OT Bag: Ancient Egypt

I spent last year practicing in a great school system with a terrific and experienced group of OT practitioners. One of the ideas that they had is that each person creates a themed bag of activities, which you keep for a week and then pass on. It's great, since you get 2 months worth of activities for just developing one plan. This is what was in a bag I created for April/May on Ancient Egypt.

I really enjoyed learning about Ancient Egypt when I was young, entertaining (briefly) the notion of being an archaeologist and code cracker and discovering long forgotten things. I thought it would be a good topic for our kids, in an adapted way. My interest was renewed when I found this great book on sale at Ollies for $4:

It came with these nifty hieroglyphic stamps and phonetic instructions so you can make words. This would have made a great cotreat with a speech therapist because sounding out the letters for their names was really hard for most kids. Usually, I would circle on the sheet which stamps were needed instead of having the kid determine whether they had a short or long vowel in their name or a SH instead of an S. It was still a visual perceptual challenge for the kids to scan among the stamps for the correct pieces.

I included other items so that there was variability for ages and activities needed to achieve goals. There were Egyptian "medallions" in bird shape on card stock to practice cutting and tying; coloring sheets that could be used with pyramid crayons; and a pyramid that required cutting, folding and taping to construct. 
We had a game at the office that requires you to move a marker through a maze using a magnet underneath the maze board.

Some of the items that I included didn't work out as well. I made my own cryptogram about King Tut on a website, but failed to notice that there weren't many letters that repeated, so it was very laborious for the kids. I had pages on complete and incomplete Pascal's Triangles (I enjoy dorky math type things) for kids to do simple addition and color in the even and odd numbers with different colors (try it, it makes a pattern!). However, even the older kids I worked with struggled mightily with the simple addition concepts and did not know odds/evens, so this did not go anywhere. The complex folding and taping required for the pyramid construction was also pretty hard for most. However, judging by what I read on other blogs and the IEPs I saw from other districts, I think that my kids on caseload (who were being mainstreamed) were generally lower functioning than  others getting OT, so these items may work for you with your kids in a graded manner.

Overall, I enjoyed making this bag and trying to instill a little love for learning about ancient Egyptian culture with my kids, though it didn't necessarily work out as planned.  

Continue reading

Salary, Hourly, and Contract- understanding different types of employment

Occupational therapy is a great field with so many opportunities to work with different populations and in different settings. I always tell students that you have such flexibility that you can literally work as much (or as little) as you want. If I could have cloned myself a couple of months ago, I would have been able to work 80 hours a week. The other side of the coin is that I also now work only 2 days a week and still have financial security. To navigate this world, it is helpful to know the different types of employment that are available. Here are some descriptions and pros/cons to different types of employment.

Salaried employment is what most people think of with a "typical" job. You are paid a set amount per year and usually after a short probation period have an expectation of job security. Promotions may be available more readily, and most management positions are also salaried. Typically, you can negotiate for a raise at your annual review and may get a cost of living raise during this period as well. Salaried workers usually get benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, paid vacation days, and 401K eligibility/matching. CPR and other necessary certifications may be provided and reimbursed at your employer. Continuing education may be reimbursed and days off for education may also be paid. In an OT world, you may need to spend extra time outside of "typical" hours doing work tasks. There may be meetings during lunch times and you may need to stay late to see patients or do paperwork. There may be additional job responsibilities (the infamous "other duties as assigned") like participating in committees, representing the facility at meetings, etc.

Hourly employees may make more money than salaried employees and may be able to opt out of purchasing certain benefits in order to increase their pay. Part time employees will often be paid hourly .Typically, you will not be asked to work overtime because then you will be paid more, and bosses try to avoid that sort of thing. :) You will likely have to keep very close track of your time in, time out, and lunch times to ensure that you are paid accurately. Hourly OTs may still earn paid time off, but will accumulate it gradually as they work each hour. Depending on the employer, hourly employees may not be guaranteed a certain number of hours each day or week, and may also be the first person "furloughed" if someone is looking to cut costs.

Contract employees will likely make more money than salaried or hourly employees, but they are even more costly to the employer than it would seem from that knowledge. If there is a contract company, they are getting paid an extra fee from the facility for that employee. It's a very expensive proposition. It's important to remember that if this facility had any other options other than hiring a contractor (also known as a traveler) that they would have taken it long ago to save money. So there is a potential that you could be walking into a bad situation in one way or another, although you may also just be covering for an extended leave such as a maternity, sabbatical, or medical leave. As a contractor or traveler, all you are getting from the facility is your money. There will be no trainings, no benefits, and they're not going to want to have you taking many days off. You may be able to get these benefits through your contract company, they may also provide relocation assistance. If you have a continuing relationship with them, your contract company will do the heavy lifting of actually finding you placements instead of you looking for job after job, and will help you get through licensing procedures as needed. It's also a good way to see new areas of the country and a variety of practice areas. From the viewpoint of the facility, they will want you to be able to hit the ground running, maintain a higher productivity, and function without assistance. If there's a rehab tech, they are probably helping someone else. If there's a difficult patient, they might be on your caseload. If there's something else that needs done, it may well be shuffled to your schedule. You will be guaranteed a certain number of hours per week, likely for a set time period of a few months to a year. This is often not a good fit for a new graduate who may need more support starting out and is still learning the field. This can certainly be a full-time long-term gig if you live in a metro area or are willing to travel, but there is a degree of insecurity between placements. Contract companies vary with how much they require their employees to do above the actual OT work, as well as what benefits and placements they provide. In an odd twist, some facilities actually employ their entire therapy staff through a contract company instead of having on-site management and hiring. In this case, you operate more as an hourly employee.

Working prn (as needed) or OPT (occasional part-time) involves hourly pay at a high rate like a contractor. You may have a higher productivity standard and will likely not get very much assistance from the staff (both because you're expected to operate independently and because people won't know you as well). Your employers will want you to spend your time efficiently, and so you won't likely be asked to go to meetings or rounds. Similar to contract employment, you are filling a shortage. There is no guarantee of hours per week or continued employment from one day to the next. If you are with a large system such as a brand of nursing homes or hospitals with multiple facilities, you can get frequent calls and make it work as a prime gig, but it's a risky move. This is much better as an option for moonlighting. Many school system OTs have a prn job for summers or weekends to supplement their other pay. Again, this is rough to do as a new graduate (especially if you're balancing multiple facilities or different practice areas) and since you're not going to get staff support, you need enough experience to be independent with what's being asked of you.

There's a lot of flexibility in OT employment and knowing these options can help you make decisions on the jobs that are out there. Check out the "students" label and some of the Greatest Hits entries if you are curious about other facets of finding your OT job. Continue reading

Keeping Organized

I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to a couple of OT Month pieces. One was on Abby's awesome pediatric OT blog and the other was for AOTA. In these, I shared some of the organizational tips that I use to try to keep life together. Here is a more elaborate and visual demonstration of some of the best.

