OT is IT!

tw ableism: A school bans a kid with cerebral palsy from using her walker, a mom takes action

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:00:05 -0400

Sign the petition here

E-mail the school officials here

A mom of a kid with cerebral palsy is gearing up to file a lawsuit against her school district, because a special education director is saying her little girl can’t use her walker. Pick your jaw up off the floor and read on.

LaKay Roberts, who’s 5, uses her walker to, er, walk. You know, as kids with CP often do. She’s been using it for three years, and attends Kings Manor Elementary School in Kingwood, near Houston. Occasionally, she also uses a wheelchair.

Her mom, Kristi Roberts, says that weeks ago the school district, New Caney ISD, told her that LaKay could no longer use her walker at school. Kristi taped a meeting with the district special education director, Gary Lemley; she uploaded part of it to YouTube. An excerpt:

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nevver: How to Work Better

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:33:33 -0400

nevver:

How to Work Better

20 Warning signs you have a bad fieldwork placement

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:10:06 -0400

I don’t want to scare anyone because this list is longer. However! These did not all occur at a single fieldsite, thank goodness!

You may encounter some things that are distinctly unfun or otherwise make your learning experience more difficult than is warranted. I realize some seem very random, and I will say that at the time most of those things just seemed odd (or very, very wrong for #2). However, I see those weird and random ones as especially important because they reveal a lot about the facility’s quality of character.

20 BAD THINGS you don’t want to see.

If your supervisor ever complains that your school does not financially compensate her for taking on students (FYI: NO school pays supervisors). Or if she says she’s just doing it to appease HER supervisor.
If performing a physical evaluation ever feels like a reprisal of the Milgram experiment. In fact, if any assessments or treatments feel like that.
If COTAs are not given the respect they deserve from other staff. An experienced COTA is a valuable resource for students and professionals alike. Conversely, an incompetent COTA should never be allowed to persist without correction or, if necessary, discipline.
If, when asked if you know anything about their facility, you talk about a famous person/study that had been at the facility and receive nothing but blank looks.
If it seems commonplace for staff to have romantic/sexual relationships with other staff members. Double bonus caution for inter-staff marriages and any warnings not to have relations with the patients.
If your supervisor is a chain smoker. Double warning if this is your pediatric rotation.
If staff gossip about one another, and especially if other staff members express their dislike of your supervisor within your ear shot.
If you are told you are being given “freedom” to try things, but this so-called freedom comes without the opportunity for follow-up feedback from your supervisor.
If your supervisor makes you completely re-write long-hand notes because of a single, simple error (cross it out with a single line, initial it, date it, and move on).
If your supervisor leaves you alone with a patient to go off and gossip with other staff in another treatment/office area.
If you observe that staff are not billing for the appropriate hours, and/or want you to treat a patient for his full scheduled time despite the fact that same patient is refusing to attend/participate in treatment.
“Take lunch” means “go away and leave me alone”.
Your supervisor has no sense of humor. Or ever appears to be in good humor.
If any staff use racist, homophobic, sexist, disabilist, or other inappropriate language. Bad enough if it’s amongst themselves. Double bonus if it’s directed at absent patients.
Your supervisor complains that you take too long reading charts because you’re reading more than just her rehab notes (hello, interdisciplinary approach). Double special bonus if her notes are very short and mostly illegible.
If your site is stocked with instruments, assessment, and/or modalities that are never used by anyone at all. Double bonus warning if there is broken equipment that’s clearly just taking up space.
You’re given inappropriate and/or incorrect discharge plans to work from. More than once. Especially if they’re time sensitive.
Patient education handouts range from inadequate to non-existant.
You’re told that another staff member knowing some sign language qualifies them to be an interpreter. (FYI: you have to be trained and certified to be a sign language interpreter.)
If the only response your supervisor wants to hear from you is that you agree with her assessment and her ideas. Or if any other staff member just wants you to smile and nod while they talk at you.

11 Welcoming signs that you have a good fieldwork placement

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:13:00 -0400

Students have diverse and divergent reactions to their fieldwork placements and assignments often tacked on. I was recently requested to reflect upon what made up my good and bad experiences in the wonderful world of fieldwork. As a result, here is a general list of things that have helped me. (I also welcome any messages/questions about this whole OT business). So, part 1:

11 GOOD THINGS you want to see

More often than not, talking with your supervisor leaves you feeling good and confident about your career choice.
Your supervisor asks questions that challenge your clinical thinking, and follows up with discussion of your answer and her observations.
Your supervisor is genuinely happy to take on students, or at the very least handles the situation with grace and professionalism.
Staff notes and patient charts are neat, legible, and well organized. (Tell me when you find this place. I want to see if they have openings for OTRs!). If, more often than not, rehab notes are neat and legible you’re in a great place.
The facility is bright and well-cared for, whether or not they have a great budget.
The rehab staff communicates well with nursing. And both teams are on good terms overall. (The RNs should be your BFFs.)
OT, PT, and Speech staff actually know each other and talk on a regular basis. And social work knows what the heck you’re doing, more often than not.
The facility has staffing and resources to quickly respond to persons protected by ADA regulations, or those who otherwise need additional resources (especially regarding qualified interpreters).
If staff frequently use different instruments, assessments, techniques, and modalities. And offer opportunities for you to observe and learn as time permits.
Your OTR supervisor collaborates with and respects the knowledge and ability of any COTAs under her supervision.
Any other students on site, whether level I or II, are open, friendly, and respect you as another student.

