Joni Eareckson Tada

In class today, I learned about an inspirational woman named Joni Eareckson Tada who suffers from a spinal cord injury.  At 17, she dove into shallow water and sustained a C4/C5 spinal injury.  She went from being extremely active to being a quadriplegic.  Instead of letting this slow her down, she has adapted and has done incredible things.  She has written over 50 books, painted beautiful pictures, and is a wonderful singer.  Not only was her story inspirational but seeing how OT fit into her story was beautiful.  After her injury and hospital stay, she was placed in a rehabilitation facility and her OT encouraged her to use a mouth stick and begin to paint.  Providing this leisure activity for Joni really made a difference in her life.  To see this exceptional lady adapt and do so well is encouraging to me as I encounter others with a similar injury.  Perhaps I can share this story with future clients and inspire them to be great in my role as an OT.

Parkinson's, depression and the switch that might turn them off

Parkinson's, depression and the switch that might turn them off

As a lover of TED talks, I was drawn to do my first neuro note on a TED talk.  This TED talk caught my attention because the title indicated that it was about Parkinson's and depression, both conditions that affect people I know and love.

This TED talk was made by a neurosurgeon, Dr. Andres Lozano.  In this talk, he spoke about a new treatment technique called deep brain stimulation.  Deep brain stimulation allows circuits in the brain to be "dialed up and down" on hyperactive or hypoactive areas in the brain.  This procedure requires the surgeon to make a dime sized hole in the skull and the placement of an electrode into the desired area of the brain.  The electrodes can adjust the circuits in the brain to help with movement, mood, and cognition disorders.  Dr. Lozano then provided a few examples of deep brain stimulation and its effects in various conditions.  He showed how the deep brain stimulation stopped the shaking of a lady with Parkinson's, reversed the effects of dystonia, and improved the mood dysfunction of depression.

Seeing the ways this new technology can drastically improve and even save the lives of many was inspiring and uplifting to see.  I enjoyed seeing another way that these neurological conditions can be improved.  As an OT, I am excited to see advances in medicine that can improve quality of life and give an individual a full life.  I highly encourage you to watch the video for yourself (link below) and see what a difference this technology can make in the prognosis of patients with these disorders.


Lozano, A. (2013, January). Parkinson's, depression and the switch that might turn them off [Video file]. TED Talk, Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/andres_lozano_parkinson_s_depression_and_the_switch_that_might_turn_them_off#t-918696

What is health literacy and why is it important?

In my foundations class, we discussed health promotion and literacy and this video that we viewed in class struck me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubPkdpGHWAQ

Health literacy is "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions (https://health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm)."  Poor health literacy is prevalent in all healthcare settings, yet, it is often overlooked.  In this video, you can see that not everyone speaks "healthcare lingo" and many could not read or could not understand what they read.  The people in the video are great examples of average people being embarrassed about their inability to read or understand.  Also, not knowing what to ask can keep people from speaking up to ask the practitioner about what they do not understand. We need to do our best to keep our language simple when discussing treatment and ask clients follow-up questions that prove understanding.  As, therapists, we need to be aware that a client may not understand their diagnosis or the reasons for the treatment plan so we can help in health literacy by being willing to talk about their healthcare and answer any questions. Health literacy can be improved by practitioners being aware that there are gaps in understanding, looking for signs in our clients of lack of understanding, and consciously trying to promote health literacy with those we serve.

Below is the link to a great YouTube video that describes health literacy and gives ways that we as health care professionals can improve health literacy and further, improve care for our patients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8w9kdcRgsI&feature=youtu.be

Universal Design

Universal design is an idea that encourages architecture, products, and equipment to be designed in a way that is accessible to the largest majority of people.  This is not making a separate item or way that people with disabilities use but instead a design that is user friendly for all.  Take for example these steps in the picture below.  The ramp for those using a wheelchair is not a block down the street or even nonexistent but instead it is in a accessible place within the stairs that everyone can use. Designs such as this one leaves less room for discrimination and helps everyone have an equal opportunity to participate. Living with a disability should not come with the added strain of not being able to use certain products or participate in activities because of inconvenient architecture.  Since learning about universal design, I have been on the lookout for universal design in the world around me.  I hope you will find yourself looking too.  Maybe if we can get people to begin to notice the ways that products discriminate, the world can begin to make steps toward making our world user friendly for all.

Being more than a healthcare professional

One of my professor's in occupational therapy school shared with us a heartbreaking story about her father via a blog she had written.  This was the story of a healthy, active man that acquired a rare form of brain cancer.  The blog post told of his journey/battle with this cancer and the impact that his illness had on his family, including my professor.  I was touched by this man's life while also appalled at some of the service he and his family received from so-called "health professionals".  As a future occupational therapist, I would like to believe that all healthcare providers try their best to provide the best care possible to their patients and really go above and beyond to make their patients comfortable.  Unfortunately, it seemed that the majority of the healthcare providers in his story had become complacent and satisfied with doing the minimum amount.  I hope I can remember the story my professor shared with us for the entirety of my career, at all times, good days and bad days, with frustrating and great patients.  I want to be a healthcare professional that goes above and beyond for my patients and their families.  I want to be a therapist that takes the time to care for each patient with my whole heart.  I want to be an OT that does the little extra to make a huge difference in patient's care.  I hope I become a better professional than these I read about in this story and I hope to inspire others to do more too.

Disabling a person by labeling them "disabled"

Aimee Mullins gave a TED MED talk called "The opportunity of adversity" that brings up some interesting thoughts.  Aimee Mullins is a double leg amputee. In this talk, she is speaking about being disabled and she mentions recently looking up the word disabled in a thesaurus.  The results included negative words such as crippled, weak, and hopeless.  She says that she would have been crushed to see these definitions as a child.  She shares this thought: "In our desire to protect those we care about by giving them the cold, hard truth about their medical prognosis, or, indeed, a prognosis on the expected quality of their life, we have to make sure that we don't put the first brick in a wall that will actually disable someone."  It is so important as therapists, parents, and care givers, that we do not limit others by defining the things we believe they can or cannot do.  We must challenge them to be better through positive encouragement.  She expressed that her pediatrician positively challenged her as a child when she was struggling to enjoy physical therapy and she believes it made all the difference.  Let us be careful not place labels and boxes around the disabled in our lives for fear that we only disable them more.

OT Theory: Frames of Reference

One of the aspects of OT theory is Frames of Reference.  It is essential for an occupational therapist to choose a frame of reference by which they treat their clients.  Many frames of references used by occupational therapists are client-centered.  These frames of references allow an occupational therapist to see and treat their client with a holistic view.  By first seeing the client and the roles they fit into and how the environment shapes them, a better treatment can be given by the occupational therapist.  Some of the frames of reference models in occupational therapy include the Person-Occupation-Environment model (PEO), the Person-Occupation-Environment-Performance model (PEOP), and the KAWA model.  Each of these describe a slightly different way of breaking down the aspects of a person's life. The visual for the PEO is a three bubble Venn Diagram of person, occupation, environment, and these overlap to form occupational performance.  The PEOP model is similar to the PEO but it includes intrinsic factors like motivation. The KAWA model is illustrated by a river impacted by factors such as obstacles and attributes of a person illustrated by rocks and driftwood.  Each of these take into account the person, their roles, their barriers, and the environment around them.  Following a frame of reference helps therapists see these important qualities and use them to give a "just right" treatment for their clients.