My dad teaches high school seniors and as part of his unit on college prep always advises that the kids keep 2 calendars- one for the whole semester and another for the coming 4 weeks. I found this magnetic dry erase calendar at Sam's Club back in 2003 (?) for about $8 and have been using it religiously ever since. I only have to update a week at a time and get to use all the different color markers for coordination. It lives on the fridge and helps keep everything straight.

My high-tech method for the calendar is using Google Calendar, which I'm sure comes as no surprise to anyone who knows of my Google product allegiance. I love that it's integrated with my phone and google account on the cloud. Also, it's easy for my husband and I to add things to each other's calendars so we stay updated, and I can add additional calendars (WVU sports!) so I have other events automatically on my schedule. 

I love these accordion files for organizing all my different papers. I have 3 that I use for different collections of stuff. This one is labeled to keep track of my continuing education for the past five years (required in case of audit in my state), my various licenses, and papers needed for my early intervention renewals.

I got this finance organizer at the dollar store to keep track of my receipts so that I actually had them come tax time. I didn't write in the amounts because I want to reuse it and keep track of all my finances on a computer spreadsheet. You could also use a small coupon file for this same purpose.

In a super-useful variation of the accordion file, this one is broken down for all the days of the month. Especially beneficial when I was in the school system last year as I could place several copies of the relevant evaluation, a prior written notice, and a blank sheet for notes clipped together on the day for the IEP meeting. When I would get an email asking me to screen a child, I could throw the screening papers in the folder on the day I would next be in the school. Very handy when you have multiple sites to coordinate. I got this idea from the book Getting Things Done, which is the only productivity book that I've ever read and very useful.

Speaking of Getting Things Done, one of my favorite apps is Due Today which is based on the methods outlined in the book. You can check out my interview with Stephanie Yamkovenko on the AOTA website to see all the reasons I love this app (one of only a mere handful that I have actually paid for). On the shot, you can see that I have different priority colors, due dates, overarching projects (lots to do in the "baby" category, obvs), contexts, etc. I don't have any notes for these but they are helpful too. Subtasks also help to break up the large pieces and figure out what to do first- you can see that I need to get a cream colored shirt but only if the coral skirt fits. 

Do you have any great methods to stay organized that work well for your business or family? Feel free to share in the comments!

Continue reading

Role Checklist

Cheryl's Role Checklist:

Daughter 198X

Friend 1986

Neighbor 1986

Sister 198X

Student 1989

Teammate 1993

Volunteer 1996

Employee 1999

Roommate 2002

Fiancee 2004

Wife 200X

Professional 2007

Mom 2013

Baby boy and mom are doing well after a mostly uneventful delivery in the middle of a fine April night. We are all adjusting to one another and trying to find our balance. I appreciate all the thoughtfulness from my OT tweeps and real-life friends as well. 

Class of 2025?

Continue reading

Dribbling Drills

I sometimes use dribbling drills from my basketball days as novel praxis tasks for my kiddos. Here are some examples. These can improve hand skills, ball manipulation skills, coordination, and ability to adapt to a new task. Using an actual basketball can be too large and difficult for the kids, so a kickball (which also has more bounce) can be beneficial. A tennis ball can be used for some of the initial drills but it is very difficult.

I've tried to list these in a rough order of difficulty, but that's based on my opinion.

circles- Not actually dribbling, but rotating the ball around your waist and switching hands as you go around. As you get good, you can go faster and also start incorporating circles around your head and knees.
basic dribbling- just learning to dribble is a task for many kids. When you can do 5 dribbles in a row, then you can try to advance the difficulty by trying to use only one hand and staying in one area. You can put a tape circle on the floor and try to get the child to keep the ball within that circle, or have them sit on a chair and try to maintain the dribble.
alternating hands- being able to dribble sort of in a "V" in front of you using each hand once. This switching of hands is very difficult for many kids.
dribble around obstacles- by setting up cones, chairs, or even a jumprope on the floor in a pattern, you can have the child negotiate obstacles while dribbling.
kills- start by bouncing the ball up at your waist or a normal height. Then you bring the ball as low as possible while still bouncing the ball. After a few dribbles in the low position, bring it back up to waist height.
push/pull or V-dribble- with one hand only, bring the ball to the left and right in front of you. You have to actually move your hand to the opposite side of the ball to make this work. Once you get this going you can do forward/backward pushes on the side in addition to the left/right in front of you.
between the legs- for teaching this, it's best to have one leg significantly in front of the other, more of a narrow but long base of support. Then you dribble with alternating hands as close to directly underneath you as possible.
figure 8's- dribble around your leg using one hand and use that hand to push the ball from behind you between your legs to the front. Now switch hands and go in the opposite direction. To increase the difficulty, try to do very small dribbles. Then you can do a countdown- only allowed 5 dribbles before going between the legs and progressing down to 1 or 0!
rhythm- this is a complicated pattern and I cannot find a video. (I'd make one myself but I currently look more like I am hiding a basketball under my shirt than a basketball player- also I can't do it very quickly). Start with the ball in front of you in your left hand. Bring it quickly to your right side with a slap. Now using right hand only, bring the ball around your right leg and connect with your left hand underneath your center. Let the ball bounce once and switch your right hand to the front and your left hand to the back to catch the ball. Now take the ball in your left hand around your left leg and start the process over.
spider- with your legs spread horizontally, tap the ball with your fingertips, alternating hands. First you will do left and right hands in front of your body and then reach around to do left and right behind you. Try to keep the ball right under your center.
blindfolded dribble- any kind of dribbling activity blindfolded will be a challenge, even just sitting on a chair while dribbling.
double dribble- use 2 balls and try to dribble both. You can try to alternate having one up while the other is down or try to do push/pulls with both hands.

The wonders of the internet bring you an entire playlist of dribbling drills on youtube. Not all of these are going by the same names as I have listed above but it's still a good resource.

Accomplish all of these and you can be the next Pistol Pete! The kids I have been working with recently are a little too young or lacking in basic ball skills to pull off any of these drills, but hopefully this list will be helpful to you! Remember that you can always work on passing, bouncing off the wall, and passing while on a swing or wobble board for additional challenges. Continue reading

#AOTA13 Social Media Presentation

I wish I was preparing to head out to sunny California and join the OT A-Team in the second edition of our social media presentation, but let's be honest: if I haven't had the baby yet, I'm probably taking a nap. Here is some supplementary information to my part of the presentation.

Title: What’s New in Digital and Social Media for Occupational Therapy?   

Short Course 328  Saturday 2-330pm

Digital and social media can facilitate interventions with clients and advance occupational therapy practice. In this era of constant change it is difficult to keep up with the latest tools. Presenters will share their knowledge and expertise about five key categories of digital and social media essential for practice.



My category is networking- how we develop relationships and communicate online. You can watch my presentation on video here. Most people are familiar with social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter) but may not be aware of how to use these for professional development. There are also niche communities for therapists such as OTConnections or OT Exchange. Mainstream networks have an advantage over niche sites of greater usage, wider functionality, reduced cost, integration with other sites.

Here are some of the ways that you can use networking websites to advance your professional development as an OT practitioner.

