What Characteristics Are Important In OT?

Empathy is a term I had struggled with for a very long time. After my sister passed away I knew what it felt like to have people sincerely care versus just saying that they cared and knew how I felt. As an occupational therapist the main characteristic to include in therapy would be your own empathy. When individuals are at their low they need someone to pick them up and know that they sincerely care. Another important factor is by putting the client first and listening to all their needs. As an occupational therapist the main goal is to be client centered and that is only possible by focusing on them and what they want. Although having empathy and actively listening is important, we also need to advocate for OT and show them that we can help. Therapy is not possible without building a bond showing that you care about that client and their goals. Therapeutic use of self is the best way to connect with someone and try to put yourself in their shoes. Being able to care for others, listen to their concerns and promote a healthy holistic approach to life is why I chose to be an occupational therapist. 

Describe The Person Not The Disability

Disabilities, how do you describe this word? Hopefully you put the person first and not their disability, because you should know a person for who they and not the disability they have. After Dr. Keisling's lecture it proved to me that individuals were treated horribly in the past and even after the years there is still a stigma to treat those individuals unfairly. I have chosen to put the person first because a disability is a word, it doesn't describe the pain, love, communication, and enjoyment they get out of life.
Dr. Keisling's  lecture included that through legislation individuals with disabilities started getting treated more equally. As time went on the world started to see how people with disabilities were treated without care and were not given proper socialization skills. People also had been discriminated in a way that doesn't explain who they are as a person, just because an individual has a disability that doesn't mean that they are likely to cause a crime. After individuals with disabilities started to leave institutions they showed more positive vibes, efficacy, and they can acquire adaptive skills. After Kennedy's passing individuals with disabilities were offered protection and services to not be discriminated and treated equally with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
After this lecture it made it even more obvious that I chose the correct profession. As a practitioner I will strive to treat all individuals the same even if that individual has a disability. An individual with a disability has feelings, they want to accomplish goals, and be included like any other person would. As an occupational therapist I will aim to advocate that words hurt and people should not exclude individuals with disabilities because they are important just like any other individual. I hope to make an individuals experience life changing because we all deserve the very best no matter an individuals situation. As Dr. Keisling's said, disability is part of a natural human experience. We need to love one another and as an occupational therapist I want to break hateful words and treat everyone fairly. 

OTPF

The OTPF is the occupational therapy practice framework. It is a document that provides the guides to peoples occupations and as therapist how we define those occupation ideas. The OTPF helps establish the common language among all OT practitioners. It also makes sure that all other therapist can understand the OT lingo without confusion. It is a guide to make things easy to understand no matter the circumstance or therapist. The OTPF looks at the clients health conditions and occupations that they are involved in. It then breaks all those occupations into more specific things like the clients context in those occupations and things that may hinder or improve occuaptions. It also helps with the format of an occupational therapy profile and determine the best outcomes and goals for that client. 

Knowledge Check

My role is best known as a 24 year old student who is attending graduate school. One of my many occupations is making sure I maintain a social life. One activity associated with this occupation would be going to eat with friends and driving there to do so. A task that is involved with the activity of driving is actually griping the steering wheel and using the gas and brake pedals to arrive there.

Occupations That Remain True

One occupation that has remained true over time has been the need to care for children and family members. Some adaptations are made over the lifespan of being a caregiver in the sense that each individual has different needs and personalities along with other barriers. An example would include the way my grandmother raised my mother was a little different than how my mother raised me. As a child my mother could ride her bike all the way to town (8miles) without any supervision because she knew the odds of kidnapping were slim, but as I was growing up that did not remain the same. My mother had to protect me more because kidnapping was more prevalent, so I was not allowed to go off anywhere alone. So the role of a mother has remained the same over the lifespan because they provide love, nurturing, and protection for their youth even though some adaptations and barriers change the way they carry out their occupation. 

Occupational Therapy Chose Me

Occupational therapy was nothing I had ever imagined myself doing. I had no clue what an OT was or even the things they helped other accomplish. It wasn't until January of 2014 that my sister passed away and my life had been flipped upside-down. My grandmother became very sick because of this tragedy. She was staying in and out of hospitals and acute rehab settings. My grandmother finally came home and with the support of home health services she was able to adjust to living at home independently again. I decided it would be best to live with my grandmother for the next 6 months until she was able to live independently. While staying with my grandmother a physical therapist had asked me what my major was in undergrad. At the time I knew I wanted to partake in some type of medical field, but I wasn't for sure what type of career that would be. She talked to me about occupational therapist and how they did such amazing work with the patients she had worked with. She told me it's something to look into that would be a very rewarding career. I loved taking care of my grandmother and other individuals so it had to be the correct career choice for me right? Well I still was uncertain if it was really what I needed to do in life. I had the opportunity to help my grandmother as she declined. I helped with showers, toilet transfers, and realizing that things were changing and we had to adapt to them. The time I spent with my grandmother before she passed made me realize that occupational therapy was what I was called to do in my life. It was then that I knew occupational therapy had chose me and I was ready to help others no matter the circumstance.  

Pictured left to right:

Myself, Madison Harris (sister), Margaret Dunavant (grandmomma)