I had some interest on Twitter (where I am so much more active!) about the performance goals I had to write for work. Essentially, the term is our district's way of saying SLO's (student learning objectives) that can be personalized to oneself.
Because these goals are sorta-kinda related to SLOs, I tried to find some OT related SLOs as a starting point. This wikispace has some example OT SLOs, the only ones that I could find on the internet. If you will peruse, you will notice they are EXTREMELY DETAILED, which from my understanding, SLOs have to be. Redundant even. I didn't get the message that our goals could be significantly less detailed, so I think I've overshot on my goals a bit. Such it is.
With my caseload, my kids have a wide range of ages and abilities. So I couldn't think of (in the time allotted) a good measure of student performance that would have a large group to pull from. My largest group of students are those in the regional certificated classrooms. For many reasons, including that I am evaluated as a teacher though I have not trained as a teacher, I wanted to spend more time in these classrooms learning special education techniques, dynamics, and observing the skills of the teachers and students in action. So I set a goal to observe for 1 hour each week, bringing myself to each classroom at least twice for 30 minutes in the course of the year. (I know this does not seem like a lot of time, but my schedule is packed and it is actually difficult to even get that amount of time.) I adapted a teaching reflection sheet that I found to keep a record of insights and questions.
My second goal involves our district's technology focus. There is a push to expand our technological reach and impact. I made a twitter account for our department and sent out an initial survey on usage of social media for professional development. Analyzing these responses (weighted on a Likert scale), I identified a few questions to focus on for growth (specifically, those that had a lot of room to grow). I have prepared a presentation and will be working with our team on getting started. We have a range of users, from the very tech-savvy to those who do not use social media at all. It will be interesting to see how well I differentiate instruction to the group! It is also interesting to sort of feel like a social media manager and be trying to figure out how to do that job. I hope that we will be able to meet on branding and find some great ways for us to grow as team.
So those are the (measured) targets I am working toward this year, in addition to working with my students, interfacing with teachers and parents, and several other irons in the fire! I don't feel as compelled to have true SLO goals since all my kids are working toward IEP goals that have to be constantly measured and reported quarterly anyway. I have probably over-thought and over-measured these and they may need to be adjusted at midyear. But it is nice to have some concrete personal goals. This also helps me narrow down my focus, which long time readers will recognize as a major challenge for me!!
Do you have to write SLOs or a similar type of goal as a school-based OT? Do you have to write performance goals in a different setting, such as a hospital. Please let me know below, it would be great to dialog about this!
Showing posts with label peds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peds. Show all posts
11.11.2014
11.21.2013
Entrepreneur Series: Tonya Cooley of Therapy Fun Zone
This special Thursday-edition of the OT Entrepreneur Series features Tonya Cooley, author/owner of the Therapy Fun Zone blog and online therapy store. Tonya is a prolific OT blogger and has some great tips on starting down that path for others.
Can you tell me a little about your business?
When asked questions about my business, it is a little difficult to answer because it is not straight forward, and it is very atypical. Therefore, I will first explain what my business is. I currently work contract for a school district as an OTR, and in my off time, I run a therapy blog called Therapy Fun Zone. I post about fun and different therapy activities to help inspire creativity. I also create therapy games and share some for free, and some are available to purchase. It is the blog aspect of my business that I will focus on since it is interesting and unique.
Why did you decide to start your business? I initially started Therapy Fun Zone near the end of my first year as a school therapist. I was a very experienced therapist, and had been treating kids for 20 plus years, but most of my experience was in a well-established setting with plenty of home program and activity resources, so I never lacked for activities and inspiration. When I started in a small school district, they had never had their own OT before, so they had no eval template, no worksheets, activities, or toys, and no home program resources. I was also not used to working with kids that were so high functioning, and needed to come up with some activities that would really challenge them. I scoured the web to find ideas and had to make some stuff of my own. Then I had a parent tell me that their last therapist only worked on practicing the same thing over and over, and she loved how I made the activities fun. That really hit a nerve, and I don't think children will fully participate in therapy if it isn't fun.
It was right after that exchange that I decided to make my own website for fun therapy activities in order to make it easy for people to find them.
Can you share a bit about the financial side of your business?
When I started Therapy Fun Zone, I had no expectation of making money. I just wanted to share ideas and connect with other therapists. I was already set up as a business though because I had invented a baby product a few years earlier, and already had a business license, business bank account, business name (TMC Adaptations), accounting software, and a tax id number. I made a lot of mistakes with my baby product (Hug n Hold) financially, and so I tried not to make those with Therapy Fun Zone. I planned to just spend my time on it, and not spend money on it.
Have you found a benefit from social media marketing? What are some of the strategies that you have used to maximize your success in this field?