Most people are familiar with Facebook since it has an estimated billion monthly users worldwide (http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts).  Website is open to anyone with an email address and allows you to “friend” people you know, “subscribe” to public updates of others, and “like” pages representing brands, public figures, or organizations.

Many groups use Facebook because the wide usage is a great way to get lots of members for brainstorming and crowdsourcing of ideas. Group pages currently represent a way to start discussions, share resources or files, and host events. Some of the most popular Facebook groups are in the “4OT” series- OT4OT, AT4OT, MH4OT.

Public pages are a way for organizations, brands, or public figures to present information to the Facebook community at large. (These pages used to be truly public, offering a free website service, but this has changed) Page owners try to communicate with those that “like” them but can be limited by changing algorithms and restrictions from Facebook on number of posts allowed or likelihood of those posts to show in a person’s newsfeed.

Some of the negatives regarding Facebook usage include frequent changes in privacy and features without notice, the lack of control over what exactly appears in your newsfeed, and the advertisements (some of which are less obvious than others). Facebook is also publically traded and trying to turn a profit.

Exemplars: OT4OT group connects therapists around the globe as they share resources related to online technology and occupational therapy. Kawa Model page gets interaction from OTs related to the Kawa River Model.

Twitter is a microblogging site allowing only short updates of 140 characters or less. This provides a quick platform to provide a status update, share a link, or interact with a wide audience. This is an easy way to connect with peers or engage in upward networking with a public figure or organization. Hashtags allow for ongoing conversations on a subject or event.

Twitter chat can be topical or during events and offer a way to share resources, connect to other professionals, and process information in real time. Some offerings for OTs include the expanding #OTalk brand ( #OTalk2us #anzOTalk ) #occhat #aota13 #ot24vx. The 24 hour OT Virtual Exchange lecture series is a setup of live OT lectures presented via web video, which gets great worldwide attention on twitter. Anita and Chris have also been using twitter to solicit interaction from international participants for the OT classes they teach.

Twitter chats shouldn’t be carried off as a lecture. The best ones are dynamic between participants. Sometimes this is accomplished by having specific questions also tagged in the post, or by a few participants having a side conversation marked by their names. This should not be considered a distraction, but a separate learning process to synthesize ideas. Just as some people learn better by doodling or talking during an event, these ongoing discussions can help a person achieve a deeper learning than just sitting idly by.

Some of the disadvantages of twitter are that you are limited to a short phrase to share, so it can be hard to explain something in detail. There can be a large flow of information which can be overwhelming for some to manage (though tools like Tweetchat and aggregators can assist in this). While there are private messaging options, most conversations are very public. I sometimes have to unfollow people even when they are interesting because they have too many tweets or too many replies cluttering the feed… conversely, if you do not post very often your tweets may get completely overlooked.

Exemplar chat: #OTalk  -the original chat runs biweekly out of the UK (Tuesdays 3pm Eastern) on various topics related to OT. Make sure that you also check out #OTalk2US one Sunday each month at 7pm Eastern.   Exemplar user: @gilliancrossley who tweets her blog posts, helpful OT info, and participates in multiple chats.

LinkedIn is a professional networking site designed to contain only people you actually know to advance your business world connections. It allows you to build an online portfolio showcasing your work history, projects, and awards. You can see connections of your contacts to try to gain an introduction into a particular company. You can also search for jobs or be contacted by a prospective employer if your profile is set up in this manner. Group pages allow for discussions related to an overall topic.

Some of the downsides of this site that I have found are the frequent requests to connect from recruiters, lack of variety in group posts, and inability to message a person you may be acquainted with.

Google+ is part of the integrated google platform that allows you to subscribe to individuals’ posts and categorize them into interest circles. The advantage over groups here as opposed to other sites is that you can integrate easily with Google Drive to share and edit documents and video chat. The open video chats are a unique and worthwhile feature. There are a number of other features which do not have to be used in a “social” manner, such as automatic photo backup and updating your contacts on your phone. Google also uses its trademark algorithm to try to find interesting posts and people for you to add to your circles.

While Google is a household brand and has a variety of products (search, Android phone/tablet platforms, calendar, drive, etc), Google+ still needs to gain active users to really gain momentum. Social sites are only useful if their participants have a number of active connections. 

Individual blogs can also be a way for networking to take place. Frequent commenters can develop a community as they interact with one another over posts. Some of the qualities I look for in a good blog are frequency of updates (I prefer between once every 2 weeks to 3x/week), quality of writing and posts, and ability to foster interaction on the page. Tonya from TherapyFunZone has been trying to encourage monthly link-ups of fun activities in the comment section, and YourTherapySource also is good about encouraging interaction. The exemplar for a true networking community on a blog would be the Mothers in Medicine blog, which has a group of authors who also comment frequently on others’ posts as well as a large group of followers that comment also.

Trends in networking

Peer to peer communication remains a main use for social networking sites. But now it is becoming far more common for users to engage in upward networking- contacting celebrities or organizations directly and expecting a response. In the general usage, power companies are responding to users directly when issues arise. AOTA has really improved in the past 3 years of responding and recognizing OTs on social networking sites, and is great about answering questions. 

The netiquette for making new connections varies on the context and an individual’s preferences. I prefer to keep facebook friends to people who I actually know and am share more with those I am close to, but others (cough cough Erik) are fine with maintaining a more public presence. Most people keep their Twitter accounts open for all to follow. I try not to follow too many people as it can be too distracting for me. Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ all offer options to subscribe to public posts, instead of needing approval.

Integrated options are gaining ground across the web. These can offer ease of use if you no longer have to remember multiple logins but beware, this log in can follow you and be a sleeper program in the background. You may be unknowingly acting as an advertisement on your friends’ pages or affecting their search results. The use of your login may also give the site or application access to your friends or other private information. Social reader options are not taking off because people want to be able to read in peace. 

We are also seeing a big uptake in mobile applications for online sites and organizations like Google and Facebook making their own phones.  We now expect applications to work across multiple platforms to be useful. In the US, this is a matter of convenience, I want to be able to access information while on the go or without having to boot up a computer. But in many countries, access to the internet is primarily through mobile devices instead of computers. So mobile usage becomes essential for any connection to the international audience.

Most of the popular sites are basically stealing each other’s ideas and features. As Pinterest gained momentum, you saw an increase in visual media usage for the other sites, such as Facebook acquiring Instagram and Google+ encouraging users to share their uploaded photos. This feature thieving is at a point where some of the main social media sites are becoming bogged down with features that have been rushed to market in attempt to compete, and may not be fully functional or bug-free. I believe that this trend, along with the frequent changes in how content is presented and privacy is managed, is why many people take a hiatus from social networking.

