Origin of an OT

This assignment really put me in the OT mindset. The most meaningful thing I learned in this assignment was realizing that you don’t always need high tech material to create an intervention or adaptive equipment. I learned to be creative and look at things in more than perspective. Before this assignment I didn’t think much about how anything can be used for occupational therapy, even house hold objects. It made me think about how not all clients can afford the materials we may want to give them. However, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the line. It’s just a speed bump, not a stop sign. In the future is will strategize differently than I have before. I will start by looking at what my end goal is and going from there, instead of what material I have to work with. poster:  innovation of cupcake liners used as tracing paper over stincle to improve handwriting

This week I got to go to a Rolling Grizzlies practice. This is Memphis’ official wheelchair basketball team. This was an incredible experience. In my opinion, wheelchair basketball is much more intense than traditional basketball. I learned the rules are only slightly modified to work with the needs of the wheelchairs, and there is much more contact.  I was presented with this opportunity through my neurological aspects class, but wheelchairs are a big personal interest of mine, so as you can imagine I was very excited and had over a million questions for the team.  I was surprised to hear they have trouble getting sponsors and recruitment is an issue for them. The current coach even said it took him ten years just to find the team. If possible I would love to find a way to work with the team to improve their PR. They are such a talented group that, with the right exposure and opportunities, could share this talent with so many people.

Recently I watched the documentary Trans Fatty Lives . This is a documentary that can be found on Netflix about a man, Patrick O’ Brian, who shares his experience from the date of his diagnosis to years later in the late stages of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  I chose this documentary to watch because it seemed very different than what you would expect someone with ALS to act like. You normally picture someone who is sad, or doesn’t do much because of their disease. Patrick was quite the opposite of this expectation. He was an internet sensation for his very different and unusual videos, where he went by the name Trans Fatty . He never let ALS get him down. He even referred to it as a good thing at times. He said it strengthened his journey to look within himself. He still managed to engage in many activities and maintain relationships. Patrick even had a girlfriend and conceived a child a few years after his diagnosis. Something said in the documentary that really

Conceptual Model of Occupational Therapy