Therapy Fun Zone is essentially dependent on social media as it is a blog, and I get a lot of traffic through the blog from facebook and pinterest. I would say that some of the keys to success with blogging and social media is to get on a schedule. I have been blogging on and off on other sites since 2005, and none have been successful until Therapy Fun Zone. From the beginning I had to treat it like a business even though it wasn't making any money because I wanted it to be successful even if it wasn't in a monetary way. I post at least once a week, and people can count on that. Sometimes I schedule my posts way in advance, but make sure they are spread out to once a week. I have seen some therapy blogs that post a bunch of articles all at the same time once a month. That does not work in your favor. If you have a bunch of articles, don't post them all at the same time. Spread them out and keep people coming back at a steady pace. I have also found that I can't keep up with more than once a week and get completely burned out. I also then post my blog posts to facebook, pin on pinterest, and then share other people's interesting things on facebook and pinterest.
What were some lessons that you learned in the initial stages of your business?
I would still consider my business to be in the baby stage. I am still learning a lot, am getting better and more efficient, and am learning the extra computer design stuff. Maybe in my next life I will be a computer programmer. Financially I think that I currently break even, or make a couple hundred dollars a month. It is not yet an option for me to quit my job, and if I did, where would I get the ideas for new therapy activities. I think that the website may finally now pay for the web hosting. Maybe someday it will pay for more. The moral is, if you think you can make a bunch of money by blogging, don’t kid yourself. It is a lot of time expense with no financial reward, but it has other rewards. I consider it a success because it is currently one of the largest therapy blogs out there, and gets over 100,000 page views a month. In big business blogger terms, that isn’t a lot (they get 1,000,000 hits a month), but in small OT blogger terms, it is darn good.
What was your original goal, the point that you aspired to reach and consider that you had "made it" as an entrepreneur?
My original goal was to share therapy ideas, and I think that I have definitely accomplished that. In the beginning, I wanted Therapy Fun Zone to not suck as a blog/website. I now think that it is pretty awesome, and I am quite proud of myself and my website design skills. I am currently working on taking it to the next level, and making it more of a joint effort. I recently added a new shopping cart that makes it so that other therapists can sell their products on my site too. I think that it could be really useful to have all of the resources that therapists make out there and available to other therapists. We will see where it will go.
What is the best thing about owning your own business? The worst? What surprised you most?
The best thing about having started Therapy Fun Zone is that it really stimulates my brain, and it keeps me inspired. The worst part is keeping track of the finances (not my thing). Most surprising is how much I love making therapy games, and that I enjoy website design. I am also surprised to find that I don’t like writing. My joy comes from creating, but then I have to write about it or no one else can benefit from what I have created.
What are some tips that you could give to OT practitioners considering starting a business?
As far as advice about starting your own therapy blog, I say just do it. Either you love it or you don't, and you never know where it might take you. Specific blogging advice would take many many posts, so I will try to work on those over at Therapy Fun Zone. If you want to try your hand at creating products, come join me and open up your own shop at Therapy Fun Zone. You could try your hand at blogging by being a guest blogger too.
Either way, you must have fun.
Thank you Tonya for your insights! Very helpful information for our next era of OT bloggers and innovators! Be sure to check out all of Tonya's fun activities on her blog, facebook, or pinterest sites. And come back next week for our last interview of 2013!
Can you tell me a little about your business?
When asked questions about my business, it is a little difficult to answer because it is not straight forward, and it is very atypical. Therefore, I will first explain what my business is. I currently work contract for a school district as an OTR, and in my off time, I run a therapy blog called Therapy Fun Zone. I post about fun and different therapy activities to help inspire creativity. I also create therapy games and share some for free, and some are available to purchase. It is the blog aspect of my business that I will focus on since it is interesting and unique.
Why did you decide to start your business? I initially started Therapy Fun Zone near the end of my first year as a school therapist. I was a very experienced therapist, and had been treating kids for 20 plus years, but most of my experience was in a well-established setting with plenty of home program and activity resources, so I never lacked for activities and inspiration. When I started in a small school district, they had never had their own OT before, so they had no eval template, no worksheets, activities, or toys, and no home program resources. I was also not used to working with kids that were so high functioning, and needed to come up with some activities that would really challenge them. I scoured the web to find ideas and had to make some stuff of my own. Then I had a parent tell me that their last therapist only worked on practicing the same thing over and over, and she loved how I made the activities fun. That really hit a nerve, and I don't think children will fully participate in therapy if it isn't fun.
It was right after that exchange that I decided to make my own website for fun therapy activities in order to make it easy for people to find them.
Can you share a bit about the financial side of your business?