My keywords for social networking are integration, moderation, separation, and filtration. I want to integrate my participation into routines that I already have instead of trying to start an entirely new habit. For me, this also means that I prefer to use applications that work on both my computer and my phone so that I have multiple options to access when I have the time. I moderate my screen time and don’t feel bad about un-following or un-friending if I find that someone’s posts aren’t helpful to me or are too time consuming. You also shouldn’t feel bad about having networks that you prefer and ones that you don’t use.  I keep my personal and professional lives separate online to an extent, which I think helps me stay less stressed and better balanced. Similarly, I try to filter what I allow in and what I put out. Thinking before I post or add someone else to my circle has been helpful. By following those principles, I can keep my overall media time low while still getting the useful professional development and lighthearted fun that I want. Social media usage can easily be balanced into your life to facilitate professional networking in an innovative way.

Overall, there are many options for OTs to find professional networking and information sharing online. Experiment with a few sites to see what works best for your interests, learning preferences, and time available. 

Check out my superb cohorts:
Anita @virtualOT  TechnOTs blog
Chris @chrisalterio  ABC Therapeutics blog
Erik @armyOTguy  Army OT Guy blog
Karen @funkist  Miss Awesomeness blog

and I believe special thanks is owed to Allison Sullivan @allisulliOTprof for running a twitter chat during the session (#SoMeOT )  and Bill Wong @billwongOT for assisting with streaming video.



Continue reading

Product Review & Giveaway: Aimee's Babies DVDs

When I started making out my baby registries, and had one on amazon.com where the options were limitless, I decided to cast a wider net than the "standard" baby gifts. I have been interested in infant massage since my time in the NICU but not able to work out the time or money to go to a certification class. When I saw a massage video from an occupational therapist (one with a newly reactivated blog I had been following even) I decided to add it to my registry and try to learn a little about massage before I had my baby. Unfortunately, no one bought the DVD for me. However, I purchased the massage video for myself at a discount when the Aimee's Babies blog ran a promotion. Aimee then contacted me about reviewing the massage and developmental milestones DVDs on this blog.

My husband and I watched the videos together and collected our opinions on them. This way, we would have both an OT and layperson opinion.

The Baby Massage video is available as a DVD or digital download, and has a supplementary app also available. The video first briefly reviews infant development in motor and sensory systems. Aimee approaches the need for infant massage through a sensory integration perspective. After the introduction, she demonstrates performing the full body massage on an infant with description of her actions. She uses the Baby's First Massage method, which is intended for a typically developing child.

My husband and I both felt that the developmental section moved very quickly. While I was familiar with the information, he was less so, and would have benefitted from a slower pace. There was also some confusion because not all of what was referenced applied to newborns (which is what I think of when I hear 'babies') but also to the 6 months and up group. The developmental section would have benefitted from more of a multisensory learning method- listing out the developmental exercises that were being spoken about or just referred to through the pictures. Some senses, like position-in-space, were only briefly referred to and that confused my husband as well.

After the developmental section, we got to see the massage. I was happy to see that Aimee discussed specific contraindications to massage and referred to the general benefits of massage. I would have liked to see a brief discussion of the research that has been done on infant massage. Again, my husband and I felt the pacing was a little too quick. We will definitely need to watch the video again before trying the massage. My husband commented that it would have been nice to have this at the pace like an exercise video so that you could perform the massage on your baby at the same time.

Since I knew the benefits of infant massage before watching the video, I think I was more receptive to the overall concept than my husband. While there were a few parts of the massage that gave me the willies due to my own tactile defensiveness, I felt like the overall massage showed good face validity in light of what I already knew. My husband, in a phrase I never thought I would hear, said that he did not feel confident doing the massage on his baby because he still felt the baby would be a "porcelain doll" and was afraid it might hurt him. I think a larger reference to the research might have helped assuage his safety concerns.

Next, we watched the First Year Milestones DVD. Aimee described the purpose of this video to empower parents to be more vigilant about their child's development. She stressed that parents should not overreact to the exact timeframe of the milestone, but that they should be able to discuss what the baby can and cannot do with their physician and the importance of early intervention if there is a delay. The video was broken up well with menus to skip to the appropriate age range.

This video is considerably longer than the massage video, so I could only get my husband to watch the newborn section. This section again has a sensory processing base, and was primarily devoted to reflexes (which makes sense given the age of the child). The newborn section was very distracting to me because much of the video footage was done during a photo shoot, so there were repeated camera flashes. The audio and visual for this section could have been better coordinated as well. Watching this video before the infant massage would have been helpful since it was more in-depth than the developmental review in front of the massage video.

In the 3-12 month sections, this video really begins to shine. The skills Aimee discusses are really well illustrated in the videos of the different children. The developmental exercises that are discussed are pretty easy to do and Aimee gives suggestions for how to incorporate them into the day. I really appreciated that she gave a specific time range for tummy time at various points, because I have seen in my EI work that parents really have no idea how much time to shoot for (if they are aware that tummy time is necessary to start with). These sections were really well paced and developed and would be very beneficial to anyone looking to learn more about development. Some of the terminology may be a little over the head of a layperson but did accompany a video demonstration of whatever was being discussed.

My husband described the video as "very educational" and found the video footage of same-age babies to be helpful in understanding the developmental concepts. He stated that the video was helpful and made him feel more informed as a first time parent. He also mentioned that this was presented like a class, and might be good as part of a new parent class at a hospital or pediatrician's office.

I thought that the developmental video would actually even be helpful in a college level pediatrics class to illustrate the concepts discussed. We had photos and a day or two where we observed our instructor interacting with an infant, but a video would have been a valuable addition. The video would also be helpful for practitioners switching into pediatrics. With a little tweaking and adding footage of abnormal development, this video could be re-edited to really focus on educating OT professionals, but it is a valuable resource as is.

SUMMARY The Aimee's Babies DVDs would be helpful for new parents in learning more about development and appropriate ways to interact with your child. I think that the developmental DVD should be a prerequisite to learning the massage, so giving both together would be a good idea. Prices are comparable or better to similar products, so that shouldn't be a problem. I'm excited to see the future of the Aimee's Babies line, as she has announced plans for toddler and preschooler videos.

GIVEAWAY!! To help share the love during OT month, I will be sending out the Developmental Milestones DVD to one lucky winner chosen at random. This would be great for a student, new parent, or anyone interested in better understanding the first year of development. All you have to do to be eligible is Like the Occupational Therapy Notes Facebook Page before next Friday, April 26, at 10pm Eastern time. The winner will need to send me their address by 10am Monday morning or a new winner will be drawn- I'm having a baby and can't afford to wait around!

I got the Baby Massage video at a discount during an Aimee's Babies promotion, and received the Developmental Milestones video for free. All opinions are my own, except where my husband's are noted, and I was not compensated or influenced. Continue reading

What a great week!

I'm going to break my Tuesdays-only rule for a Friday post because this has been an awesome week!

First, I was the featured interview this week for Abby's blog (Notes from a Pediatric OT) in her OT's Perspective series. Be sure to check that out, but be prepared, I'm my usual wordy self. There are also some  pictures that you may not have seen before, including one that features my swan neck deformity, lol. Be sure to add Abby's blog to your list of good reading to follow!

