With stroke patients a multidisciplinary approach is necessary for ongoing recovery. Ensure PT, OT, SLP, and nursing are involved in the patient’s care.
Occupational therapy assistants use common household items to help patients ADLs. Get creative and use these tools every OTA should have.
There is nothing glamorous about it. If you want to get better at something, you have to practice. Practice is the key to improving motor skills, especially in a skill as refined as handwriting. While it would also seem to make sense to build core strength, address perceptual dysfunction, develop in-hand manipulation skills and heighten kinesthetic awareness, research shows that these components do not have the same level of impact as direct skill instruction, verbal feedback and practice, practice, practice. But there are ways to make practice fun, repetition meaningful and carryover possible. Dice. In the Size Matters Handwriting Program, dice are used to determine practice. I like to tell children to select a die that is calling their name. Then I show them a container of 4-sided, 6-sided, 8, 10, 12 and 20-sided dice. The dice are speckled, marbleized, iridescent and translucent. They are small and large, numbered and with pips. Some are in Spanish and some in Roman Numerals. In a word, they’re adorable. To be honest, if you have any dice in your homes or schools, they’re adorable, too. More important is that your kids are given a say in their practice. Research shows that when children are included in the decision-making, they work more willingly and longer. It can come down to the mere roll of the dice. Whatever your child rolls is the number of times s/he must print a Star-Worthy letter… and we have to accept it. Even if it’s a one. The fact that we, as the adults and teachers, have to respect a child’s dice roll is extremely empowering. It helps the children own their practice. And it is this ownership that feeds the Buy-In. Game-like. Motivating. Achievable. Realistic. So appealing is the Dice Game that when children hear the subtle clicking of die during any writing assignment, they start thinking Letter Size. No matter where. No matter when. Learn more at www.realOTsolutions.com Let the singing and dancing begin! Dear Readers, If you have found my blog to be helpful, please "like" my Facebook page and follow my blog...Thanks :)
Using Rubrics to Monitor Outcomes in Occupational Therapy Every practice setting that an occupational therapist, or any other health care provider, works in is demanding accountability and transpar…
are you an OTA student preparing to start school or even your career? Use these apps to help in your education and your career.
Ever worry your OT goals are repetitive, not client-centered or do you fear they'll be denied? This OT goal writing guide is for you!
Are you working on improving the speed and fluency of visual saccades with your occupational therapy students? Want to practice ocular motor movements with a multi sensory component? This multi sensory approach to visual saccades will vamp up your teletherapy sessions! Each slide includes an audio button to play slow (40bpm), medium (60 bpm) or fast (96 bpm) metronome speeds while the clients clap to the beat and say the capital letters, lowercase letters or color spots outloud. Each category has options to try horizontal saccades and vertical saccades, with options for 2, 3 or 4 columns per page. There is also an infinity loop option for capital letters, lowercase letters and colors. *Check out the preview AND the video demo for a closer look at what's inside and how to play* *click here to see the preview on the boom platform* >>WHEN YOU PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT, YOU WILL DOWNLOAD A PDF THAT WILL PROVIDE AN ACCESS LINK TO THE BOOM DECK. IT WILL OPEN ON THE BOOM LEARNING PLATFORM, WHERE YOU WILL NEED TO SIGN IN WITH YOUR USERNAME OR CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE ONE<< >> IMPORTANT INFO<<< To use Boom Cards, you must be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (play provides instant feedback for self-grading Boom Cards). Fast Play is always a free way for students to engage with Boom Cards decks. For additional assignment options you'll need a premium account. If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.Readhere for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial. If you're interested in more digital interactive resources, you might be interested in: BOOM cards I Spy Find & Write Game BOOM cards Crossing Midline Game BOOM cards Figure Ground drag & drop puzzles Digital Word Scramble Game Figure Ground Matrix Game Printable Fine Motor Picture Boardgames QR code cards: Uppercase Letters A-Z QR code cards: Lowercase Letters a-z QR code cards: Create a Story QR code cards: Numbers 1-20 QR code cards: Gross motor movement
If you're an OT looking for occupation-based dynamic balance interventions to use with your patients, we've got you covered in this post!
Not that anyone asked but here are my 10 tips (not in any specific order) for any newbies entering the pediatric therapy world: 1. Make sure you love kids! - It is super important that you love hanging out with children. You are going to be acting like a kid, joking around with kids and playing games all day. Make sure you like that kind of work. To me, it is the best kind of work there is!!!! 2. Stay current on the top toys, trending items and video games. - Make conversation with the kids. Sure there are plenty of things to talk about with kids but to form a playful bond with them you might need to know who Pokemon, Tinkerbell or Luigi are. And if you don't, just ask. Kids will love to go into details about any toy or game they enjoy. 3. Go for it! - The only way that you will become a great pediatric therapist is through practice. Just like you will expect the children to practice a motor skill over and over again, therapy skills evolve through practice. For example you will need to assess muscle tone and facilitate movements over and over again before you feel comfortable with your clinical decision making skills. 4. Be informed about each child. - You will need to be in contact with many people that surround a child: parents, teachers, friends, school nurse, etc. It can be hard at times in a school district to get a complete picture (medically and educationally) when therapists bop in and out of classrooms. Do your best to gather all the information you can about a child's medical, social and emotional history. 5. Ask for help. - If you are not sure what you are doing from a therapy perspective with a child ask another therapist. First of all we were all in your shoes once. Second of all, occupational and physical therapists are constantly questioning and asking each other for help. Whether we have 1 year experience or 20+ years of experience, we encounter children or situations that puzzle us. 6. If you have no one to ask for help, establish a professional learning network. - There are many opportunities via the internet to connect with other pediatric therapists. Read this previous blog post entitled 5 Ways to Develop A Personal Learning Network. 7. Read, read and read some more. - Stay informed and up to date on the latest evidence based research. Join the pediatric section of the APTA or AOTA. Sign up to receive our newsletter and the monthly digital magazine for pediatric occupational and physical therapists. 8. Take pediatric continuing education courses. - When I first started out, I signed up for so many pediatric therapy courses. It was wonderful. Since I was young and fresh out of school, I did not have many other obligations so I could devote plenty of time to learning new skills. Now that I have a family and run a business it can be difficult to make time for continuing education but I always do. 9. Become informed or stay up to date on technology. - The amount of assistance that children can receive from technology or how they access technology is constantly changing. Stay up to date the best that you can. Follow blogs or different therapists on Twitter to stay informed. 10. Always shoot for the stars! - Children will surprise you at what they can achieve. You may learn in school that you need certain range of motion to complete a skill, and then you will meet a child with significant contractures who can do that skill independently. Be realistic in your goal setting, but if a child wants to accomplish a certain skill do the best you can to help him/her. Anyone care to add some tips to the list...
