OT Theory: Motor Skill Acquisition

The theory I chose was "Frame of Reference for Motor Skill Acquisition". This theory is designed for children and adolescents. The main idea behind this theory is that learning how to participate in an activity varies greatly depending on the activity. There is a continuum of tasks ranging from closed (tasks that involved environments that don't require much movement such as brushing your teeth) to open tasks (tasks that take place in an environments that require movement such as a baseball game). This theory focuses on the child's ability, characteristics of the task, skills required, environment, and regulatory conditions (aspects of the environment that determine movement specifics). A child who would be considered "functional" in this theory would be a child who is able to self-evaluate to meet the different requirements of each task based on the context and function of the task. An OT may be measuring the child's ability to perform in a certain environment, and possibly modify an environment for the child to enhance his/her performance.

Public Health

In America, there is a desperate need for an increase in public health. This can focus on an individual, group, or a community. There are are many ways an individual can be deprived of a healthy lifestyle. This can range from education to a stable ecosystem. Education can determine an individual's health based on the knowledge of how to be healthy, or it can stem from the quality or amount of education received which can lead to an increase or decrease in finances that would allow more access to health care services. Having a stable ecosystem can include things such as the quality of air that is breathed in or the amount of water available for a community.
There are many different types of interventions that can reduce the threats to health. There are three subcategories of these interventions. Primary interventions include immunizations which prevent the disease or an injury from ever taking place. Secondary interventions reduce the impact of a disease or injury that has already occurred, so that could be early onset screenings for autism or cancer. Finally there are tertiary interventions that limit the impact of an ongoing illness or injury's lasting effects. This is what a typical rehabilitation model looks like. For example a patient who had a stroke regaining muscle strength in her arm would be tertiary intervention.

Look around: show empathy

During a Neurological Aspects class, we closed off class after watching a video on empathy and our perspective. The video's purpose was to show that every single person you come in contact with has a story, or is struggling through something. Watching this video made me cry, because I think it's something we all know is true, but we neglect to think about it in the middle of our crazy lives. It really is hard to be compassionate to someone on a long, tiring Monday if they aren't pulling their weight or they get in your way because they weren't looking where they were going. However, they may be waiting for a phone call from a family member about a surgery, or they may be reading google results about a diagnosis they just received. It also is important to remember that just because something is going well in your life, that does not mean that your neighbor is feeling that same happiness so you should just look past him. From personal experience, just someone going that extra step on those hard days can make all the difference to my outlook. After watching this video, I am determined to keep this mindset throughout my daily life. It's a common phrase to "walk a mile in someone's shoes", but really just looking at their path and recognizing what they are going through and offering them help is just as important. Empathy is important for clinicians because they can be in contact with individuals really struggling through something, but we as people cannot forget that those same individuals may be in our daily lives, we just don't realize it.

Cancer Related Cognitive Dysfunction- "Cancer Brain"

“Cancer brain” is something I am very familiar with. As a counselor of a week-long cancer camp, I often heard the apology “sorry, chemo brain”. “Chemo brain” or cancer related cognitive dysfunction is a real thing that does not get the attention that it deserves. It is not very well studied, but it has been determined that 75% of breast cancer patients/survivors have experienced this dysfunction. This can affect an individual’s short-term memory or ability to focus or even ability to process the environment or what is communicated to him/her. Because of these impairments, “chemo brain” can affect an individual’s social skills if they feel embarrassed when they don’t remember someone’s name or if they get overwhelmed in a busy environment. This can affect an individual for just the duration of their treatment, or it can last for decades after treatment. However, it is very rarely brought up as a long-term side effect by doctors, so there is a call to educate the patients on this possible impairment, so they can expect it and know how to deal with it.

There are not many tools or assessments to diagnose cancer related cognitive dysfunction. The tools that are out there consist of self-assessments and therapist-assessments. There are also few treatment options with some working more effectively than others. The least effective treatments are typically only address the cognitive dysfunction. This type of therapy can be addressed with computer games designed to work on focus skills, but these do not improve functional performance or self-perceived performance. However, it does provide statistical evidence that the client’s attention span has improved. The more effective options include assistive technology designed for memory loss or stress reduction. This may include planners or personal devices to improve memory deficits. Occupational therapists can have a large role for improvement regarding cancer related cognitive dysfunction. Often time, clients may not even realize that they are experiencing this dysfunction and the OT may be able to diagnose the client while working with him/her on something else, such as lymphedema for breast cancer patients. OTs can help their client develop organizational skills, set a daily routine, plan ahead, eliminate boundaries or change the environment to maximize performance, stress reduction, or arrange their daily schedule to arrange the more difficult activities during maximal cognitive function during the day.

OTPF

OTPF stands for Occupational Therapy Profile Framework. This is a way for a practitioner to get a general sense of who their client is. In the OTPF, a practitioner will ask for the client to go over their daily routine from start to finish. The client will also describe the onset, along with the timeline of, their injury or the reason for needing OT. This is a way for the practitioner to understand what their client's goals, interests, values, and needs are along with the client's background and experiences. The OTPF is where OT practitioners start when developing goals for their clients. It is a way to ensure that the services are directed toward what the client finds valuable. It also is a way for the practitioner to understand what the client's life is like along with why they are needing OT. The OTPF is what really makes occupational therapy different from other professions. OT looks at what is meaningful to the client first; whereas other professions first look at the injury, deficiency, or diagnosis.

Can we do it?

One occupation that changed drastically over the decades was the occupation of a homemaker. In the 1940s, women had to work because their husbands were off at war and someone needed to fill in those jobs and make money for the family. This is when the famous "Rosie the Riveter" poster was publicized to encourage women to go out and fill in for the men and to tell them that women are capable of doing a "man's job". However, by the end of the decade and during the 1950s and 1960s, women's progress took a step back. When the men came back from the war, women went back to homemaking, and even though they wanted to continue to work, the media and men discouraged them from doing anything other than staying home and raising children. During the 1960s, women started to fight back and protest for more representation in the workforce. Women have definitely made a lot of progress since this time, thankfully.

Pediatric Certification

Pediatric occupational therapy is the reason I wanted to become an occupational therapist. A little girl, Haley, at my church was diagnosed with brain cancer, and during her radiation treatments, she received every kind of therapy possible. When I would ask her what her favorite part of her week was, she would always name what she did with the OTs at Johns Hopkins. This inspired me to pursue a career where I could give a child the bright spot in their week.

Because of this, I want to work in a pediatric hospital and eventually obtain a pediatric certification. Working with children has always been my preference because no matter the situation they are thrown into, a child can ALWAYS find something to smile about. They just have a more positive outlook on life. Eventually I want to obtain my certification in pediatrics and potentially construct a certification for pediatric oncology.