Then, before I even got to return to my normalcy, I also got to pop up on the AOTA Checking the Pulse blog! Stephanie Y is doing an 'Appy April feature where AOTA members get to describe a favorite app and how it helps them. I discussed how I use the Due Today app on my phone (combined with ToodleDo on my computer) to keep up to date on all my to-dos. 

Teaser alert- if you like info on how to get organized, I do have a more explanatory post of some of my methods with pictures coming up in early May, so watch for that!

Additional teaser- I finished my video presentation for the AOTA conference! If you can't go to the conference, you will be able to catch our whole presentation streaming online, just pay attention on twitter for details. I will also have a blog post that week that goes into a bit more detail on some things, because we have already established that I am wordy.

Have a great weekend!

Continue reading

Don't be like me

I get requests for advice from students or new practitioners every now and then via email. One thing I would like to say is "Don't be like me." Don't take this as self-depreciating, I know I have lots of good qualities. I tried hard in school and am a hard worker, I try to keep learning whenever possible and be creative and respectful with all my clients. But there are a lot of job-related decisions that I've made that I would hope other people could learn from.

- Don't think you need tunnel vision focus in school Though I am proud to say that I no longer get confused with a high school student, people are still often shocked when we have talked about my schooling in relation to my age. They can't understand how I got a masters degree and did x,y,z before n age. The short answer is that I was very driven and focused during school. My mom does career counseling and when I was tossing up architecture and OT she knew nothing would transfer between the degrees and that no university near us offered both. So she pushed me to do a lot of job shadowing and research to figure out which I wanted to do. I became one of the few people in the world who didn't ever change majors in college, and by the nature of a 2+3 program got my BA and MOT in 5 years. But there are things I didn't do in that process. I only got to play softball one year in college. I didn't get to do any study abroad or really awesome summer programs. I went in with blinders and finished on time, and while I excelled at that, I think that people should act on the opportunities that they really want (within reason), especially while they're in college. So while this method will definitely get you through school on time, it certainly doesn't have to be the only way.

- Don't apply for only one job When I started applying for jobs out of school I figured that people would take a little time to get back to me and I'd have time to put in several applications, go on a few interviews, and choose the best from that group. Things moved much faster than I anticipated after I put in that first application and while I felt it would have been acceptable to ask for a couple days to consider the offer, I couldn't very well ask for a week or two to put in other applications.

- Don't allow work to overshadow everything else When we moved to Baltimore for the sole reason of me working in a big place and experiencing that kind of environment, work (and travel to work) started dominating my life. I wound up (as many salaried workers do) working more than a standard 8 hour day, working through lunch to catch up, and even working at home in the evenings to stay caught up. While we made time for a lot of fun things, the day to day life was exhausting and completely unbalanced. We ate out all the time and hardly ever got any time outdoors to exercise or even exist. We barely had time for each other during the week. We very rarely saw our families. It was not a sustainable situation and reflected very poor occupational balance.

- Don't work for free Along the same line as above, if you value yourself, you can't work for free. Don't write evals after hours. Don't stick around and do extra notes. If you have work that needs to get done, find a way to get it done during your workday and get reimbursed for your time. Also, don't bankrupt yourself buying fun treatment materials.

- Don't interview or work burned out Burn out is a real thing, especially in the "caring" fields. Being stressed and emotionally overloaded doesn't make for a good worker and that can get reflected while interviewing for a new job too. Take steps to prevent burn out to start with, but make sure that you take time for yourself before you begin representing yourself to new people. It will also help you give fresher answers.

- Don't take a job that is a major stretch from your interests Sometimes, though you could imagine a way to make a situation work, it's just not a good fit. And if you know it's not a good fit, or there's red flags to indicate that it isn't going to work long term, just don't take that job.

- Don't change jobs while buying a house This is a major life lesson that I had no idea about. There were a lot of tears when we realized this was going to cause a problem, despite the fact that I was changing to a job with more hours and higher hourly pay. I ended up having to hold onto an unpleasant job longer than I wanted to, but fortunately didn't lose the other opportunity.

- Don't be afraid to try something new It can be a scary world out there and breaking out of your comfort zone into a new field is tough. There's a lot of work to catch yourself up into a new practice area. But it can be very worthwhile and you shouldn't let fear hold you back as long as you're willing to do the work and think that it will align well with your interests. OT Practice and OT Connections have had resources for changing practice settings, and it can be done successfully.

- Don't expect the worst This can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Be optimistic and positive when starting something new instead of constantly worrying about the end game.

- Don't get desperate during a search Last fall, I started to get really depressed at the length and lack of results with my job search. I had offers after that and could have had a full-time placement but it very clearly wouldn't have been a good fit long-term. By sticking with my other work, finances remained stable, and I was able to wait on a better offer instead of jumping at the first life raft.

- Don't start a new job late in pregnancy You can totally interview for a job and get a new job while pregnant, there's no rule that says you have to disclose a pregnancy to a potential employer and there are a number of discrimination protections. But in the same way that being your best person is difficult when you're burnt out, I've found it difficult to really hit the ground running in a new environment when I am not physically capable of running. I didn't have to worry about the effect this change would have on insurance or FMLA eligibility due to the nature of this job, but that could be another factor for you to consider. And while my prn jobs have coworkers who have known me a long time and are very accommodating and helpful, starting in a new place means starting relationships from the beginning, and people will be less likely to offer their assistance for the little things.

- Don't be afraid to ask for what you want Sometimes, I am too quick to write off a situation. But you always have the ability to ask for different hours, pay, or other flexibility. The worst that can happen is that your boss or potential employer can say no. But if you don't ask for what you want, you won't know what can happen. One small (but frequently occurring) example is naming your salary. Sometimes women have a tendency to be too nice and want to meet an employer in the middle instead of standing up and saying what you want. By forcing myself to have a bit of a backbone, my salary requests were usually exceeded, not just met.

- Don't neglect your life plan This is where I am at right now. I don't have a five year plan at the moment. I have never had a fully articulated plan anyway, I've had multiple possibilities that could work and also had new doors open that weren't part of my original considerations. But in general, I think it is admirable to have a plan (if only a vague one) and make sure that the opportunities that you accept align with it.

_________________________________
Obviously you can make these mistakes and still survive or even thrive in the OT workforce. There's clearly varying degrees of how much of a mistake the different things have been, and learning from them is essential. I wouldn't be who I am as a practitioner or a person without my mistakes. Do you have a mistake to share? Continue reading

#10minTues- Virtual (and free!) Baby Shower

This is a great fun time for me, smack dab between baby showers put on by my family and church family. Things are really coming together to prepare for the baby and it's quite exciting!

I love my readers and I'm so often impressed by their own blogs and information that you share. So now I'm asking you to participate in a virtual baby shower for me, in a way that is quick, easy and free!

Please use the comments to share your advice related to being a new parent, balancing career and family, or anything baby/therapy related. What do you wish you would have known? Please share below! Continue reading

Maternity plan

People have been asking me about what my work plan will be after the baby since before we knew there was be a baby (part of another larger topic destined to be a journal entry, maybe a public entry) but the questions have certainly multiplied as time has gone on. Part of starting a job while 6 months pregnant is that everyone wants to know what you intend to do in the coming months. But I've been blogging much longer than anything else, so I feel like I need to share a maternity plan for the blog so you the reader aren't left in the dark.

