Group items tagged

This article from AOTA really hit home with me. My mom had a stem cell transplant in November of 2012, and it saved her life. Your immune system is severely compromised during a stem cell transplant, and because of that she had limited access to people, and places outside the hospital. My mom is an adult, and she had a hard time with the limited social interaction, so I can only imagine how hard it is for a child to go through a stem cell transplant and be able to play with their peers at school or at a playground. I know a lot of us will not deal with cases as severe as a stem cell transplant, but it is still encouraging to know that occupational therapy can help. The therapist in the article worked with the kids to make sure they did not develop muscle weakness, or lose ROM while they were in the hospital. This article really made me appreciate the holistic care that OT provides, regardless of your age.

This is very good website that describes most common types of burns, how to prevent burns, legal rights of the person with burn injuries. It is unbelievable that about 450,000 Americans receive medical treatments for burn injuries each year and that the most types of burns are preventable. Absence of smoke detectors and using alcohol while working with flames are the most common types. Occupational therapy for burn patients can help patients reacquire the skills needed to perform daily tasks independently (dress, groom, bathe and cook) and provide advice for patients how to accomplish daily tasks and prepare them to return to work or school.

This article from the CAOT describes OT position on assistive tech, recommendations, and some background on the equipment.

"If we listen to what those in the camps are telling us, we can provide them with interventions that will serve to increase self-empowerment, create a sense of order out of chaos, provide opportunities for participation in meaningful activities, and decrease depression and anxiety."

This is a longer interview with Clarissa Adriel, Australian occupational therapist and president of OOFRAS (Occupational Opportunities for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).

I realize we are a few weeks past this, but I found this in an e-mail from this summer and thought the information could be useful.

This is an article from the AOTA's website on sex and OT's role. It describes what OT does for a client. It breaks down different categories such as health promotion, remediation, and modification. It describes certain interventions, and answers some of those questions that some of us might feel uneasy asking about.

This is an article from the aota page on OT involvement in sexuality. It has a good section on OT interventions.

I found this article on the AOTA website. I didn't realize that occupational therapy is one of the only professions qualified to work with lymphedema. I thought it was really interesting how the writer pointed out that occupational therapy gives control back to patients who are in a very uncontrollable situation. Sometimes when working with patients, it is not about saving their lives but about helping them live their life with the most quality and happiness while they have life to live.

This is a video of a guy and his recovery after a severe burn. This shows his occupational performance and some adaptive ways his performs ADLs and IADLs

Sex is a taboo subject for some people, but as future OTA's we need learn how to be able to answer questions about sex. If as a therapist we are uncomfortable discussing sex, we aren't establishing a very good therapeutic use of self if we can not effectively communicate with the client their concerns regarding sex.

This is an article on AOTA website that talks about how important addressing sexuality in the OT field is and the interventions we might take to address sexuality with our clients. Always helpful to have these facts and examples on hand for our future.

Sexuality is a core characteristic and formative factor for human beings. It is a state of mind, representing our feelings about ourselves, what it's like to be male or female, how we relate to people of our own gender and those of the opposite gender, how we establish relationships, and how we express ourselves. This article from AOTA was helpful for me when we were going over sexuality in class. It mentions some specific areas OT can address.

I found it cool that sometime we can make things for fellow students, not only patients. This engineering student worked on a device that would allow a student with low arm strength to lift their arm in class. It is designed to help them lift objects or even raise their hand to get the teachers attention.

I'm sure some of us remember hearing the story on Zion Harvey this summer. This brave little boy underwent a bilateral hand transplant after losing both of his hands, and feet when we was younger. I remember hearing on the news that "he would have several hours of therapy a day" after the successful surgery. I found it encouraging that this article addressed that he had occupational therapy everyday. As future OTs/OTAs we know that occupational therapy will help him work towards his goal of playing on the monkey bars, and help him with his other ADLs. I hope we all have patients this positive in the future :)

I know we don't get a lot of free time as students, but when I have free time I like to relax with a good movie. The AOTA made a list of 14 movies that have OT applications. Pretty cool way to relax, and incorporate what we are learning in class.

Another article discussing the importance of OT in burn recovery. It's shorter than others I found and discusses a few different areas.

When we first started talking about how OT can help burn patients I did not see how we could help. This unit, as well as this article, helped me to see how important OT can be to burn survivors. Hand therapy, splinting, self-care retraining, face and neck stretching, wound care, scar massage and functional improvement are all things we can help with. In addition, helping them get back to their roles in the community.

According to AOTA, almost 1 in 5 people over the age of 65 have survived cancer. Lymphedema, a secondary problem caused by cancer, is often not addressed by physicians. However, occupational therapy can address this issue and improve quality of life for these individuals. Just another very important way that occupational therapy can make a difference.

The growing number of people with cancer has increased the need to services such as lymphedema therapy, hospice, and palliative care. OT can help in so many ways. Who needs help "living life to the fullest" each and every day more than someone with such a grim prognosis?

This article talks about how cancer care and oncology is an emerging practice for OT. We help clients get control of their lives back by helping them gain or maintain function in their daily lives. Their lives aren't just about existence (fighting cancer) but about living.

This is from the AOTA website, about sleep. It says sleep deprivation is a public health crisis. Don't we know it! Maybe we should evaluate each other's sleep habits and make therapeutic recommendations for ourselves!

The title explains it pretty well, but it has been a while since we went over strokes. This article gives you a few tips to help stroke victims gain ROM.

A fact sheet regarding the role of OT in acute care. Occupational therapy plays an important role in helping clients with early mobilization, restoring function, preventing further decline, and much more.

Talks about the role of OT practioners regarding sexuality and disability.

Role of OT practitioners regarding sexuality and disability.

This article discusses the unique role of OT in sexuality and the PLISSIT model as well.

The Role of Physical Agent Modalities in Therapy Occupational therapists in the process of completing the requisite education and training may offer advance practice services, however, it must be under the supervision of either an occupational therapist certified in the advanced practice area, physical therapist (for hand therapy and/or physical agent modalities), speech language ...

We've learned a lot about the importance for children with sensory processing disorders to receive OT in our pediatrics class this semester, but often when those disorders go untreated they persist into adulthood. This webpage discusses the ties that SPD in adults have to higher likelihood of anxiety and depression and overall poorer quality of life. The page discusses the importance of OT intervention in desensitization training, education, and reduction of any negative coping strategies developed by those adults. Very interesting read.