Next week is June 2021. How?! While May is not officially over, it was a good month that highlighted areas that are supported by occupational therapy practitioners. This included a focus on stroke and mental health awareness.
As we move forward to June, there is a sense of hope due to vaccine availability and stabilized or decreasing COVID-19 rates. Are we post-pandemic, not really, that will take a while. However, we are moving closer to a more normal sense of normalcy!
Here are stories that have helped my week end on a positive note:
Private Practice Essentials Webinars – AOTA Being an occupational therapy entrepreneur can be a rewarding experience. However, being your own boss can come with stressors. A business owner is the authority on how best to run their organization. This is the person with all the answers for billing and documentation. This course from AOTA provides up-to-date information on billing, documentation, and much more. Two days, 1.5 hours a session also considers the busy schedule of today’s entrepreneur!
Virtual UAB Magic Camp pairs children with disabilities, occupational therapy students – News | UAB Community service initiatives are a wonderful way to help others and highlight the field. Are these programs that can be implemented in your area?!
Multiple sclerosis and occupational therapy: Everything to know (medicalnewstoday.com) Great resource for clients who want comprehensive information that is easy to review and understand.
Prism adaptation treatment improves rehabilitation outcomes in people with spatial neglect | EurekAlert! Science News With spatial neglect being an outcome of many neurological conditions, the results of this study are promising.
OT app wins Technology Innovation Award – OT Magazine (ot-magazine.co.uk) Great resource for occupational therapy evaluations. This app formulates structured questions based on client need. So, so, so, useful.
Jennifer Zeman, MS, OTR/L, RYT 500: How to use yoga in your Occupational Therapy practice – New York State Occupational Therapy Association (nysota.org) Great interview from an OT who is also a Certified Yoga Teacher!
Frontiers | Characteristics of Idiopathic Sensory Processing Disorder in Young Children | Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience Is it sensory or behavior? Some points that caught my attention: “Atypical externalizing behaviors such as aggression, tantrums, and hyperactivity commonly occurred the children with iSPD and research has shown that sensory experiences processed by children with SPD often result in undesirable behaviors that project outwardly (Little et al., 2018). Sensory processing difficulties in childhood have also been shown to be predictive of an anxiety disorder later in life which may account for the presence of some of the anxious behaviors documented in the sample (McMahon et al., 2019). Although children with iSPD often share the same kinds of behaviors associated with anxiety, mood and attention disorders, child symptoms in this study typically did not reach the thresholds necessary for meeting diagnostic criteria for those other conditions.”
Call for Papers: British Journal of Occupational Therapy: SAGE Journals (sagepub.com) British Journal of Occupational Therapy Special Issue: Occupational Therapy in Higher Education Settings including supporting students with mental health, ASD, ADHD, and sensory difficulties.
Deadline for submissions: 30th September 2021
A scoping review of fall hazards in the homes of older adults and development of a framework for assessment and intervention – Keglovits – 2020 – Australian Occupational Therapy Journal – Wiley Online Library While not an open access journal, the abstract’s results section provides a great summary of areas to consider preventing falls.
Current issue of the Brazilian Journal of Occupational Therapy an open access journal.
On my TBR pile:
The repercussions in daily routine of mothers of babies admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in social isolation caused by COVID-19 One area that intrigues me is being the parent of a newborn during this time of COVID. Taking it a step further, being a parent of a NICU baby adds another layer of stress to being a new parent. It will be interesting to learn of the impact of the pandemic on the daily routines of mothers of babies in a NICU.
Best practices of occupational therapy in schools – a critical review and contributions for occupational therapists in the education sector. Helpful to keep current on best practices in school-based practice.
Mental health of occupational therapy students: scoping review Being an occupational therapy student today is definitely more difficult than previous years. It will be interesting to learn of the mental health of today’s occupational therapy student.
Resource Guide for Children with Developmental Disabilities (healthline.com) Amazing resources for parents with children with developmental disabilities. Many times, determining resources can be overwhelming for parents. This is a great list to provide parents to help from birth to 21!
5 Good Digital Workspaces for Visual Collaboration | Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (educatorstechnology.com) I am #teampaper. But this looks promising: Online Visual Collaboration Platform for Teamwork | Miro.
Pedagogy and Technology- 10 Ways for A Successful Marriage | Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (educatorstechnology.com) Useful for school-based practice.
OT Research Corner 