Ultimately, I have a lot of stuff going on right now. It's very stressful. I had set a deadline of last week of March/first week of April for A LOT of to-dos and now we're actually coming up on that. It's intense. Blogging is not high on my priority list, it's definitely below prepping for the AOTA conference (via video), transitioning kids at work, and trying to get the house in order.

I have been trying to get one post per week scheduled in advance. A big part of this is taking old drafts and finishing them, or posting things I wrote long ago. I'm also just trying to make peace with some shorter or more compilation entries. Originally, I had just been making sure there'd be one post a week, now I think I will schedule them all for Tuesdays so that people who don't have RSS (or haven't found a google reader alternative GRAWR) know when to show up. As of now, this is set to go through May, but I know that I probably will fade and have some absences. I am going to put the #10minTues tag on hiatus since all posts will be on Tuesdays and they have been longer than 10 minutes to write.

I will probably lurk on some other blogs but not comment very much. And I expect that I will largely just delete items unread. If there's anything dramatic, I might need some fireworks or other attention-grabbing strategies so that I get to it within a month or so. I will probably lurk on twitter in the same way, but I would expect more updates or at least retweets over there.

Truthfully, when I'm not working, I don't have a lot of OT revelations that are fit for sharing. And there's going to be a new gigantic focus in my life, so I don't anticipate a lot of extra energy floating around for OT stuff. But I'll be back at some point.

I wish I had advice for people who were trying to plot out their own leave, but since my job situation is ... extremely unique ... I don't think my strategy would be very helpful to anyone else. I am scheduled normally for 2 days/week but have now dropped down to 1 day for scheduling purposes. I continue to see two of my EI clients who don't need frequent services but have transitioned the rest to other therapists. I do occasionally take a prn day at the hospital outpatient as well. Hopefully this very reduced schedule will help me get some other things done prior to baby time.

Kinda rambly. But here's the goals:
New posts on Tuesdays (when they are available)
I'll try to do comment moderation at least once a week
I will post a family picture when add our new little guy
the blog may get dusty, but will not be abandoned :) Continue reading

#10minTues - Advocacy on the Quick

Often, when I talk with people about OT advocacy, they are interested but not really sure where to start. They also want to avoid a big time commitment. Here's a few super-quick ways for super-busy people to still take action.

First of all, are you an AOTA member? Because if you care about OT being represented on a federal level especially, then you need to join. AOTA (just like other professional organizations like the AMA) can only claim to represent the practitioners who are actually members, not all the OTs in the country. Also, the political action committee, AOTPAC, cannot take money from non-members. So if you're an non-member OT/A who benefits from the work that AOTA is doing (and you probably do), that would make you dead weight. Don't get offended, just get active. TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes to setup

AOTA has this great resource called the legislative action center. Using this literally can take less than a minute, and still is a way to make a big impact. I get an email from an AOTA staffer describing an action alert- here recently it was the Occupational Therapy in Mental Health Act (HR 1037). (sidenote, when your job title is in the title of the bill, it is a BIG DEAL. Action cannot be delayed.) Staffer sends a link to the action center, and since I am already a registered user, it knows from my saved zip code who all my senators and representatives are. Then it provides me with a form letter (which I usually change, and is why it takes longer than 1 minute) and automatically emails it to all the right people. Baddabing, baddaboom, it's done. Occasionally I get an email (or even a letter!) back from the congressperson's office. And your representatives seriously do care what you think on issues. There are so many bills in and out everyday, they don't read them all, and if a constituent has an opinion, that can sway their vote. TOTAL TIME: 5 minutes to setup, 1 minute or less thereafter

Social media is changing how issues are communicated. As it is now, I get detailed emails from the state legislative staff (by virtue of my Advocacy VP position in my state organization) but I can't read them all in-depth. What I do read are the Stop the Therapy Cap facebook posts, and the updates I get on twitter from the organization and legislative staff. I'm already on those sites, and getting a quick update on where the issues stand as I'm browsing through is so simple.TOTAL TIME: 2 minutes to setup, 1 minute or less thereafter

In the same way that social media has affected our information acquisition, so has mobility/portability. I like things I can do from my phone instead of tied to my computer. So while I know I can look up online various bills and what my reps are doing, there's an app for that- (and it's a free one!) called Congress (Android and Windows) or MyCongress (Apple). The free app helps you find your reps via zip code and allows you to favorite them, giving you quick access to how they're voting, their committees, and a way to contact them. You can also favorite bills to check their status. If you're super involved you can get push notifications on when committees are meeting or when a hearing is going to happen for your bill. TOTAL TIME: 2 minutes to setup, 2 minutes or less thereafter

So many people are afraid to get involved with advocacy efforts. Don't be! By virtue of being an OT practitioner, you are an expert in OT! Share that expertise with the people in power using these quick methods. Feel free to share your preferred ways to advocate or other advocacy questions/concerns you have in the comments below.

Additional resources
Want to do Advocacy? There's Something for Everyone by AOTA
AOTA Advocacy section
Lifehacker article How to Discuss Politics Without Sounding Like an Idiot (has info on the apps) Continue reading

Energy Conservation for Chores

Spring has sprung, and with it, the return of chores galore. Here are some tips to simplify the chores and save more energy for things that you prefer to do.

-Use machines where possible- dishwasher, washer/dryer, automatic shower cleaner, automatic toilet cleaners, Roomba, and the car wash. 

-Use lightweight objects when possible, such as Swiffer, dusters, or a hand vacuum.

-Stay ahead of big cleanings by doing small things as able. This includes using antibacterial wipes in the kitchen daily, pick up 1 item each time you leave a room and replace it where needed, and handle items only once instead of sorting multiple times. You may see more tips like this at Unclutterer.

-Take advantage of mechanical advantage. Don't scrub the floor, use a Swiffer wet instead. Don't repot plants on your hands and knees, try working sitting or standing at a table (you can keep the mess down by placing some plastic bags or an old shower curtain down first)

-Load and unload your dishwasher while seated. Don't try to lift multiple plates or bowls at once. Consider switching to lightweight plates if you're able.

-Store your dishes at the point of first use. Some examples of this would be storing glasses by the refrigerator, colanders by the sink, and pots and pans by the stove. 

-Use smaller trash bags if it is difficult to lift a heavy bag. 

-If shopping for new appliances, avoid top loading devices and instead look for front loading washers and dryers. These may need to be elevated to prevent excessive bending. If it is very difficult for you to rotate the laundry, there are machines that both wash and dry. There are also drawer dishwashers that pull out and are easier to load/unload, though they hold less than a standard model.

-If you have to wash dishes by hand (UGH! my least favorite chore) then try: having a stool to sit on or a prop for your foot to change positions; using an upside down dish drainer to elevate the bottom of the sink (to prevent leaning over); and allowing dishes to drip dry instead of towel drying.

