Reflecting and Researching

REFLECTING AND RESEARCHING

Throughout the process of creating this blog, I have learned a good deal of information not only about Occupational Therapy but also about myself as a researcher. Our assignment this week - since it is our last assignment- is to reflect back on this process of blogging and list the top 3 things we learned about our chosen career and also ourselves as researchers, and the top 3 questions we still have about our occupation. I have learned so much about occupational therapy through this experience that it was hard for me to choose only 3 of them, but the 3 I chose are as follows...

TOP 3 THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: 

1) The specialties within occupational therapy:

• After learning about many different specialties in occupational therapy, such as pediatric, geriatric, rehabilitation, mental health, hand, etc..., I was able to get an idea of what each different specialty had to offer and to decide which ones I would be most interested in. Pediatric, geriatric, and rehabilitation all interest me and are topics I plan to look into more as I continue through my education.

2) A broad knowledge of both physical and mental disorders is required in any branch of occupational therapy: 

• I learned that no matter what branch of occupational therapy a person may decide to pursue a career in, a broad knowledge and understanding of both physical and mental disorders is essential. An OT could deal with patients with autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, cerebral palsy, stroke victims, patients with developmental delays, and many other conditions.

3) A loving, caring, and patient attitude is an essential characteristic for any occupational therapist:

• Because of the many conditions listed above are not all conditions that can be eliminated through treatment, only improved, occupational therapists must have loving and caring heart for their patients, as well as patience. In pediatrics this might mean being patient with a rowdy child, in geriatrics it could mean understanding that their patient will be slow and needs his/her time, and in mental health it could mean dealing with a patient who has his/her good and bad days with their disorder. And in every branch of OT, it is imperative to show that each patient is cared for not only as a client but as a person as well.

TOP 3 THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF AS A RESEARCHER:

1) I am capable of determining when to use certain sources:

•  Before this assignment, I would have thought that any source is a good as the next. But, through our multiple assignments requiring us to use different research methods to find specific types of sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, newspaper articles, and blogs, I learned that some sources are more suited for your purpose than others. For example, I wrote a research paper about how those in the horse community talk about two different events that they compete in and I used blogs as my main sources. These blogs would not have been as appropriate if I was writing a factual paper about the differences between the two events.

2) I am a curious researcher:

• Because our blogging assignment required so much researching, we obviously spend a lot of time on many different sources. Throughout the progression of my researching, I started to find that I would begin researching one topic and find a good source, but by the end of the night I would be writing my blog on something completely different with a new source. This is because as I would read the first source, I would find something that would make me wonder about, which I would then research, find a new source, and start the process all over again.

3) I can enjoy researching:

• Through this process I have learned that researching isn't always boring and something that I don't like doing. What I learned from our blogging experience is that if you can find something that you are interested in or that you may be involved in in your future, researching can actually be quite interesting. Before this class, every research project I was assigned was given a specific topic provided by the teachers- who were more than likely the only ones in the class who had any interest in the topic whatsoever- which gave me a negative view on all researching. But, since we got to tailor our blogs around our interests, it made researching my topic an interesting and informative process for me which I didn't think was possible.

3 QUESTIONS STILL REMAINING:

1) How exactly does Occupational Therapy work in the US Army?

• I wrote a previous blog post about OT in the US Army and stated that I would be receiving more information from my uncle in Germany. Unfortunately, my uncle in his family have been in the process of moving houses and he has been unable to contact me. I am interested to see what he has got for me though!

2) How long do patients with mental disorders attend occupational therapy?

• Throughout my blog, I realized that I never spoke about how long patients usually continue therapy. I know that the time duration of therapy will mostly depend on the individual patient, but what about those with incurable mental disorders? Do they continue to attend occupational therapy for their whole life? Or, maybe they go until they or their family can learn to cope with the disorder at home? This is another answer I'm interested in finding the answer to.
  

3) How do Occupational Therapists treat patients with Schizophrenia? 

• I do not know much about schizophrenia besides what I occasionally see in horror movies, so it would be very interesting to learn how this disorder is formed, what it causes, and how occupational therapists treat patients diagnosed as schizophrenic. 

Art Therapy Exercises

ART THERAPY EXERCISES 

For this weeks open blog post, I found a website with many helpful art projects that serve as a fun project for kids as well as a therapeutic project. These art projects help children and adults suffering from stress, trauma, unhappiness and other mental conditions to cope and rid their lives of the negative aspects. The article that I found provides 100 different exercises to try at home to help yourself, your child, or anyone else suffering from these conditions. The different art projects are separated into categories according what trait the projects help to obtain to get rid of. The categories are as follows (I have also included an example of one project under each category to better explain their purpose): 

Emotions 

•  Design a post card you will never send: Write a post card expressing your unresolved anger towards someone that is not meant to be sent

Relaxation 

• Paint to music: Paint a picture while listening to your favorite music in order to calm yourself and relax

Happiness

• Take photos of things you think are beautiful: Take a picture of things that you think are beautiful, even if nobody else likes them. Frame them for a constant reminder of the beautiful things in life. 

