Owl Be Your OT

Today, we did our activity analysis lab and I highly enjoyed it. I was in a group where I learned how to paint toenails (which I already knew how to do, obviously), make a tissue paper flower, theraputty, and a sensory balloon. It was interesting to see how each person taught the group and how they interacted with everyone. My activity was how to sew on a button. Honestly, I thought it might be difficult for some people because sewing isn't typically something that comes naturally. But I was proven wrong. Everyone in my group was able to follow my brochure and sew on the button perfectly. I was even told that I was a good teacher, which was nice to hear. I was nervous to teach my activity because I wanted everyone to enjoy it and be successful. In my opinion, sewing is an important skill to have because it can definitely come in handy in life, whether it's for personal reasons or for occupational therapy practice. Sewing can be used as a relaxation technique or for the purposes

When I was younger, there was something that my mom would always tell me and it had to do with rolling with the punches and accepting what life had to offer you. She would say "you can't cry over spilled milk." What she was trying to tell me was that I can't dwell on the things that I can't change. Of course, when you're 5, spilling your milk felt like the world was coming to an end, and as you get older, you experience more and more things that make you feel like your whole world is crashing down. Of course, you'll always go through difficult situations, but you learn how to cope with them, even if it seems like it takes forever. But sometimes, life throws you a huge curveball and you're put in a situation where you have 2 choices: learn from it or let it completely take you over.  The talk from Fletcher Cleaves was definitely one of the highlights of OT school, so far. It was one of those defining moments that reassured me that I was in the right

I really enjoyed discussing my case study with my group because it gave me an opportunity to share John's story with interested listeners. I was a little nervous because there were a few questions I didn't quite know the answer to. I wanted to do John justice because he was such an important person from my childhood and because he had such an incredible outlook on life. It was interesting to think about the different ways that an occupational therapist could contribute to getting John back to a life that was as normal as possible. I liked that my case study sparked interest in my group and that they asked questions. Even though I didn't know answers to all of them, it was nice that there was curiosity within the group. Overall, I really enjoyed doing my case study, not only because I learned something, but because I'm glad I could share an experience about a person who meant a lot to me. with a group of my peers.

  Me Before You Me Before You is an enticing story about a young woman named Lou Clark who works as a caregiver for a man named Will Traynor. Will, who was once a rambunctious risk taker, sustains a spinal cord injury that leaves him paralyzed from the neck down. At first, Will is bitter towards Lou and doesn't treat her with much respect. But over time, Will and Lou's feelings and respect for one another grow into a romance. But unfortunately, the news of Will's plan to participate in assisted suicide doesn't sit well with Lou, who devises a plan to change Will's mind.  I read Me Before You this past October and after I finished it I just kind of laid there for a second and asked myself "Is that really how the book just ended?". I couldn't believe it. I got my hopes up because *spoiler alert*, I didn't think he'd go through with it. Don't get me wrong, it was an incredible book, I just thought that the love Will and

Today we talked more about the importance of documentation and what goes into a successful documentation note. There are 5 segments to documentation which include who, what, when, where, and why, which contain important information about the client and the general therapy session. One segment that was discussed in more detail today was the "what" aspect of documentation. There are many things that fulfill this question such as basic information about the client, information about the assessment and intervention, and also the observation that occurred in the clinic. In addition, we briefly talked about the importance of error correction. It is important to correct documentation errors in a specific way in order to be sure nothing is covered up. If you find an error in a printed document, you must mark through it, correct it, and initial it, without completely scratching through the error.

Throughout our class meetings, we have heard several times about the importance of documentation, which is recording the therapy session between the occupational therapist and the client. Documentation may include progress of the client, interventions that were completed that day, issues the client might be facing, etc. This is essential in part of being a successful occupational therapist. It's also important to document, in order to show proof of a therapy session, just in case it needs to be referenced. Documentation should be done after seeing the client, so information is not forgotten throughout the day and not simply drawn from memory. Documentation is also important for insurance and liability purposes. If a client you work with is suing for legal reasons, your documentation is important for lawyers, judges, and even jurors. For example, if something that happened during a therapy session is referenced in court, your documentation as the client's occupational therapist

When you talk to a client or hand them paperwork to fill out, you don't always think about whether or not the client can understand you or can read the papers that they have been given. A common assumption in healthcare is that the client is on the same level as the physician when it comes to reading or language comprehension. In actuality, there are many clients that have less than a 4th grade reading level. I did not realize how much of an issue health literacy is in our world. It is always important to talk to a client in user friendly words and explain terms in a way that is universally easy to understand. It is not considered dumbing the language down, but rather giving the patient a peace of mind to understand exactly what the physician is saying. For example, in one of the videos that was shown in class, the client knew that he had high blood pressure, but when his physician used the word hypertension, he had no idea what the word meant. Therefore, it is important for the ph

After learning more about traumatic brain injuries and non-traumatic brain injuries, it's crazy to think about just how much impact they can have on a person. In a single moment, a person's life can be changed forever because of a car accident, a fall, or a blow to the head by an external force. Though some are more severe than others, a brain injury is definitely a serious incident. One interesting thing we learned about today was aphasia. There are two common types of aphasia, which cause issues with language, whether the issue is understanding what is being spoken to them, getting words confused and not realizing it, or the inability to get words out. I find it crazy how one little part of the brain can be effected in such a significant way where it is effects a person's speech and understanding of speech. We also learned about what can happen if someone has a brain injury directed at their fontal lobe. The frontal lobe is such a huge part of who we are as individuals an

Going through day to day life as an able-bodied person can easily be seen as less challenging than it might be for, let's say, a person with Cerebral Palsy. Daily activities that we might see as easy, a person with Cerebral Palsy might see as a challenge. For example, walking up the stairs, loading the dishwasher, walking through doorways, opening doors, or simply plugging in the vacuum, can easily be overlooked if you are an able bodied person. But for people who have a disability, these things may come as a challenge. This is where Universal Design and better accessibility come into play. Universal Design uses materials from the environment for the betterment of the majority population. Some examples of current Universal Design materials include automatic doors at grocery stores, automatic faucets and soap dispensers, and shower handles, which are all beneficial to the public, whether a person is able-bodied or has a disability. On the other hand, some accessibility examples incl

In her TED Talk, Aimee Mullins, gives the official definition of the word disabled. Unfortunately, the definition is not what most people would perceive as motivational or inspiring; in actuality, the definition of the word disabled is no less than degrading. But Aimee is out to prove that the definition isn't close to defining the people behind the disabilities. She attempts to change the meaning of the definition and redefine the true meaning of the word disabled. She talks about how we as a human race should build our youth up rather than tear them down with words such as "lame" and "hurt". Aimee does not feel that disabilities are a defining factor of who a person is, but rather something that can help set people apart in a beneficial way. Aimee believes that people with disabilities should use their disabilities to their advantage and can actually be a motivation to increase someone's potential. Personally, neuroscience and neurological dysfunction ha