-Clean your trashcan using a hose instead of trying to reach inside and to the bottom.

-If you have clothes or other items that need to hang dry, keep items at waist level to minimize bending, and try not to hang higher than eye level to prevent excessive reaching. 

-Use a wrinkle releaser if possible instead of using the iron. 

-I feel that it's easier to hang clothes than fold them, so I hang up most of my clothes in the closet. Adding a second bar underneath half of the closet adds available space, using a wardrobe may also assist in finding extra space.

-Pay or barter for what is too difficult for you to do. This might include mowing the grass or scrubbing the tub. 

-Give up doing things that you don't value or care about. For me, this is folding t-shirts and sweats that are only worn around the house. So I created 'the play clothes bin' and clothes for workouts and bumming around just get nicely tossed and confined within the bin. 


Are there chore-related energy saving tips that you use? Feel free to share in the comments. Continue reading

Advocate Or Be Replaced

This is an article from the American College of Sports Medicine on fitness trends expected to be sought after in 2013. The stated purpose is to assist their readership (Athletic Trainers, exercise physiologists, personal trainers, "fitness specialists" etc) in continuing profitable business. Here are the top 20 trends that they identified.

This list provides some things to think about. Here are a few that sprung to my mind.

#1: Educated, certified and experienced fitness professionals: sounds like a no-brainer, right? No one wants to think that the person helping them in their fitness quest just walked out of a high school weightlifting class and is now using that as their entire knowledge base. But with a personal quest for certifications and increased legitimacy comes a professional quest for licensure in attempt to get a greater piece of the monetary pie. 

#8 Functional fitness: some of this is the Crossfit movement, and some is also code words for "daily activities." We OTs feel very protective of ADL however it is a phrase that is increasingly being inserted into practice acts for physical therapy or athletic training. 

#11 Worksite health promotion: There are great OTs who work in industrial settings, though this is still more of a niche or emerging practice area. One piece of wording that you may need to watch for is the term "industrial athletes" which may be applied to military or first responders (firefighters, police, EMT). This may affect whether those individuals would be referred to an OT work-hardening program or an athletic trainer.

#19 Reaching new markets: This makes sense for a business. There's only so much you can do with your current market, and to increase your business, you must bring in some new consumers. Outreach to new markets may include consumers who were not previously service users before, or it may include individuals who were using OT and try to replace that service with something else. There's only so much "insurance money pie" and everybody wants their slice. 

Pay attention to who is trying to get licensed in your state, and how they're defining their scope of practice. Does it properly encapsulate their training? Is it going to try to restrict your practice? You might be surprised.  I'll admit that I come across as paranoid and defensive, but it's much easier to start from that position and work toward a mutually beneficial middle ground than to assume that every other profession is out to play nice and that we should be nice too. Remember what AOTA President Florence Clark said: It's not playing nice- it's playing dead!

If something is happening in your state and you need assistance, contact the AOTA state affairs group. The staff is excellent at analyzing legislative issues and can help you in responding appropriately. Just one more reason you should be an AOTA member. Also, please consider donating to AOTPAC, they are the only people fighting for OT on a national level.

Continue reading

Educational Resources for OTs working with Infants & Toddlers

I really like working in Early Intervention. Depending on how the state sets up the organization, an EI worker may find themselves pretty isolated with limited training opportunities for improvement. And if you're self-employed, you can't be dropping hundreds of dollars on continuing education classes that may or may not be beneficial. Here are some free online resources that can help the transition, as well as some other books that I have found helpful. (as always, I have no financial relationship with any service unless directly mentioned)

Zero to Three is the national page for infants and toddlers. They have podcasts in English and Spanish, policy based webinars, and free parent resources and guides. They also offer a professional journal ($78/year) with options to pay for CEUs and a yearly national conference.

Pathways.org provides a number of great visual and written resources for families and professionals. They have handouts on a/typical developmental comparisons and the importance of tummy time, among others. They have a free course and videos online to help professionals identify atypical development.

Virginia's early intervention system offers free archived webinars, online modules, and additional resources on their website. Check out their professional development center, and their informative blog articles. They even invite submissions from other authors, so this may be a way for you to expand your writing repertoire. This is one of the best state sites that I have found, but checking other states' pages may turn up many useful resources.

This Prenatal Drug Exposure Handbook(pdf) from a Michigan school district has been very helpful for me when discussing with parents what the potential sequelae of exposure are at different ages and start them with a list of practical tips for the child as an infant, toddler, and older child.

Feeding issues are so prevalent in the infant and toddler ages. One of the best sites that I have found is Your Kids Table, written by an OT with great sensory and behavioral strategies to try to broaden a child's diet.

Early Intervention Support offers many resources, mainly for parents on typical development and frequent issues with the 0-3 population.

Beyond Basic Play is a blog by a PT with great info on development as well as "tips and tricks" to facilitate certain developmental tasks such as catching a ball or moving between positions. Great basic tips to incorporate into practice.

Aimee's Babies is a site that I was not familiar with before. She is an OT who has re-initiated her blog and also sells DVDs and apps for parents to help their child's development. I haven't tried these out personally but they appear to have good face validity.

Info Spot for the Special Tot is run by an OT and mom and has lots of good information and resources on typical toddler issues.

The best book that I have bought has been Transdisciplinary Play-Based Intervention. I feel like this is a great resource for how to address the full scope of skills for infants and toddlers and gave a lot of good ideas on how to adapt activities. Some of this was information I knew or could reason out from school, but learning about ways to embed communication, emotional, and cognitive development was really valuable.

I'm really hoping that my upcoming course will be excellent. It was hard to spend the money knowing that I can count the course for state and national requirements but not for the EI service, but I know I need to get moving on some CEUs before the baby comes. I am really excited about it and excited to have an educational day at all. I am sad to miss my NBCOT and AOTA peeps and the great educational offerings that I usually get there. I truly am an OT Geek and like to learn new things. Please share any resources you have for working with infants and toddlers in the comments section- especially if they are free! Continue reading

#10minTues - what I've been reading

When I was going through old entries trying to find the "greatest hits" I stumbled across this long entry of all the things I was reading. At the time, I had 2 hours on the subway to read, a huge library to access, and a teaching hospital's resources for journal articles. I was reading A LOT. Not so much anymore, but here are some of the best items from my RSS feed lately as well as other things I've been reading.

Your Therapy Source: Reflective Questions for Motor Learning - great straightforward questions to ask kids to get them thinking about their motor performance. A good application of contemporary motor control theory for the pediatric population.

Delivering and Receiving Healthcare:Having a Disability vs Being a Woman - this is a post by a medical student who uses a wheelchair discussing how he gets more respect than his female colleagues. An interesting take on male privilege. I enjoy reading about this man's journey through medical school challenges.

EmpowerAbility: Hotel Accessibility and Personal Journey with Universal Design - Deb Young is an awesome OT and I loved getting the chance to meet her last year at AOTA. She does a great job showcasing the importance of true universal design and how even when people are following "standards" that they are quite variable in how useful they actually are.