Portraits

• Create a body image sketch: If you have body image issues, create a sketch of how you feel about your body and allow yourself to see how it matches up to the reality of how your body actually is

Trauma and Unhappiness

• Draw a place where you feel safe: Draw a place where you feel you are always safe and do not have to worry about anything else in life

Collaging

• Create a motivational collage: Create a collage full of things you find motivational and hang it somewhere that you can see it daily to motivate yourself 

Self

•  Build your own website: Create your own website where you can express all your own personal views, ideas, and concerns

Gratitude

• Create a family tree of strength: Create a family tree showing all the people that you are connected to and that support you in life

Inside the Mind

• Draw your dreams: Since you can learn a lot from what goes on in your dreams, keep a journal and write down what you dream and use it as inspiration for a painting or drawing

Miscellaneous

• Make art out of recycled materials: Use materials that have meaning to you to create a new project to show how you can remodel and reevaluate your life. 

 To me, these art projects are all very interesting and sound like great ideas, but I'm not sure how effectively they would help cure someone's mental conditions in reality. I find there would be issues like... what if the person is not artistic at all? Then art therapy probably won't have the biggest effect on them. Or, maybe some people will not be able to see the underlying meanings of why they are creating these art projects and what they are trying to learn about themselves through the process, which would again make these projects somewhat pointless. However, everyone is different and maybe this type of therapy can greatly help someone to cope. It can't hurt to try! And, even if they don't help, then at least you just made a fun art project for the day!

If you would like to see the complete list of art projects, go here >> 100 Excellent Art Therapy Exercises

WORKS CITED

"100 Excellent Art Therapy Exercises For Your Mind, Body, and Soul." Nursing Schools. 9 January 2011. Web. 15 April 2013.

Practicing Your Knowledge

PRACTICING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

This week, our objective was to attempt a hands-on experience in our profession and to speak about the differences between learning from this hands-on experience and learning from written or spoken sources. For my hands on experience, I attempted ultrasound therapy on my own leg. I chose to try this skill because I have always been interested in ultrasound technology and I am currently considering switching my major from Kinesiology to Diagnostic Medical Sonography which is based on this technology. Ultrasound therapy uses an ultrasound machine that sends high-frequency sound waves into your body through the "probe" -the hand held device shown above.  The person performing this therapy places a hypoallergenic gel on the area being treated and uses the probe to send sound waves deep into your muscles and tissues, creating a heating, tingling sensation. This heat helps increase the flow of blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the targeted muscles/tissues and speeds the healing process.

Being involved in many sports throughout high school, I have been in the physical therapy office many times. And, my physical therapist Kim Spranger - who I interview for another blog post in February- has performed this ultrasound therapy many, many times on my arms, legs, and back. Through attempting this skill on my own, I learned that while it may look really easy, it does take some experience to get it right. To start, I learned quickly that if you use too much gel, it can create quite a mess and you'll have goop running all over your patient. Next, I learned that you need to have a good understanding of the anatomy of the body to be able to place the probe in the right places in order to treat the patient most effectively. When Kim performed this procedure on my I could feel the heat hitting exactly where my problem area was, but when I tried, I couldn't get it to feel quite the same way. Eventually, through several failed attempts, I began to improve and perfect my ultrasound therapy skills.

Through this experience, I learned the difference between learning through a hands-on experience and learning through a written or spoken source. By using a written source, I was able to learn and then explain to you how ultrasound therapy works, not exactly how to perform the skill. I wouldn't have been able to observe and explain to you what happens internally during ultrasound therapy and what makes it effective by simply performing it. But, by attempting the skill myself, I learned how to perfect the skill, not an understanding of how it works. I learned that it takes some experience to get used to, which I think is the case in almost any situation. The biggest thing I learned however is that a combination of both written/spoken sources and hands-on experience will be most beneficial when learning something new. Through doing this, I learned how to perfect ultrasound therapy and I also understood the way it works. Had I only attempted to learn in one way, I would be missing out on a great deal of important information.

WORKS CITED

Newell, Lori. "What is Ultrasound Therapy?" eHow Health. Demand Media, Inc. 1999-2013. Web. 11 April 2013.

Occupational Therapy and Video Games

 

BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF VIDEO GAMES IN OT

While brainstorming ideas for this week's open blog post, I came across another writer's blog post about iPad, Xbox, and Wii games having beneficial occupational therapy aspects for young children. This was very intriguing to me because in all my human development and psychology classes so far, I've learned that a child should not spend his/her time on media, but rather playing outside with toys or other children. So, what is different about these games that makes them beneficial to other games and media such as watching TV? The games that the blogger listed are... 