A guide for friends of the chronically ill:

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:15:20 -0400

spinlights:

A small, 14-step guide to being a good friend to a chronically ill individual: feel free to send me or reblog more suggestions.

There are heaps of articles on how to cope as an individual living with the illness, but what about our friends and family?

**And since I’ve received some not so kind messages about this: this is not necessarily how everyone feels…and I am not asserting that, so…if you don’t agree, there’s no reason to bash someone (you know, me) for having different opinions.

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One night, on the internet

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:00:05 -0400

Rie: [shares a link about belly dancing librarians]
Rie: are there Morris Dancing OT/PTs?
Me: ...
Rie: I SAID IT, NOW IT EXISTS
Me: OMG
Me: I have to look... (internet, don't fail me now)
Me: Dorset House as a School of Occupational Therapy began life as part of Dorset House, Bristol, a nursing home for the treatment of patients suffering from neurotic and psychotic disorders
Me: For the students, clinical practice was obtained largely with Dr Casson's own patients. Therapy at this time would invariably cover such diverse activities as netball, country dancing (including the Margaret Morris dancing, usually led by the redoubtable Joy Blew Jones), theatre, gardening and picnics, alongside the more traditional crafts so often associated with OT.
Me: omg, Rie
Rie: AHAHAHAHAHAH

********
I got a surprising number of hits. However, it turns out Margaret Morris was a person and not some subset or Morris dance styles. The top link was for an article on the Dorset House in the UK from the years of 1929 to 1939. As far as I know of OT history this is about 30 years since the creation of the field. (It really took off after WWI.)

"Biomechanically, it’s a good position. Socially, it’s a little awkward."

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:09:20 -0400

““Biomechanically, it’s a good position. Socially, it’s a little awkward.””

- As said by Professor G. as he squatted over Professor S who lay prone on the padded table.

"I like this story. During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed..."

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 21:28:50 -0400

“

I like this story.

During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. “Absolutely,” the professor said. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

”

- Joann C. Jones (via justanurse)

artpixie: 191 (by upload) This is pretty much rehab in a...

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 15:49:58 -0500

artpixie:

191 (by upload)

This is pretty much rehab in a nutshell.

He speaks little English, I speak little Spanish, but somehow we make it work.

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 19:24:14 -0500

Patient: (an older, grandfatherly gentleman) "You married?"
Me: *holds up left hand and points to empty ring finger* "Does it look like I'm married?"
Patient: "Four times! I don't believe you!"

A blind man buys an iPhone and it changes his life.

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:42:51 -0400

A blind man buys an iPhone and it changes his life.:

crookedindifference:

Last Wednesday, my life changed forever. I got an iPhone. I consider it the greatest thing to happen to the blind for a very long time, possibly ever. It offers unparalleled access to properly made applications, and changed my life in twenty-four hours. The iPhone only has one thing holding it back: iTunes. Nevertheless, I have fallen in love.

Interesting read.

Nice Article about technology improving communication and access for people with disabilities.

First time using Dragon Natural Speaking

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:28:55 -0400

Me: [reading from my notes] Stretching in supination.
Dragon: Stretching intubation
Me: In supination.
Dragon: soupy nation
Me: [sigh] I don't have time for this now.
Dragon: over the Los Lobos
Me: [turns off mike and resolves to type all notes]

Activity Analysis for Dummies..

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:56:54 -0400

Activity Analysis for Dummies..:

saveyoursympathy:

I have never agreed so much in my life

My supervisors make it look so easy. To me it’s like physics: in breaking down an object into its smallest elements you will discover even smaller components. A cell to a molecule to an atom to proton to the rest of the sub-atomic particles the atom smashers at CERN are looking for.

I am an Occupational Therapist

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:00:54 -0400

I am an Occupational Therapist:

apubwithnobeer:

A really great video describing Occupational Therapy

This is Why You're Healthy

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:58:39 -0400

This is Why You're Healthy:

There’s the ever popular “This is why you’re fat” blog, and the reaction blog “This is why you’re thin” that seems to have come into its own.

However, “thin” and “fat” are not the best markers of health and illness, and for some people the words carry a heavy level of judgement on their body types and shapes. While “this is why you’re thin” is catchy, “This is why you’re healthy” puts the emphasis on function over form.

"He was in the hands of medicine. He was hopeful but realistic. He will come to feel increasingly..."

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:44:04 -0400

“He was in the hands of medicine. He was hopeful but realistic. He will come to feel increasingly like a member of the audience in the theater of his own illness. I’ve been there. There were times when I seemed to have nothing to do with it.”