PT Think Tank: Transformation Scrutinization Vision vs Reality - Yes, I lurk on the PT Think Tank. They have an interesting viewpoint on allied health topics and it's good to see the PT POV on some issues. For instance, the PTs have their own Vision and existential questions about the name and role of their profession. OTs have this "navel gazing" of our issues and it was surprising to see that there are similar issues in PT.

Open Up and Let Go: Confessions and Conversational Speech and Words on the Blackboard - Deb is a mother of a child with autism and her perspective is one that I really value. She reflects on how you cannot spend 100% of your life as a "therapy mom" and the great feelings you get when a child achieves a goal.

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism: Costs of Fearing Autism and Labels, Light and Love - TPGA is a group blog, and I would love to see more OT versions of this. The contributors provide great views on autism-related issues. The first post discusses the public health crisis we're facing because parents are so afraid of autism that they refuse to vaccinate their children, and how that affects vulnerable populations. The second is a mother's 18 year journey with her son and how they have had balanced the hard times and the good. A very sweet story.

ABC Therapeutics: A Response to Hinojosa's "The Evidence Based Paradox" - Chris is so on top of life. Runs a business, reads research articles, and gives detailed thoughtful commentary regarding such on his blog. This post provides a look at why we can't use excuses about not having an Evidence Based Practice or continue to use approaches that aren't borne out in the research. very insightful.

Days of Our OT Lives: Surviving Childhood Without Social Skills - True Fact, I love Karen. It's not fair that she has a twin sister already because I think she should be my OT sister. I really enjoyed her sincere and personal take on growing up and can identify with some of those struggles. I remember being a smart kid who couldn't really understand WHY people did the things they did. WHY people didn't follow the rules exactly and want them enforced on others. Confusing indeed. But I am always thankful when people share the experiences that shaped them personally.

Dinner a Love Story: How to Blog My Rules - I'm frequently interested in the meta-analyses that demonstrate other writers' or therapists' principles. Jenny runs a successful blog and book empire and her tips about blogging may be very useful to others. Her rules on quality posts instead of a large quantity and not avoiding writing just because someone else is better rung true for me.

There's a lot of great OT blogs and those that I consider related either as service users or related services, and I hope you will consider following some of them. Using an RSS reader like Google Reader or Atom can make this very simple so you don't actually have to check these sites frequently. (I just linked to the basic "how-to" but the real key to reader efficiency is to add the "subscribe" link on your browser toolbar, then you can access any feed as you browse along) I've also had some actual book-books that I've been reading, listed below.

I'm continuing in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and recently started book 9 (which is actually 10 with the prequel). 7&8 were a little slow, but this is a great fantasy series. If you liked Lord of the Rings, you'll appreciate the depth and delight in this world.

I borrowed Bringing Up Bebe from the library at the recommendation of a service coordinator in the early intervention system. It has some interesting takes on French parenting versus the "typical" American parenting. I just started this, but one thing I want to investigate further is the information on sleep and eating cycles. The author references French children sleeping through the night at 2 months and by 4 months eating just 4x/day all during the day. Obviously the feedings must be larger than what we typically give when feeding 6-8x/day. Given the info I just got from the lactation consultant last week, I want to investigate further on whether this type of schedule could be reasonable given an infant's stomach size.

I also borrowed a book on sleep for an EI client- The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep. Haven't started this one yet. And I'm intermittently reading (in very short spurts) Paul Rieser's Babyhood, which has been funny thus far.

Obviously there's a bit of a baby focus in my current reading but I don't think that should be surprising to anyone. I have a course on Infant Development coming up that I hope will be excellent and I anticipate reviewing those materials as well. This wound up being WAY over 10 minutes, but hopefully has some interesting items for you! Continue reading

OTNotes Greatest Hits Volume I: 2008-2012

As part of my blogiversary, I wanted to celebrate entries that have gotten lots of views, lots of comments, or that I felt were particularly good writing. I've tried to group these thematically to make for best reading. If there is an entry that you remember and isn't listed, or something you wanted to say about one of the pieces listed, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Entries for Students - I started this blog originally to help people in OT school, so it should be no surprise that I have lots of popular entries for students.

How to get into OT school

Writing goals -I need to update this since my approach has changed somewhat since I wrote it

Writing Sensory Goals 

Case example with goals - This is an acute care joint replacement case

NBCOT study tips -please take note: this was written several years ago, has no info on simulation questions, and I cannot legally update it until 2014.
giving an inservice - should help you pick a topic and some basic presenting tips
searching for an OT job - short plug here, I have gotten 3 jobs from AOTA's OTJoblink. Consider it.
interviewing tips 

the importance of asking questions

Acute Care - How many hours have I spent in the hospital? A lot. Sometimes people in this area are very reductionist, but there is a lot to learn and improve upon if you're an OT in acute care.

How to compile a relevant past medical history
prioritizing evaluations - a few different methods
Acute Care Tips and Tricks - some essential tips learned after many years
who gets to go home? - 3 short case studies of "similar" people who all discharged to different locations
Adventures in serial casting - this is a review of the research surrounding serial casting efficacy
Patterns - a couple of patterns observed in admissions based on weather and other external factors


Pediatric- I'm still getting my sea legs in the land of peds, but here are a couple of good entries. As I start to feel more confident, there will probably be an uptick in this category
Mat Man  -maybe my favorite photo entry
infant toddler trauma awareness  -a lot of really good information on trauma training
starting in Early Intervention: assessment -how I picked my EI assessment


Energy Conservation- this is a fondness of mine. At one point I had a whole EC series planned... may still do something along those lines sometime.
energy conservation in the summer
energy conservation for holidays

Professional Issues- Various issues that I think are relevant to the profession in an overarching way

collaboration with Girl Scouts - I really want to see a greater connection between OTs and Girl Scouts
Malcolm Gladwell thoughts - remember when Malcolm Gladwell's books were really popular? here are some of his ideas applied to OT
OT twitter chat - some advice on getting started in twitter chat, which I would definitely encourage. Check out #OTalk2US if you haven't yet
thoughts on a Glee episode -the OT connections mirror version of this got picked up by AOTA's 1 minute update and really exploded. People were very opinionated over this issue, or just the show.

Personal Issues: glimpses of my more inner life

struggling to be an ot for family
reading without getting carsick -there really should be more information online about how to accomplish this
unanticipated blessings related to presenting at conference


Uncategorized- some of the randomness that is truly me
chicken dance - a little inspirational story that showcases my favorite strategy- make a fool out of yourself.
OT quotes -these are not quotes from OTs, but more meant to be generally inspirational. I should have renamed this or actually found real OT quotes, but it is what it is.

podcast with AOTA presenter -I did my very first podcast!

aquatic exercises -specific treatments for aerobic pool exercises. I now do several of these myself since I am doing prenatal water exercises
metacognitive analysis- how I approach puzzles



I think this is a pretty good list and definitely shows that I have some seriously diverse interests that I've been writing about the past five years. I think that I will probably make this an annual event, and reflect back on the best posts of the year. 

Continue reading