Media Project Reflection

                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 she could engage in longer card games. The card holder stays on the table and allows Susan to place her cards on the holder without having to grasp and hold her cards in the air for extended periods of time.  As her disease progresses, she could still use this card holder even when she loses her ability to use her upper extremities. The opposing player could draw for her, keep the cards faced toward Susan, and place the cards on the holder as to maintain the integrity of the game.  The use of the “Playing Card Holder” takes into account an activity she enjoys, provides opportunity for her to spend time with the people she enjoys, and is designed to accommodate her as her disease progresses.

                When reflecting on the process of completing this assignment, I will be honest and admit I was very skeptical at first. Although I valued the skill of adapting ordinary objects around the home, I wasn’t confident in my ability to come up with a piece of adaptive equipment from a set of notecards that would be relevant to Susan’s needs. However, after going through the steps of learning what was important to Susan and then brainstorming how I could transform notecards into something that was useful, I really surprised myself. I surprised myself at how much I enjoyed the creative process and how useful and meaningful I felt my object was. Before beginning this project, I really did not often consider using everyday objects as adaptive equipment. However after completing my project and collaborating with other students, I have learned a lot about critically thinking through more resourceful options before purchasing equipment. 
              I feel accomplished and believe my card holder will help Susan engage in an activity she enjoys while also facilitating her time with her community and social support.  I’m thankful this assignment has pushed me out of my comfort zone, I have no doubt this assignment will inform my interventions and I look forward to jumping back into this creative process when I am faced with adapting ordinary objects for clients in my future career.