At the beginning of the video, Marissa documents his first symptoms which were difficulty with walking, speaking, and completing self-care tasks such as shaving. As the disease progresses, Alex is confined to a wheel chair, loses muscle tone and strength in his arms, and begins receiving nutrition through a feeding tube.     Marissa also filmed Alex engaging in several occupations that he found meaningful since the onset of ALS.   Blogging was one of th...

       "Inside the O'Briens" is a novel that follows the O'Brien family as they cope with their father's recent diagnosis with Huntington's disease and their genetic disposition to the disease. When a parent is diagnosed with Huntington's disease, their children each have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the disease as well. In reflecting on this book, what stuck out to me the most was how this disease affects each member of the family in such different and complex ways. Joe is having to accept the new diagnosis, cope with the realization that his mother also died from disease rather than alcohol, and cope with how his progressive and death will affect his family emotionally and financially. His kids are mourning the impending progression of this disease they will witness in their father while simultaneously questioning everything about their own lives if and when they learn they are carriers. Their is heartbreak, resentment, loss, guilt, and many other ...

    In order to further my understanding about Huntington’s disease, I listened to a podcast from “This American Life” titled “What Are You Doing for the Test of Your Life". The podcast opens with a woman named Kelly who is waiting on a genetic test that will let her know if she has the gene for Huntington’s disease. The podcast goes on to explain that Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. Kelly is the youngest of 6 sisters. Their mother had Huntington’s which gives each of them a 50% chance of also getting diagnosed with the disease. Two of her sisters are currently showing signs.      Kelly recorded her experience of getting tested on an audio diary in which she shares on the podcast.   She first interviews her sister who is showing signs. Her sister, Kathy, is in her 40’s and talks about how she finds herself not remembering how to do things, not being able to get to the bathroom fast enough, and also struggling to find the words t...

The Model of Occupational Self Efficacy is a model of practice theory that is divided into different stages surrounding a client's traumatic brain injury. The first stage involves  helping a client work towards accepting the limitations created by traumatic brain injury. The therapist will also review the resources and rehabilitation available to the client. The second stage is where the client engages in the intervention process seeking to increase their occupational participation. Stage 3 is where a client can improve their knowledge of a variety of things including medical precautions, use of assistive devices, and workplace adaption. Finally, stage 4 involves the client continuing to accept their condition and return to daily routine such as work or roles within their family. This process is aimed to develop self efficacy.    This theory is designed to be used with an adolescent, adult, or elderly population. The functional aspect of this theory includes increasing...

       In lecture, I have found spinal cord injuries and their physiology fascinating. At the same time,   I have also realized how devastating they can be when a person loses their ability to use a large part of their body. One reason I chose to watch “Jillian’s Spinal Cord Story” is because I really enjoy the learning process that comes from hearing person’s account of their experience with that injury.   I am much more likely to retain the physiology or therapy practices when I can connect it back to someone’s story and the emotions and connection that come with that.         Jillian is a young adult who sustained a T4 spinal injury when she fell backwards off a third story balcony. She spoke about the initial fears of losing the ability to drive, not being able to be in a relationship, or missing out on attending concerts with friends. However, she spoke about choosing to be “strong” for her parents and embraced the challenge ...

Today during Professor Flick's Lecture, we learned about the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and its “Triple Aim” initiative. This initiative includes goals to improve overall patient experience of care, improve health of populations, and reduce the per capita cost of health care. We also discussed health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. We talked about various barriers to this including low reading levels when asked to fill out documentation, lack of transportation to appointments, and lack of education in understanding personal health management.   The take home message for me was the reminder that our healthcare system needs a lot of improvement especially in developing a more holistic approach or model. I am thankful occupational therapy has that holistic view of a patient and hopefully overtim...