When I started Therapy Fun Zone, I had no expectation of making money. I just wanted to share ideas and connect with other therapists. I was already set up as a business though because I had invented a baby product a few years earlier, and already had a business license, business bank account, business name (TMC Adaptations), accounting software, and a tax id number. I made a lot of mistakes with my baby product (Hug n Hold) financially, and so I tried not to make those with Therapy Fun Zone. I planned to just spend my time on it, and not spend money on it.
Have you found a benefit from social media marketing? What are some of the strategies that you have used to maximize your success in this field?
Therapy Fun Zone is essentially dependent on social media as it is a blog, and I get a lot of traffic through the blog from facebook and pinterest. I would say that some of the keys to success with blogging and social media is to get on a schedule. I have been blogging on and off on other sites since 2005, and none have been successful until Therapy Fun Zone. From the beginning I had to treat it like a business even though it wasn't making any money because I wanted it to be successful even if it wasn't in a monetary way. I post at least once a week, and people can count on that. Sometimes I schedule my posts way in advance, but make sure they are spread out to once a week. I have seen some therapy blogs that post a bunch of articles all at the same time once a month. That does not work in your favor. If you have a bunch of articles, don't post them all at the same time. Spread them out and keep people coming back at a steady pace. I have also found that I can't keep up with more than once a week and get completely burned out. I also then post my blog posts to facebook, pin on pinterest, and then share other people's interesting things on facebook and pinterest.
What were some lessons that you learned in the initial stages of your business?
I would still consider my business to be in the baby stage. I am still learning a lot, am getting better and more efficient, and am learning the extra computer design stuff. Maybe in my next life I will be a computer programmer. Financially I think that I currently break even, or make a couple hundred dollars a month. It is not yet an option for me to quit my job, and if I did, where would I get the ideas for new therapy activities. I think that the website may finally now pay for the web hosting. Maybe someday it will pay for more. The moral is, if you think you can make a bunch of money by blogging, don’t kid yourself. It is a lot of time expense with no financial reward, but it has other rewards. I consider it a success because it is currently one of the largest therapy blogs out there, and gets over 100,000 page views a month. In big business blogger terms, that isn’t a lot (they get 1,000,000 hits a month), but in small OT blogger terms, it is darn good.
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| Button Pizza... yummy ADL |
My original goal was to share therapy ideas, and I think that I have definitely accomplished that. In the beginning, I wanted Therapy Fun Zone to not suck as a blog/website. I now think that it is pretty awesome, and I am quite proud of myself and my website design skills. I am currently working on taking it to the next level, and making it more of a joint effort. I recently added a new shopping cart that makes it so that other therapists can sell their products on my site too. I think that it could be really useful to have all of the resources that therapists make out there and available to other therapists. We will see where it will go.
What is the best thing about owning your own business? The worst? What surprised you most?
The best thing about having started Therapy Fun Zone is that it really stimulates my brain, and it keeps me inspired. The worst part is keeping track of the finances (not my thing). Most surprising is how much I love making therapy games, and that I enjoy website design. I am also surprised to find that I don’t like writing. My joy comes from creating, but then I have to write about it or no one else can benefit from what I have created.
What are some tips that you could give to OT practitioners considering starting a business?
As far as advice about starting your own therapy blog, I say just do it. Either you love it or you don't, and you never know where it might take you. Specific blogging advice would take many many posts, so I will try to work on those over at Therapy Fun Zone. If you want to try your hand at creating products, come join me and open up your own shop at Therapy Fun Zone. You could try your hand at blogging by being a guest blogger too.
Either way, you must have fun.
Thank you Tonya for your insights! Very helpful information for our next era of OT bloggers and innovators! Be sure to check out all of Tonya's fun activities on her blog, facebook, or pinterest sites. And come back next week for our last interview of 2013!
11.05.2013
Entrepreneur Series: Chris Alterio and ABC Therapeutics
This entry in the OT Entrepreneur Interview Series is Chris Alterio of ABC Therapeutics, a pediatric private practice in New York state.
What was your tipping point to go into private practice?
I was a part time private practitioner since my entry into the profession. At first I did contracting and home health care in addition to my primary employment. I think that this is a very common entry point to private practice for many therapists.
Over time I learned that I enjoyed my consulting and contract work much more than work within institutions. Most of that likely has to do with my own sense of intrinsic control that I prefer to have over my work, and sometimes working within institutions felt somewhat stifling.
A tipping point for me came after a period of employment where I was very disenchanted with the power structure at my job. I was working in a hospital that was going through a merger and it was stressful in many ways. I disagreed with the strategic direction of the institution and of my supervisors and it was no longer a healthy 'match' for me. At that time I 'liberated' myself and began my private practice, which initially involved private pediatric home care. That is how ABC Therapeutics was started - 14 years ago!