- Roger Ebert writes about Christopher Hitchens’s fight with cancer (via nickdouglas)

Assistive Tech & Pop Culture: “Miss Smith, without your glasses you’re beautiful!”

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:07:41 -0400

If you ever want to confuse people, tell them glasses are assistive devices that assist people with lower-level vision impairments, and then compare these assistive devices to such things as arm crutches or wheelchairs. In my experience, they’ll often insist that people who wear glasses are normal. (Not like people who use wheelchairs or arm crutches or any other type of assistive tech, no no, those people are disabled. And everyone knows you can tell who has a disability and who doesn’t just by looking at them, right?)

I’ll often introduce people to the idea that our image of what “disabled” looks like is constructed by talking about glasses as assistive tech, just assistive tech that is generally accepted by society. For a lot of people I interact with every day, getting glasses is routine, and you’ll see glasses everywhere on the street – advertisements for fancy glasses frames! and for new types of lenses! Glasses for everyone! (For certain definitions of “everyone”.)

At the same time, media & pop culture still use glasses as “code” – either for This Is Serious Work, or This Person Is A Nerd/Geek (and a particular type at that) or a scientist/doctor, or a Serious Scholar. This is true whether the person uses glasses all the time, or if they just use them for certain things. On Leverage, for example, when “the bruiser” character Eliot puts on his glasses he suddenly becomes totally sexy and I’d totally hit that because I’m shallow it’s usually an indication that his persona for the episode is Egghead/Nerd or Expert on something. Neal, who is a “recovering” con artist, does something similar in White Collar when he’s doing close-up nerdy-type work on his forgeries, or when his persona is “doctor”. I also clearly remember Elle Woods putting on her Serious Glasses and getting into her Serious Clothes for when she wants to be taken seriously as a lawyer in Legally Blonde. Glasses = Smart!

What brings this back to Glasses As Assistive Tech is that glasses are very normalized to people watching the shows, and yet glasses aren’t all the common as just a Thing The Character Wears in the show. I know why this is – glasses cause light-reflections, glasses make it harder to read someone’s expression on the screen, glasses can be dangerous in fight scenes, if they have lenses they can get scratched up and cause more problems, and if you’re not someone who wears glasses all the time I’m betting they’re distracting.

But, of course, movies and television aren’t the only media we consume. Comics, novels, and video games don’t have these problem. You can give every character in a novel glasses if you want, and it doesn’t really matter. And yet, when I was reading romance novels & chick lit all the time, I can only remember one heroine who wore them, and she went through the whole “Oh, but no one will find me pretty! Men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses!” (And, despite her glasses being a huge thing in this novel, the cover art didn’t show her with them. Not that this is surprising, but still.)

So what does this have to do with anything? Well, glasses are assistive tech that is very normalized, and yet doesn’t appear very often in our media. When it does appear in our media, it’s often a code for something. This person is Smart. This person is Studious. This person in Playing A Role. This person is Eliot and his glasses make him really really hot omg why are there not more episodes of him wearing glasses and being friendly? And if we can’t see this incredibly common type of assistive tech in our media being used as just a Thing That People Wear, it’s no wonder we so rarely see people using assistive tech in our media just because Some People Are Blind or Some People Uses Arm Crutches or whatever.

[Via: Disabled Feminists.]

In Poor Neighborhoods, "Fresh" Produce Isn't Always What it Seems

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:42:59 -0400

In Poor Neighborhoods, "Fresh" Produce Isn't Always What it Seems :

abbyjean:

A new study from Drexel University researchers published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows that when stores in poor neighborhoods do get fresh produce, it is more likely to be close to spoiling or have the potential to make people sick. After buying salad, strawberries, cucumbers and watermelon repeatedly over 15 months in the Philadelphia area, the scientists found that mold, microorganisms and bacteria were all more likely to be present on produce purchased from stores in poor neighborhoods than in wealthier ones. In other words, if you are a poor Philadelphian buying fruits and vegetables in your own neighborhood, chances are your produce will spoil faster and may give you food poisoning.

In terms of social justice and OT in the community, this could be an important consideration for healthy eating groups.

I’ve noticed this in my own neighborhood (around school; it’s largely low-socioeconomic area). I thought shopping at the local places would make me feel more at home in a new neighborhood and get me in sync with the local culture (majority - or close to - Hispanic population). I went in the shops, and never mind feeling embaressed because I know so little Spanish (and what I do know is terrible), the food was either spoiling or off enough that I would never buy it (I once picked up a box of strawberries and the whole bottom was covered in green fuzz.). I go to Whole Foods downtown and everything’s super fresh.

I figured that living in a metropolitan area would give the shops close to equal access to the imports and produce that must flow through the city 24/7. Not so, and this study just confirms what I’ve experienced for myself.

jayparkinsonmd: Skin and Bones Poster “This...

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:37:10 -0400

jayparkinsonmd:

Skin and Bones Poster

“This infographic-approached design by Jade Jariya, is a modern and simple way to portray the consequences of eating disorders, as well as highlighting body image statistics.”

Something to consider.

Drugged Culture

Fri, 14 May 2010 13:04:00 -0400

Drugged Culture