RSCC Occupational Therapy Assistant Program

A meaningful word form Shawn Stephenson about not being a prisoner of predictions or even your own thoughts.

Being a man, I often think that if I suffered from a disability that left me dependent on others I might feel a bit 'less than' and this article discusses a study that covers the topic of emasculation in males who are dependent on caregivers. Sexuality is a big part of most people's life and just because someone suffers from a disability doesn't mean that they cease to exist as a sexual being. The article also discusses how the approach to social care is typically asexual and that this approach can come across as patronizing, dismissive, and even disrespectful to a client's sexuality.

This is a company that provides sexual surrogacy (the topic that Tyler brought up in our class) and resources for those with disabilities to explore and fulfill their sexual needs. This is obviously not a light topic of discussion and some may take offense with what this company offers, but it is a conversation that is worth discussing. Individuals with disabilities may have a harder time understanding and exploring their sexuality. Society has a tendency to desexualize those with disabilities because it is not a topic that most people are comfortable discussing and families/caregivers might even infantilize those that they care for because of their level of dependence.

This article has some insights about gay/bi/trans people and aging that many of us may not have thought about. Two that particularly stood out for me were the likelihood that LGBT elders may not have family to care for them and the invisibility of older LGBT people. In working with LGBT older clients, we should be aware of and open to the different experiences they may be having (and certainly will have gone through in their lives). This article was originally written on The Huffington Post by Robert Espinoza, the Seniored------ Director of Public Policy and Communications of Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE).

This talks about webinars and in-person training to help service providers of all kinds learn to work better with LGBT people. Some of them sound great! The National Resource Center on LGBT Aging is the country's first and only technical assistance resource center aimed at improving the quality of services and supports offered to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Established in 2010 through a federal grant from the U.S.

This is a website that sells products to facilitate sexual intercourse for people who have SCIs or amputations. It is something I never realized existed!

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.

This is about a retirement community in MO that uses technology like motion and bed sensors to monitor residents and enhance their safety.

This movie is about a young woman with Down syndrome who gets pregnant and acts against all societal norms by fighting to keep her child. Unfortunately, the movie is in German, but even if you do not know the language, you will understand the plot.

The website of the National Down Syndrome Society offers some valuable information for therapists and caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome to understand their sexuality and give appropriate sex education.

For those of you that may be interested in furthering their education regarding hand therapy. There is a lot of good information here on how to get started and what the current requirements are.

This is a great article to read. Chances are that we will one day work with patients who have dementia.

Here is a list of ways that you can educate your patient on how to conserve energy throughout the day.

This is a great handout to keep in our tool box. The majority of patient's these days need to be able to conserve energy while they heal. In our fast paced society it is hard for people to slow down. EC techniques are useful for our clients and ourselves at times.

I'm sure most of us animal lovers in the program have seen this picture and heard the story, it is a couple of years old. But in my research with aquatic therapy for our papers it made me think about it and I wanted to post it on here for those who haven't seen/read about it. It is about a man who helps his very arthritic dog by taking him into Lake Superior when the water is at a warm temp.

Oh this was too sweet! We all have our lows and this was a simple way of showing someone that there are simple reasons all around us to keep pressing on and continuing in our daily occupations. Love being one of them. :)

This relates to Unit 2 (the aging adult). I was talking with my grandmother and she made a statement, "it's hard to age gracefully". So, I went searching and I came across 10 tips on how to age gracefully. Most of them should be common sense and we've talked about them in class. Maybe we could give these tips to our older clients?

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.

This website gives "Best hobbies and activities for people with COPD". It also gives some tips on managing COPD. We could give these suggestions to our clients if their previous hobbies are no longer feasible or find a way to compensate their activities.

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.

This is a great resource for understanding spastic cerebral palsy.