RSCC Occupational Therapy Assistant Program

There are several videos from an OT about how to reduce spastic tone in the arm after a CVA. Great resource for later!

Could there be a better video to demonstrate the benefits of animal therapy? Grab a tissue.

Great site with handouts for pediatric activities. Great source for later, especially if you have a pediatric rotation for level 2 fieldwork.

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 thought this was very encouraging. This is why I am proud to be on my way to becoming an OTA. These students came up with some amazing ideas. I'm sure some of our assistive devices this semester will be benefcial for many patients.It is our job to make sure that patients can get as close to their previous life as possible, and these students have done some great things.

I know it has been a while since we talked about this in class, but I am still interested in animal assisted therapy.The therapeutic use of pets (such as dogs, cats, fish, and horses) is often used within occupational therapy practice and it is considered to be a sensory modulation approach.

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.

This is about a vacation for youth who have suffered burns at some point in their lives - usually when they are pretty young. Kind of like cancer camps, it gives them a chance to be with peers who understand what they've been through and don't stare at their scars.

My ex-husband broke his back many years ago (before I met him) and wound up at this place. They taught him to be an architectural draftsman and gave him a second life. He talked about the teachers and therapists like they were saints :).

Oncology is described as an emerging practice area in the world of OT, and currently not many OT/As are working with people with cancer and their families. There are certainly efforts to change this, but for right now many people - both within and outside the profession - are very unfamiliar with how occupational therapy can help cancer patients.

This video includes a woman with RA. It shows her hands and she talks about things she's done to try to control the RA. It also gives other basic information about treatments.

This is a link to a search engine for support groups and resources. You type in your zip code or city,state and what type of program you are looking for and it will tell you if there are any in your area. Options cover a wide variety of topics such as cancer support groups or smoking cessation.

This video is of the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function test. It includes all subtest.

This link takes you to a list of continuing education courses offered online by AOTA. There is a cost associated with them.

I was curious what would be the best TENS to purchase at home, I found this lovely comparison!

I realize this article is mainly about the accolades of the OT Robin Newman. However, I noticed an interesting piece at the end. She is working on a program that focuses on OT treatment for women who experience cognitive difficulties after completing chemotherapy. When my mom went through chemotherapy, the doctors and nurses told us a common side effect was "chemo brain.," where she would forgot how to do common tasks, easily lose her train of though, and not be able to think of words she wanted to say. Chemotherapy affects many areas of the body, including cognitive abilities. OT is definitely qualified to help treat cancer patients regain their cognitive abilities in a therapeutic way. Just another reason to promote OT!

This article touches on several different issues related to occupational therapy. The article on burns is interesting, because it combines two different areas that we have studied, telehealth and burn rehabilitation. The OT in the article, along with other healthcare team members, discover the benefits of using telehealth to check in with patients who cannot make weekly visits to the hospital, like burn victims.

Terry McCarty, 29, suffered burns to 70% of his body in childhood accident Endured 58 operations and taunts from bullies calling him Freddy Krueger For years after accident he lived in 'constant state of fear and uncertainty' He joined the fire service in 2012 after refusing to let 'fear take over my life' An American who suffered third-degree burns to 70 per cent of his body in a childhood accident has faced his fears by becoming a firefighter.

All be it a superficial treatment, incredibly healing for some people.

Great resource for burn victims, also some incredible stories!