Black Friday edition! No sales here, just OT news, which is even better! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day. I am sure that this year the festivities were different than last year. However, our level of gratitude may be greater? I know that everyone that I spoke to had a laser focus on what was going well despite our current circumstances. There were moments of reflection on the difficulty, but also a high level of gratitude for friends, family, work, and positive life experiences.
This was a great week for occupational therapy news, which is quite a feat considering that it is such a short week!
Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapy and the Benefits That Keep on Giving – Autism Parenting Magazine The journey of a parent using occupational therapy to help her child with overcome sensory issues. When there is a quote in an article that says: “Occupational therapy is the field of intervention tailored to recover developmental deficits and help your child reach his/her full potential.”, it makes you realize that you are in a great profession.
Why is a Great Facilitator Crucial to Telehealth? (theothub.com) This article brings in one of the most important people in the client-therapist relationship with a telehealth model of service delivery—the facilitator. Most telehealth session needs someone that is present with the client to optimize the intervention. This article presents ways to enhance the participation of this individual.
New York State Black Occupational Therapy Caucus – Scholarship (nysbotc.com) Wonderful opportunity to support your occupational therapy education.
Connect with your AOTA Board of Directors on Tuesday, December 15 from 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EST for the Virtual Town Hall. Connecting with the professionals that represent you is important to learn the vision and focus for our profession for the upcoming year and beyond.
Research
Most Talked About Articles – ACRM This is the list of the 30 most-cited and downloaded articles published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the past two years. Two, of the many, that were of interest:
- Factors Associated With Participation in Life Situations for Adults With Stroke: A Systematic Review – Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (archives-pmr.org) This article piqued my interest. The researchers concluded that the major factors that impact participation with individuals with stroke (depressive symptoms, cognitive function, and mobility) were seen in articles reviewed. However, there were other factors that were not considered, such as fatigue and environmental factors, pointing to the need for more research looking at the impact of the lesser studied factors.
- A Theory-Driven System for the Specification of Rehabilitation Treatments – Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (archives-pmr.org) Can we address the needs of our clients in a systematic, programmatic manner for more uniformity amongst clinicians? This study thinks we need to and we can. Interesting read.
Making sense of it together: Youth & families co‐create sensory modulation assessment and intervention in community mental health settings to optimise daily life – Williamson – 2020 – Australian Occupational Therapy Journal – Wiley Online Library (open access article) Adolecents have many needs. Having resources available that will assist with providing the most appropriate intervention and engagement techniques to this age group is pivotal. Researchers provided the following results summary: “Thematic analysis revealed that young people and their families’ positive experiences of sensory modulation were underpinned by processes of co‐creation: (a) knowing yourself; (b) understanding ‘the why’: developing shared reasons for engaging in sensory modulation; (c) creating comfort; (d) creating connection; and (e) constantly learning. Sensory modulation supported occupational participation in young peoples’ daily lives in the areas of sleep, study, relationships, self‐care, independent living, being in the world, and doing new things.”
Mark Your Calendars- #GivingTuesday @AOTFoundation is Dec. 1 The American Occupational Therapy Foundation is a grantor that supports occupational therapy research. Their mission: To advance the science of occupational therapy to support people’s full participation in meaningful life activities. With a focus on evidence-based practice and the progression to an entry-level OTD, the need for occupational therapy research is pivotal and financially supporting organizations that function to fund occupational therapy research is crucial. With so many organizations looking for donations during Giving Tuesday, let’s make certain that we provide funds to organizations that can support the present and future generation of occupational therapy practitioners.
Potpourri
Why writing by hand can enhance your productivity (fastcompany.com) This is something OT can get behind!
Stuffing Dumpling Soup Recipe – NYT Cooking (nytimes.com) This must be simply delicious.
50 States, 50 Love Stories – The New York Times (nytimes.com) Bucket list item to read every story, just because…
The 10 Best Books of 2020 – The New York Times (nytimes.com) Last book reference! Have you read all 10? I have not. However, now I have some bookish goals for 2021!
Pain-Relieving Yoga Props to Give | Everyday Health Yoga gifts for individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Props can enhance yoga engagement. These are very practical.
OT Research Corner 