Before beginning occupational therapy school, I completed 100 hrs of observations in various settings. One setting I observed in was a hospital on a subacute floor where often physical therapists and occupational therapist would co-treat. I am reflecting now and acknowledge some areas that I am still uncertain about. I noticed in my observation that there was a lot of overlap between the treatment of the PT's and OT's and sometimes the treatment appeared the same. I observed that the main goal of most of the treatments was to get the patient up, out of the bed, in the chair, or walking down the hallway. I rarely observed discussion with the client about what was meaningful to them or work towards a specific occupation. My current thoughts now are that my observation was limited and I know I didn't see the full scope of what OT's do in a hospital setting. I also wander if OT's in this setting focus more on evaluation, ambulation, and then referral to an outpatient se...

         As someone who loves to be outside and believes time outdoors is very healthy and often times healing, I enjoyed a recent podcast titled "Nature Based Therapy". Here Amy Seymore, a pediatric occupational therapist, discusses this type of therapy and how she uses it in her private practice.         She starts the podcast by explaining that nature based therapy is basically occupational therapy that happens outdoors. For example, in a clinic a practitioner may have a child step across colorful rubber "river stones". In nature based therapy, however, a practitioner would instead go outside and guide the child to step across actual river stones in a stream. In this natural environment, a child would have to compensate for other elements such as the sun in their eyes, the breeze across their skin, or the sounds of the water. She goes on to explain that other environments could include therapists working with clients at a beach, in the w...

A really important document for the field of occupational therapy is the "Occupational Therapy Practice and Framework". This documents guides and defines what is in the scope of our practice. It was written for the use of students, practitioners, and other health professionals. If you are interested in or applying to occupational therapy school, I would highly recommend you read this framework in order to give you a deeper understanding of occupational therapy. Here is a basic overview of the OTPF before you dive in: OTPF Purpose:  Improve communication and establish a common language- if you become familiar with the terms used in this document you will be a step closer to understanding and speaking the "ot language"  It highlights what is included in the scope of practice- occupational therapist do a lot so reading this document will help you begin to understand what their jobs encompass! OTPF: Some terms to look out for Occupations- meaningful acti...

          Dr. Margo B. Holm has contributed to the field of occupational therapy in many ways including spurring practitioners to use evidence based practice in order relay effectiveness to third party payer's and policy makers in her 2000 Eleanor Clarke Slagle lecture. Her research enabled the accrediting body for occupational therapy programs to come under the jurisdiction of ACOTE. Dr. Holm also co-authored the Performance Assessment of Self Care Skills. The field of occupational therapy would not be the same without this hardworking, smart, and influential lady! References: 100 influential people. (n.d.). Retrieved February 06, 2018, from http://www.otcentennial.org/the-100-people/holm

One of my favorite things about occupational therapy is the countless opportunities to grow, learn, and develop specialized skills. It is such a large field with opportunities to work with different groups of people with diverse needs. In addition to becoming an entry-level practitioner and providing direct care in a pediatric setting, I have the opportunity to advance my knowledge and specialize within my field of interest. AOTA offers several certifications including a certification in pediatrics. If you are also interested in this certification here are the bench marks you will need to achieve: 1. Five years of experience as an occupational therapist   2. 5,000 hours in the area you are looking to be certified in within the last five years 3. 500 hours of providing OT services as an OT in the certification area in the past 5 years 4. Complete an application and a reflective portfolio that will also be peer reviewed  5. Note that you will need to renew this certifica...

When developing a client-centered practice, it is important to consider the language one uses when  referring to clients with disabilities. Language is a very powerful tool that if not used carefully can perpetuate stereotypes and limit a client's identity to that of their disability. So how do we as health professionals use language effectively when working with clients with disabilities? There are many ways we can do this, but here are a few ideas to put into practice.  Use person first language. Have you ever heard a medical personal use language referring to a patient by their disability? For example a nurse may inform her colleague that she has an autistic kid in room one and a broken leg in room two. Rather than putting the emphasis on a patient's functional limitations, she should instead say she has a patient with autism in room one and a patient with a broken leg in room two. This person-first language humanizes people with disabilities rather than labeling t...