IPAD 

• Temple Run and Fruit Ninja (for visual tracking and task concentration)
• ABC tracing and Dora ABC's (for learning the alphabet) 
• Cookie Maker and Pizza Maker (for following multi-step directions)

XBOX

• Kinect Dance Central (for strength and gross motor imitation)
• Kinect Sports (for hand-eye coordination and timing of movements) 
• Kinect Training (for strength and endurance)
• Dance Dance Revolution

WII

• Wii Fit Plus (for body awareness)
• Wii Sports (for hand-eye coordination and timing of movements)

Through the list of games provided, it was clear that each game provided certain tasks such as following directions, learning letters, and even balance and coordination to help with the child's development. These games do not have any violence and are interactive unlike television cartoons children may like to watch, which makes them beneficial compared to other games and TV. And, because they are video games, the child doesn't even know that they are practicing essential skills for development in their life, they just think their playing a fun game. For this reason, games like these can be very beneficial to young children and can make stimulating a child's development fun for their parents as well.

 WORKS CITED

"12 iPad, Xbox, and Wii Games That Help With Occupational Therapy." The Friendship Circle Blog. 19 March 2013. Web. 9 April 2013.

Remixing Knowledge

REMIXING KNOWLEDGE: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

The objective for this week's special blog post was to find a source that was created by a professional in our chosen career that is a remix and to use RAIDS to read and respond to that remix.While searching for my source, I found this brochure for "OT at Home"  that caught my eye. 

RAIDS: Revision Arrangement Invention Delivery Style

Revision:

• Independence as the worst thing to lose (not physical characteristics)
• Occupational Therapy services in the individual's home instead of just clinical/hospital settings

Arrangement:

• "Whats the worst thing to lose?" is the largest to catch the readers' attention
• Highlighted recommendations also to catch the readers' attention and to persuade them to try the service 
• Services and contact details placed in the middle and also highlighted to draw more attention

Invention:

• Adapting an individual's home to accommodate their needs instead of only treating the individual
• Independence as the worst thing to lose as an individual

Delivery:

•  Brochure

Style:

• Informational
• Advertisement
• Eye Catching (Bold colors and large words)

Through my critical reading of this brochure, I have concluded that the audience for this source is those in need of occupational therapy, more specifically older patients instead of children and infants. I came to this conclusion because the services offered are more suited for adults and elderly people such as "Return-to-work assessments and advice," and "Nursing and Residential Home assessment and advice."  The purpose of this brochure is to advertise OT at Home. They emphasized the many services they provide, along with personal reviews of their services using bold colors, font, and font size to draw the readers' attention. The use of these different rhetorical strategies caught my eye, which shows me that they are effective strategies to help promote their business and bring in more clients.

WORKS CITED

"Occupational Therapy at Home." Photograph. Occupational Therapy at Home. N.p. N.d. Web. 2 April 2013.

Tools in Occupational Therapy

TOOLS IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

For this week's open blog post, I decided to look at the different types of tools used in occupational therapy. I have mentioned several times that occupational therapists use unique tools and devices for the treatment of their patients, but I have never specifically identified these tools. After researching, I compiled the tools that I found in the list below...

• Sock Grabber
• Long Handled Sponge
• Long Handled Shoe Horn
• Elastic Shoelaces
• Universal Cuff for holding a Spoon 
• Weighted Vest
• Pencil Grips
• Adapted Scissors
• Slant Board 
• Mini Trampoline
• Heavy Teddy Bear 
• Brushes

Each patient's needs require different equipment for treatment depending on their condition. These tools are used to not only treat patients but also make their everyday activities easier to accomplish. For example, the spoon cuff helps someone who cannot hold their spoon to eat, the elastic shoe laces for those who can't tie their shoes, and the pencil grips for those who can't hold onto their pencil. Although these tools seem quite simple, they can make the world of a difference to a patient who needs them when they are applied correctly. 

WORKS CITED

Sundstrum, Kelly. "Occupational Therapy Tools for Kids." eHow. n.d. Web. 28 March 2013. 

"Occupational Therapy Frequently Asked Questions." Allied Health World. 19 January 2010. Web. 28 March 2013.

Creativity in Occupational Therapy

THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVITY IN OT

For this week's open blog post, I wanted to expand on the idea of unusual practices that I began to explain in my special blog about Patch Adams. I found that in the past, occupational therapists used arts and crafts as a form of treatment which helped them both physically - improved strength and coordination- and mentally- increased self-esteem and improved social skills. This reminded me of the way Adams treated his patients. However, as the profession grew and became a larger part of the medical field, occupational therapists began to get rid of arts and crafts in their practices in order to establish an identity for their profession in the medical field. This also reminded my of the movie because of how the professionals in Adams field of practice did not accept the unusual ways in which he treated his patients and tried to get rid of him. In the present day however, the importance of creativity in occupational therapy is becoming popular again and is being reapplied to the practice. What I learned blogging today was very interesting and was also a good research experience. I liked to be able to build off of something I already researched and find out more of the background information. I think it makes the process of writing more interesting which then comes across in my work, making it more interesting for others to read. 

WORKS CITED

"Creative Occupations in OT: The Benefits of Creativity." Weebly.com. N.p. N.d. Web. 24 March 2013.