I hired my first employee sometime in 2003. At one time I had nearly 25 employees, but I did not like the 'feel' of that as it seemed I was spending all my time with personnel management and contracts. I prefer the intimacy of the private clinic and home care - so now we do very little contracting and I have decreased my staff rather significantly. When I had a larger staff I felt like I was turning into a contract agency and that is not what drew me into private practice, so we refocused our efforts on outpatient clinic and home based care.
What was your original goal, the point that you aspired to reach and consider that you had "made it" as an entrepreneur?
My 'original goal' was to help families interact with their school systems and learn how to navigate their systems and advocate appropriately so their children could receive the most appropriate services. Families were seeking out private in-home care with me because they were dissatisfied with their school-based services. In the beginning I believed that I would spend 2-3 years educating families and helping school districts to appreciate what these families wanted - and then things would just be 'better' and there would no longer be a need for my services. That was incorrect thinking.
What I learned over time is that although the people working within these systems are generally kind and they generally have the best interests of the children in their hearts, the systems themselves are unwieldy and overly bureaucratic and in fact they are not always designed to be user friendly for parents. I am not sure why it didn't occur to me, but this was precisely why I wanted to leave institutional employment! So, it was a rather naive thought that I would 'fix' these systems from an external perspective when I couldn't even fix them from an internal perspective!
So after a while I came around to a new way of thinking, and that was that there were a lot of needs in the world and that it was my goal to help parents meet those needs no matter what the systems in place were. Sometimes that means working within those systems. Sometimes it means helping families doing things on their own. Each day that goes by is a reminder that the work will probably never be done, because each day the phone rings and it is new people calling.
With regard to measuring if I 'made it' as an entrepreneur, I never really consider it all too much. In honesty, at the end of each very long day I walk through my building and look around at the equipment and I remember the echoes of children's voices - and I actually just give thanks and say a prayer for how blessed I am to be able to do this work every day. Those moments, at the end of each work day, kind of help me to keep things focused.
How did you take your first steps to starting a business?
I had some concerns about my ability to support my family and start what seemed to be a risky venture at the same time, so I took a position as academic fieldwork coordinator at a college and used that as a 'base' while my private practice grew. I was able to complete the fieldwork coordinator tasks on a part time basis and this gave me the flexibility to develop my business.
Early on in the process I learned a lot of information by trial and error. Over time I learned what I needed an attorney for, what I needed an accountant for, and what I needed marketing consultation for. I developed a network of other small business providers who in turn provided their expert services to me.
My early success was attributable mostly to the experiences I had previously in paid employment as a Supervisor. I already understood personnel management, and I had experience with billing systems, and I understood the care delivery systems that I was interacting with. With the help of consultants to guide and teach me about areas I did not know I was able to develop a solid base for my private practice.
After three years I was able to leave my position at the college and focus on the private practice full time. Also, at that time I returned to school for doctoral study. That experience was also instrumental in my professional development and I want to emphasize my appreciation for my doctoral program and the excellent faculty at Nova Southeastern University.
Have you found a benefit from social media marketing (twitter, facebook, blogging)?
I began blogging in 2005. In one of my first posts I wanted to express to whoever might be reading what starting a private practice was like. I was still struggling with the technology and quirky inconsistency of the format and I was unable to upload a picture that captured my feelings. This is what I wrote:
"I wanted to talk about private practice, and perhaps talk a little bit about what I went through in the last 36 hours, and perhaps talk about a broader desire to help other people get involved in private practice - but now that I can't upload my picture I am feeling a little deflated."
It was of Thelma and Louise, flying over a cliff, preferring to face death than capture. That is kind of what entering private practice is like. I am not sure how important my blog was for promoting my practice specifically. In many ways I think the blog is more widely read and considered by OT colleagues, and in fact that is mostly who my topics are intended for.
I did not start social media marketing until 2009 and by that time my private practice was fully established. Again, I do not know if social media marketing was directly responsible for reaching an audience about my practice. Rather, I believe that what happens is that if someone Googles 'ABC Therapeutics' then they see a heavy web presence. That may matter to some people - and if so - then I suppose that social media marketing is helpful in that regard. Actually, I think that more traditional print and other media has been most effective for direct marketing of my business. Social media is supportive.
What is the best thing about owning your own business? The worst? What surprised you most?
The best: The ability to serve. My 'bosses' are the families. I get to tell kids daily - "YOU are the boss of ME!"
The worst: Financial concerns, payroll, cash flow management, frighteningly high account receivables, and of course the uncertainty of health care in general these days.
Surprising: My ability to very effectively manage the worst parts of it successfully!
What are some tips that you could give to OT practitioners considering starting a business?
