Celebrate World OT Day: Be an Occupational Therapist Leader Change Agent!

          

         This post is for the 3rd Annual OT Blog Carnival.

        Are you passionate about your profession? I can honestly say that I am passionate about the profession of occupational therapy! I’m very blessed to love what I do for a living, and I truly enjoy spreading the word about this amazing profession.

If you are an occupational therapist, I would like to challenge you to become a leader change agent OT. Here's how to have a local touch and a global reach as an occupational therapist!

·      If you are a fieldwork supervisor, you have a wonderful opportunity to guide OT students in developing critical thinking, problem solving, and clinical reasoning skills in order for them to reach their highest potential. By guiding future occupational therapists toward reaching their fullest potential, you are “preparing occupational therapists for the 21^st century” and strengthening the profession’s “capacity to influence and lead” (AOTA, p.614).

·      If you enjoy writing, submit articles to OT Practice and Advance, or start an OT blog. Other practitioners will benefit from your insight and ideas!

·      If you are interested in research, conduct studies that add to the body of scientific evidence establishing the effectiveness of OT services in order to improve third-party reimbursement and strengthen the link between research and evidence-based practice. This goal aligns with AOTA’s Centennial Vision because it involves collaboration, and it “links education, research and practice” (AOTA, p.614).

·      Tell everyone about our awesome profession, especially those with diverse backgrounds. Currently, the occupational therapy workforce does not reflect the diversity of this country, but I’m confident that we can “increase diversity in the OT workforce” (AOTA, p. 614).

·      Spread the word about the important role that OT can play in health and wellness.  Our profession can add so much to the area of preventative healthcare.

Reference

American Occupational Therapy Association (2007).  AOTA’s centennial vision and executive summary.  American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 613-614.

Retro Baby featured on Good Morning Memphis!

Click HERE to view a video of the "Retro Baby" feature on Good Morning Memphis! After you get to the Fox News page, just enter "Retro Baby" in the search box.

To order a copy of "Retro Baby" on Amazon, click HERE!

Camp Conquest

Photo Source: CampConquest.com

 
In 2012, Tennessean Mark Price saw his lifelong dream come to fruition. He opened Camp Conquest, an amazing overnight camp for children with special needs and disabilities located at “The Grove at Red Oak Lake”, a 75 acre property in Cordova, TN.

The campers, who range in age from 7 to 35 have diagnoses such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Throughout the week, campers have opportunities to experience activities such as swimming, boating, horseback riding, arts and crafts, singing, camp fires, daily devotions, and everyone's favorate, a three-story water slide!

Price is passionate about the camp. He explains how the experience is a win-win situation for everyone involved, "campers benefit from new experiences, while their parents receive a respite from often-round the clock caregiving, and the volunteers, many from church youth groups, build lasting relationships with the campers, and keep in touch with them throughout the year."

Please spread the word about this amazing program!

For more information about the camp, or to make a tax deductible donation, click HERE to visit the Camp Conquest website @ http://campconquest.com/



Source: http://www.theview38002.com/?s=camp+conquest

Weavable Toys Challenge Visual-Motor and Visual-Perceptual Skills

Designed by Barbara Smith, occupational therapist, these weavable toys are fun and a great activity to work on dexterity, bilateral skills, and eye hand coordination! Your child can tap into his creativity by designing his own pattern, or you can make a pattern for him to imitate. This improves concentration and is wonderful for working on sequencing and visual perceptual skills. The set comes in a variety of shapes and colors, which makes them great for matching, color, shape and size recognition and naming. Your child can also improve her ability to follow directions and understand positional concepts if you give her instructions such as, “lace the square first, the circle second, and the heart third.” Let the fun begin!

Therapy on a Shoestring Budget: Easy to Make Slant Board

Writing on a slant board is a good thing, because the angle puts the wrist in a nice extended position, and it puts the writing surface in the line of vision which is good for posture. Slant boards can also be useful for reading.

Yes, I'm a big fan of slant boards, but they can be expensive, especially if you purchase one from a therapy supply store.  If you are on a shoestring budget, here's how to make a slant board for around $8.00 to $10.00.

Supplies Needed: 
Large Foam Board (I used a trifold)
Exacto Knife
Duct Tape
2 Large Clip Binders            
Self-Adhesive Flat Bumper Pad

 

 Cut the foam board into a 30" x 15" long rectangle. Make two "partial" cuts...one at the 11" mark and the next at the 19" so that you can fold the board at each cut. (See photo below)

 Attach duct tape along the lines on the side where the board is still connected.

Add another piece of duct tape along one of the ends of the board so that 1/2 of the sticky surface of the tape is still exposed (See photo).

Fold the board into a triangle and connect the final side of the slant board using the exposed duct tape.

 

Attach bumper pads to the small side and one of the large sides of the board. Your slant board is ready! You can position it in two different directions for different angles!

Dear Readers, If you have found my blog to be helpful, please "like" my Facebook page and follow my blog...I'm trying to get my book published and this would be a great help! Thanks :) 

Interview about Retro Baby

I was interviewed on WREG's "Live at Nine" this morning talking about my new parenting book Retro Baby.  Click HERE to watch the interview.