On this page, you will find sample responses to some of the most frequently asked questions for an occupational therapy job interview.
Back to school resources for physical therapists and occupational therapists. Both freebies and paid resources included!
I reached out to home health OTs asking "What are the must-haves when working in the home health setting? Here are the top ten answers!
Blog for pediatric occupational and physical therapists
Are you seeing Stars? You should soon! In fact, you’ll be creating them! Stars are currency in the Size Matters Handwriting Program. Stars are earned when children make letters touching the writing lines in all the right places. The significance of building a running constellation across a page is that children are incentivized to make more. Besides, it helps them keep score. Children can score themselves and each other. They can even compete against themselves (or each other). Self-monitoring is one of hallmarks of best practice as it is linked to follow through and carryover. Whether you are home or in a classroom, the formula for data collection is such basic algebra… we all can master it. First, count all the numbers printed. Place that total in the denominator. Next, count all the letters that were Star-Worthy. Place that total in the numerator. Ta-Da! It’s that easy. Practice 3 letters at a time. They can be three of the same letters, 3 random letters or a 3-letter word. Work up to 10 or 20 letters. Calculating percentages are fastest at that point. To start, select only Size One letters since the Rule is the same for all. It is recommended to begin with the upper case series since every letter is a Size One. Practice 6-7 at a time. Aim for 80% accuracy before selecting another group. Once achieving success with the upper case series, move on to Size One lower case, then Size Two and finally Size Three. Resist the temptation to score spacing until you get 80% accuracy with Size. And you will. At that point, we’ll be ready for a nice Italian dinner. Spaghetti and Meatballs, anyone? Dear Readers, If you have found my blog to be helpful, please "like" my Facebook page and follow my blog...Thanks :)
Arthritis can be so debilitating to our clients because it is often not always the direct (or only!) reason we are seeing them. Occupational therapy
Explore the different certifications and specialties available to occupational therapists. And, learn how to complete each OT certification.
These occupational therapy interventions are OT activities for kids to help with child development of functional skills.
Occupational therapy is a crucial part of the health care system, but what do we do? Here are 15 occupational therapy definitions to answer.
Handwriting Tips for Kids from an Occupational Therapist. Focus on core strength and pencil grip to see major improvement.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY FIELDWORK TOOLKIT A list of important items for all your fieldwork and professional needs. 1. Range of Moti...
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY FIELDWORK TOOLKIT A list of important items for all your fieldwork and professional needs. 1. Range of Moti...
These activities to improve convergence skills are easy ways to support visual processing needs, especially convergence insufficiency.
HAPPY OT MONTH!! At SLU, many of us have been keeping busy, but enjoying different events to support and promote the wonderful field of Occupational Therapy! Here are a couple of highlights from happenings within our department: ● OT Month Awareness on campus- MOT I classmates designed slides to inform other Allied health professional students about Occupational Therapy ● OT without Borders- Frank Kronenberg visits SLU! Originally from the Netherlands, Kronenberg has traveled the world and came to SLU to share his stories as an Occupational Therapist without borders! He challenged us, as future and current therapists, to go beyond the comfort of traditional OT practice and find ways to support meaningful occupations and well-being of all peoples, especially those who may be forgotten by society. Kronenberg has inspired us to be OTs without borders, with endless possibilities! April is also National Autism Awareness Month Autism is a disorder characterized as having complex impairments in social interaction and communication skills with restricted collection of activities of interest. Autism is defined by the presence of stereotypical behaviors, which relate to poor eye contact, lack or delay of smiling, repetitive motor pattern, such as hand flapping. ○ The exact cause of autism is not known, but research shows it is caused by abnormalities in the brain structure or function, and is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. The onset of autism typically occurs before the age of three. ○ It is estimated that autism occurs in 1 out of 110 births, with it affecting males 4 times more than in females. Occupational Therapy can provide support and treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder to reduce some challenges that occur with the condition. Interventions vary to meet the individualistic needs of persons with autism in order to support their health and participation of occupational engagement as well as their families.
Our team of therapists created Shape Book Activity Worksheets that target individual occupational therapy goals and incorporate unique learning style.
If you're an OT looking to expand your credentials, be sure to check out these top 20 occupational therapy specialties to add to your resume.
Although biceps tendon ruptures rare among climbing athletes, this article provides both climbers and clinicians a guideline to identify the injury if it occurs. Additionally, it provides a guideline to help understand the course of conservative rehab following surgical intervention of a distal biceps tendon rupture.
Right and Left Maze Printout.
Check out this list of 5 simple occupational therapy assessments to use with adults or older adults in settings such as SNF and home health.