Every day brings new lessons. Every day is an opportunity for more learning and more growth. If I learned anything early on, it was that I need to learn lessons every day. I think that when I first started I didn't realize that.Continue your education, every day. Identify a passion, believe in it, and live it. Finally, don't be afraid of holding tightly onto the things you believe in and speeding over a cliff.
Thank you so much Chris for your story! Please be sure to check out the ABC Therapeutics online world including great blog entries from Chris.
ABC Therapeutics Website!
ABC Therapeutics Blog!
Like ABC Therapeutics on Facebook!
What was your tipping point to go into private practice?
I was a part time private practitioner since my entry into the profession. At first I did contracting and home health care in addition to my primary employment. I think that this is a very common entry point to private practice for many therapists.
Over time I learned that I enjoyed my consulting and contract work much more than work within institutions. Most of that likely has to do with my own sense of intrinsic control that I prefer to have over my work, and sometimes working within institutions felt somewhat stifling.
A tipping point for me came after a period of employment where I was very disenchanted with the power structure at my job. I was working in a hospital that was going through a merger and it was stressful in many ways. I disagreed with the strategic direction of the institution and of my supervisors and it was no longer a healthy 'match' for me. At that time I 'liberated' myself and began my private practice, which initially involved private pediatric home care. That is how ABC Therapeutics was started - 14 years ago!
I hired my first employee sometime in 2003. At one time I had nearly 25 employees, but I did not like the 'feel' of that as it seemed I was spending all my time with personnel management and contracts. I prefer the intimacy of the private clinic and home care - so now we do very little contracting and I have decreased my staff rather significantly. When I had a larger staff I felt like I was turning into a contract agency and that is not what drew me into private practice, so we refocused our efforts on outpatient clinic and home based care.
What was your original goal, the point that you aspired to reach and consider that you had "made it" as an entrepreneur?
My 'original goal' was to help families interact with their school systems and learn how to navigate their systems and advocate appropriately so their children could receive the most appropriate services. Families were seeking out private in-home care with me because they were dissatisfied with their school-based services. In the beginning I believed that I would spend 2-3 years educating families and helping school districts to appreciate what these families wanted - and then things would just be 'better' and there would no longer be a need for my services. That was incorrect thinking.
What I learned over time is that although the people working within these systems are generally kind and they generally have the best interests of the children in their hearts, the systems themselves are unwieldy and overly bureaucratic and in fact they are not always designed to be user friendly for parents. I am not sure why it didn't occur to me, but this was precisely why I wanted to leave institutional employment! So, it was a rather naive thought that I would 'fix' these systems from an external perspective when I couldn't even fix them from an internal perspective!
So after a while I came around to a new way of thinking, and that was that there were a lot of needs in the world and that it was my goal to help parents meet those needs no matter what the systems in place were. Sometimes that means working within those systems. Sometimes it means helping families doing things on their own. Each day that goes by is a reminder that the work will probably never be done, because each day the phone rings and it is new people calling.
With regard to measuring if I 'made it' as an entrepreneur, I never really consider it all too much. In honesty, at the end of each very long day I walk through my building and look around at the equipment and I remember the echoes of children's voices - and I actually just give thanks and say a prayer for how blessed I am to be able to do this work every day. Those moments, at the end of each work day, kind of help me to keep things focused.
How did you take your first steps to starting a business?
I had some concerns about my ability to support my family and start what seemed to be a risky venture at the same time, so I took a position as academic fieldwork coordinator at a college and used that as a 'base' while my private practice grew. I was able to complete the fieldwork coordinator tasks on a part time basis and this gave me the flexibility to develop my business.
Early on in the process I learned a lot of information by trial and error. Over time I learned what I needed an attorney for, what I needed an accountant for, and what I needed marketing consultation for. I developed a network of other small business providers who in turn provided their expert services to me.
My early success was attributable mostly to the experiences I had previously in paid employment as a Supervisor. I already understood personnel management, and I had experience with billing systems, and I understood the care delivery systems that I was interacting with. With the help of consultants to guide and teach me about areas I did not know I was able to develop a solid base for my private practice.
After three years I was able to leave my position at the college and focus on the private practice full time. Also, at that time I returned to school for doctoral study. That experience was also instrumental in my professional development and I want to emphasize my appreciation for my doctoral program and the excellent faculty at Nova Southeastern University.
Have you found a benefit from social media marketing (twitter, facebook, blogging)?
I began blogging in 2005. In one of my first posts I wanted to express to whoever might be reading what starting a private practice was like. I was still struggling with the technology and quirky inconsistency of the format and I was unable to upload a picture that captured my feelings. This is what I wrote:
"I wanted to talk about private practice, and perhaps talk a little bit about what I went through in the last 36 hours, and perhaps talk about a broader desire to help other people get involved in private practice - but now that I can't upload my picture I am feeling a little deflated."
It was of Thelma and Louise, flying over a cliff, preferring to face death than capture. That is kind of what entering private practice is like. I am not sure how important my blog was for promoting my practice specifically. In many ways I think the blog is more widely read and considered by OT colleagues, and in fact that is mostly who my topics are intended for.
I did not start social media marketing until 2009 and by that time my private practice was fully established. Again, I do not know if social media marketing was directly responsible for reaching an audience about my practice. Rather, I believe that what happens is that if someone Googles 'ABC Therapeutics' then they see a heavy web presence. That may matter to some people - and if so - then I suppose that social media marketing is helpful in that regard. Actually, I think that more traditional print and other media has been most effective for direct marketing of my business. Social media is supportive.
What is the best thing about owning your own business? The worst? What surprised you most?
The best: The ability to serve. My 'bosses' are the families. I get to tell kids daily - "YOU are the boss of ME!"
The worst: Financial concerns, payroll, cash flow management, frighteningly high account receivables, and of course the uncertainty of health care in general these days.
Surprising: My ability to very effectively manage the worst parts of it successfully!
What are some tips that you could give to OT practitioners considering starting a business?
Every day brings new lessons. Every day is an opportunity for more learning and more growth. If I learned anything early on, it was that I need to learn lessons every day. I think that when I first started I didn't realize that.Continue your education, every day. Identify a passion, believe in it, and live it. Finally, don't be afraid of holding tightly onto the things you believe in and speeding over a cliff.
Thank you so much Chris for your story! Please be sure to check out the ABC Therapeutics online world including great blog entries from Chris.
ABC Therapeutics Website!
ABC Therapeutics Blog!
Like ABC Therapeutics on Facebook!
6.18.2013
c'mon get Appy (part II: Android)
Editor's Note: As we discussed last week, I started these entries soooo long ago. Lots has changed since I started the post but since I do have an Android device I use these apps more frequently. I have included resources for more information at bottom of the page.
I have an Android phone and have used these apps at various points. When comparing Apple and Android, there are a lot more free apps on the Android store, but they don't always work across platforms. So things like the Handwriting Without Tears app don't connect to my phone, so this is definitely a limited list. These are free unless otherwise noted.
My First Tangrams Lite - Such a cute little app. It uses basic shapes and you drag them into the outline to form a creation like a butterfly or flower. Obviously there are a limited number of puzzles with the free version but it operates very well.
Relax Me - I haven't tried this out too much but it offers guided progressive muscle relaxation.
Black and White cards for the baby - This app allows you to pick a variety of black and white visual stimulation cards and choose time intervals, music, and movement for them. Apparently after a recent update they've started pushing more advertisements, I hadn't had this problem but I don't leave internet on all the time.
Classic Simon - exactly what you think it would be. I miss Simon.
Tactical Breather - this is a great app for relaxation and a bit of biofeedback. It gives visual cues for breathing- inhale/hold/exhale/hold all for 4 seconds each. I wish that you could customize the time frame because my kids can't really hold their breath that long and another program I use wants you to do inhalation for 4 seconds and exhalation for 6 seconds. But it is a simple and effective app.
Kids Preschool Puzzle Lite - Drag the pieces into the outlined slots to create the puzzle. Simple and cute.
MyChain widget - This is based on the Jerry Seinfeld concept of creating of chain of days that you met a goal. The widget sits on your home screen and is labeled (briefly) for your goal. When you follow through, you touch it and it turns green and adds another number for that day. You also get a positive affirmation. Miss a day and it goes red and you start again.
Speed Anatomy Lite - this is a cute little matching quiz on body parts and names. You can't customize which ones to test, but they do make specific ones for bones, muscles, and blood vessels. Kind of fun as a review, might be good for students.
Other helpful app resources:
AOTA 'Appy April series
AOTA list of OT related apps (members-only content)
Advance Magazine Speaking of Apps
Army OT Guy's Apps for mTBI
I have an Android phone and have used these apps at various points. When comparing Apple and Android, there are a lot more free apps on the Android store, but they don't always work across platforms. So things like the Handwriting Without Tears app don't connect to my phone, so this is definitely a limited list. These are free unless otherwise noted.
Treatment Apps
Activity Timer Trial - this is essentially like the Time Timer, where you can watch the time disappear. You can customize the color of the timer and the length of the timer. I have the trial version of this, which only goes to 10 minutes, but I never really need to measure longer than that during a treatment anyway. My gripe with this is the same as with all Time Timers, that the kids sometimes fixate on watching the time disappear instead of whatever they are supposed to be doing.
Ultrachron Lite - this is a stopwatch and timer application that works well. The free version tracks a history of 10 times if you need to time several things in a row.
Balance Ball - This game is really hard. You try to balance the ball between two clowns who are blowing on it. I can't make it longer than 10 seconds, so it's really too much for the kids.
Beautiful Bubbles - this is very simple and good for a little diversion if needed. Bubbles float around and you pop them. The free mode just allows you to pop the bubbles as you wish, and the challenge mode gives you points for popping the bubbles quickly and accurately.
Double Balance! - this is another game that is deceptively hard. You are balancing one ball on a platform at the same time that you have to bounce a second ball off another platform. Moving the bounce platform causes the balance platform to move too.
My First Tangrams Lite - Such a cute little app. It uses basic shapes and you drag them into the outline to form a creation like a butterfly or flower. Obviously there are a limited number of puzzles with the free version but it operates very well.
Tangram HD - This is the app that I use when I personally want to do Tangrams. It has multiple categories of puzzles and a large number of puzzles per category. The only issue is that you have to complete one puzzle before moving onto the next.
Labyrinth Lite - This operates just like the old wooden labyrinth games. The nice feature is that you can connect this to a computer based account and make your own mazes.
Intellectual Education - This is a game with a little Japanese penguin that lets you choose matching or memory games. It's pretty cute and appeals to the kids.
Instant Heart Rate - I use this for myself, but if I worked in home health, I could see using this more in practice so that I could monitor vital signs. The app uses the camera to measure the heart rate and has been accurate for me more than 80% of the time. It offers you the option to save heart rates and a range of normal values.
Memory Trainer - I love this app, and use it for myself. it allows you to do memory training exercises (games) in different categories: visualization, working memory, chunking, focus, spatial memory, and fluid intelligence. You can work up levels or choose a specific game to practice on.
Relax Me - I haven't tried this out too much but it offers guided progressive muscle relaxation.
Black and White cards for the baby - This app allows you to pick a variety of black and white visual stimulation cards and choose time intervals, music, and movement for them. Apparently after a recent update they've started pushing more advertisements, I hadn't had this problem but I don't leave internet on all the time.
Classic Simon - exactly what you think it would be. I miss Simon.
Tactical Breather - this is a great app for relaxation and a bit of biofeedback. It gives visual cues for breathing- inhale/hold/exhale/hold all for 4 seconds each. I wish that you could customize the time frame because my kids can't really hold their breath that long and another program I use wants you to do inhalation for 4 seconds and exhalation for 6 seconds. But it is a simple and effective app.
Kids Preschool Puzzle Lite - Drag the pieces into the outlined slots to create the puzzle. Simple and cute.
MyChain widget - This is based on the Jerry Seinfeld concept of creating of chain of days that you met a goal. The widget sits on your home screen and is labeled (briefly) for your goal. When you follow through, you touch it and it turns green and adds another number for that day. You also get a positive affirmation. Miss a day and it goes red and you start again.
Other Apps
Due Today - I love this app, it is one of the only ones I have paid for ever. It's a very customizable to-do list based on the principles in Getting Things Done. Read my full opinion on this app on the AOTA Checking the Pulse blog.
A HIIT Interval Timer - This app is designed for exercise, and I used it for my Couch to 5K training. But you can label each time frame however you want. I could see where you could use this in the clinic, especially for work hardening patients, or if you had some kind of circuit training setup.
Days Left Widget - This is a cute little widget for your home screen that allows you to set a countdown to different events. You can pick a picture, color, and label for the countdown. On my "exercise" screen I had countdowns to the different races I was planning for, and on my "calendar" screen I had the countdown to my vacation.
Drive - I use Google Drive a lot. This gave me quick access on the phone to my documents and I could download the most frequent to view offline as well.
Google Voice - I have a google voice number that I use as my "work number" to give out to clients and then rings my cell phone. The widget for the phone allows me to switch easily from calling with my number to calling with my voice number, sending a text, and viewing messages.
Google Voice - I have a google voice number that I use as my "work number" to give out to clients and then rings my cell phone. The widget for the phone allows me to switch easily from calling with my number to calling with my voice number, sending a text, and viewing messages.
Pocket - One of the other apps I have actually paid for. This app used to be called Read It Later. It coordinates with a browser extension on my computer. When I am browsing articles, instead of pulling a TL;DR I can press the "read later" button and it will save it to my phone for when I have time. Does not work perfectly, can't do PDFs for example, but it is one of my favorites.
Speed Anatomy Lite - this is a cute little matching quiz on body parts and names. You can't customize which ones to test, but they do make specific ones for bones, muscles, and blood vessels. Kind of fun as a review, might be good for students.
Other helpful app resources:
AOTA 'Appy April series
AOTA list of OT related apps (members-only content)
Advance Magazine Speaking of Apps
Army OT Guy's Apps for mTBI
6.11.2013
c'mon get Appy (part I: Apple)
Editor's Note: another example of how entries go awry. I started writing this a couple years ago when I was working in the school system and had an iPad to use. Since then, there's been a multitude of new apps and developments and there are many better sites that discuss apps (I have linked some at the bottom). But read on for some of my thoughts on the apps I was able to use.
When I worked in the school system, we got iPads as part of a grant. My fellow OTs and I developed a list of all the apps we wanted, and then that list got cut to a very small number. So I didn't get to use anywhere near the number of apps that I wanted to or felt would help for work. But here are my thoughts on some of the apps that we did have access to.
When I worked in the school system, we got iPads as part of a grant. My fellow OTs and I developed a list of all the apps we wanted, and then that list got cut to a very small number. So I didn't get to use anywhere near the number of apps that I wanted to or felt would help for work. But here are my thoughts on some of the apps that we did have access to.
IPad Apps I Have Used:
- Camera - This is standard on the IPad. I could (and probably will in the future) use it to take grasp photos. But right now, my main use is to have a large mirror. You can flip the camera to face you, which can be very motivating for some of my lower level students. I wish I could make it make a noise when it was touched but it's handy.
- Photo Booth - Also standard on the Ipad and I use basically as a mirror with a bit of fun attached due to the extra features.
- Dexteria - this app purports to be developed in conjunction with OTs. It has 3 games: Tap It, Pinch It, and Write It. Tap It requires you to place a flat hand on the screen and tap the finger that is indicated. I haven't had any kids in the preschool or the other areas I cover that have been able to get through the calibration, let alone the game itself. I find that the Write It game is too unforgiving for even my older and higher level students. Pinch It is my favorite of the games. It starts with stationary crabs, progresses to moving crabs, and then adds in visual discrimination in the color of the crabs. It can be difficult to get a perfect pinch on the crabs, and the red/green crabs aren't exactly kind to the colorblind. But it is a fun game and the kids like it. It also keeps track of the times for all the levels and you can review it later after the session, even after switching to another app.
- iWriteWords - probably my favorite app for tracing letters. It has a "connect the dot" feel as you trace the letters and short words. It was forgiving enough for most of my kids to be able to succeed, without losing the intent of the letter formation.
- Sam_Phibian - this is a really cute game that works on a lot of concepts. Little bugs of different colors fly by Sam the frog and he needs to eat the designated number of each kind. If he eats too much, he falls off his lily pad and is eaten by an alligator (implied). The bugs move in different patterns and speeds, and there are also fun things to eat that will put outfits on Sam. Kids love making Sam eat things by tapping like crazy. Following the instructions was too high level for most of my kids, but might be better for your caseload.
- KandyFish- I like this app. The music can be kind of annoying, but it is cute. In this game you can choose color matching, pattern finishing, or tracing (prewriting) games. There is also a coloring feature. I like that you can control which game to play, and skip through the prewriting shapes to get the one you want.
- AMaze Yourself- This app allows you to create mazes of different sizes and guide a mouse through to find his cheese. It's nice to have unlimited mazes that can be so easily customized but the sensitivity is very poor, so it was very frustrating for the kids to try to get the mouse on the right path.
- Pocket Pond- we have the free version which is kind of limited in what can be added to the pond. But my low vision kids like the sound that they get for touching the screen.
- Tanganku- This game presents as having potential but didn't really pan out well for me. You're presented with multiple colored moving dots and asked to press the black ones. But the touch controls don't seem to be sensitive enough to consistently activate. And there's no way to customize the game, it progresses in speed and difficulty no matter the accuracy of the user. It uses the same pattern for each game and only lasts about a minute.
- Monkey Preschool LunchBox - I have yet to meet the child who does not like this game. There are puzzles, counting games, identifying colors, and identifying differences games all presented in rapid fire with an animated monkey dancing every time you get something right. It also lets you pick a virtual sticker for every 3-4 games done correctly.You can't pick the games or difficulty level, and there's no automatic continuing if you struggle badly on a game. But kids love this crazy monkey... it was a major reinforcer.
- Caseload Tracker - This is an app developed for SLPs to keep track of their school based caseloads, when reports are due, what their IEP goals are. I had caseloads of 80-120 kids, and was not about to tappy-type in each kid's name and goals when I already had this information elsewhere. We had an online IEP system so goals were available there, and also usually printed out in a binder for the specific school. Simple charts accomplished all this a lot easier for me. Even with the few kids I tried this out for, I didn't really find the app useful.
- Redfish- this app comes packed with a lot of additional games that may not be readily apparent in the description. There is a regular piano which will do playback of your song, as well as a funny noise piano. There are puzzle games, different activities for each letter of the alphabet, and various games to encourage understanding of cause and effect. I like the variety of games involved though some are pretty limited.
- