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Print out our checklist to use with your patients to help them develop individual stress management strategies. Click here to print now! Stress is a commonly under-recognized, untreated dimension of recovery, rehabilitation and medical intervention. While all patients seeking medical care experience stress, for individuals with disabilities the dynamics are not the same.

The checklist Richard mentioned is a great resource! Thanks Richard. I plan on using this in the future. :)

Great article about how to help our patients with chronic conditions manage stress that impacts their daily activities.  Personal stories of stress management coping skills and how to help our clients identify their personal triggers. This article has some great questions for patients to ask themselves when identifying their personal stress management techniques.

A very interesting article about OT and treatment of burns. In her case OT started after the patient was stable and able to do therapy every day. She states that the healing process can take years for the patient. Scar care, compression therapy, skin lubrication, splinting, ROM, and strengthening were all discussed. It was noted that scar tissue and adhesions are very painful. A very important point was the planning for discharge and taking in all aspects of independence.

This is an excellent article detailing OT's involvement in the treatment of burns. Different settings and invention techniques are outlined. Great resource for anyone working with burns.

This article gives information about the cycle of treatment (entering acute rehab, compression therapy, skin lubrication, splinting, ROM, strengthening & conditioning, and planning for discharge) for burn patients in acute rehab.

CarFit is a community based program that sponsors events (as a collaborative effort between AOTA, AAA, and AARP) with the purpose of inspecting the older driver in their own vehicle. "trained technicians and/or health professionals work with each participant to ensure they "fit" their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety". It takes about 20 mins after which recommendations for adjustments and adaptations are provided. The website provides FAQs and videos with a lot of information pertaining to the older driver and driver safety. Those of you interested in driving rehab may be interested in participating in an event such as this as a COTA in the future.

This blog posting talks about the importance of pacing your interactions with those who have dementia. Not all people suffering from dementia will have the same level of cognizance but it is important for us as future OT practitioners to understand that no matter their level of function, clients should always be spoken to as if they are able to respond. The focus in most healthcare settings is to be as efficient with your time as possible, so striking a balance between efficiency and giving your client adequate time to communicate their needs is one of the demands of our client-centered form of care.

We could all use a little help with our documentation right? Found this link on pinterest with some great resources to help with our wording in our documentation. We want to sound professional and educated so we get billed right? This really helped me out some!

Awesome resource, thanks for posting. Documentation is something I have to pick up speed with and being able to use the right wording helps cut down my thesaurus time lol.

This helps, this is an area I am struggling with this semester!

This would be a great article to share with a patient that has cancer or with their family member. It describes the OT's role in caring for someone with cancer and the many places where OT can be provided.

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 article from the today shows website talks about the CP foundations campaign of "just say hi". It addresses the fact that people with disability do not require any other treatment than people who do not. The first step .. just say hi, I feel like this is such a huge topic and I am very interested in backing this campaign. I hope you all find it as interesting as me!

That is a really great campaign! I think most people have issues with greeting people with disabilities and initiating small talk. In one of my linguistics classes, there was a blind student. None of the other students really talked to him, either because they did not know how to or simply because they did not care (unfortunately). I later read an article about blind students at my university, in which he was interviewed. He said that other students were reserved and were not really ready to interact with blind students. That is really sad. Therefore, campaigns like "just say hi' are very important!

This video was very insightful! They talked about different terms used such as "chair chaser" (look that up on urban dictionary), spinal cord injuries and sex, drugs that can be used to assist with sex, assisted devices such as a love wedge (helps with movement) and toys used for individuals with sensation issues. They also indicated that for some people sex is therapy. It can help alleviate pain.

An issue that an individual with an amputee might have is moisture control. I searched for products available that might help with this. I came across this you tube video and they talk about how they developed a sock specifically for individuals with amputees. However, since then they now products for anyone (athletes). Here's a link to their webpage http://www.swiftwick.com/valor-liner-socks-60-ctg.htm If we were working with someone that had this problem, we could possibly offer this as a solution.

a list of adaptive equipment ideas, some with photos, all with a description. 

Written by Roger Many with depression don't stand up for themselves. Are you having difficulty with being assertive? Here's how to be more assertive, deal with aggressiveness and improve the communication process. Table of Contents Introduction Difficulty with being assertive has stereotypically been a challenge ascribed to women.

This is a great resource that is short and concise to help therapist incorporate their patients in the transfer process.  Safe transfers is about good positioning but it is also about have clear communication with the patient.  I like the sample phrases within this article aimed  at having better communication with the patient.  Communication that the patient can understand is crucial to the transfer process.

This was written for college students with disabilities as a resource for instructors. It can be used for any age classroom. It covers the areas that are difficult to students with mobility issues or other disabilities and how to interact. A number of devices are listed that can be helpful. I really thought the list of injuries or diseases and their characteristics that will be of importance was great to include. A nice resource for the classroom.

I really thought this article was interesting and thought I would share it with you all. It's about understanding the natural changes that come with aging and what we can do to improve these issues. I also think that reading this, other individuals see that these issues that they are having themselves are common and they are not alone. I think that helps them to see a different light about it and they are able to accept these problems more easily,

This is a story of a little girl that touched my heart as I read and looked at the pictures. The story has part 1 and part 2 with pictures of her as she underwent treatment for bone cancer. Kaela ends up with an amputation and a prosthetic leg. Brave little girl with a happy ending after all.

Excuse some of the expletives in this article but I found it to be share-worthy. This is a Q&A article with five women who have had some sort of physical disability impact their lives. They are asked candid questions about how their disability affects their sexuality. I feel like looking back at this source will help me feel more comfortable speaking about sexuality with a client.

This seems like about the only research out there on sex with an LE amputation. ABSTRACT: Sexual adjustment following lower extremity amputation was evaluated by interviewing 60 adults with recent amputations, 39 men and 21 women, after they had become independent in ambulation with a prosthesis. Among the men, 77% reported a substantial decrease in the frequency of sexual intercourse following amputation, while only 38% of the women reported a decrease.

Although not curable, RA symptoms can be alleviated by the same relaxation and breathing techniques we have already learned. Cold and warm compresses can be used to help with inflammation and pain. Mind/body therapies have been shown to be of great help to those with RA. Progressive muscle relaxation, visualization, meditation, and biofeedback are all good techniques to teach our clients when traditional medications are not enough. Also, these techniques can be used in many other areas.

This is the website that our Phys Dys book provides regarding the ROM Dance Program. It incorporates medically recommended joint exercises and gentle movement and is used with clients with arthritis as well as other physical impairments as a warm up or cool down for more involved therapy. It appears you must be certified to teach the dance.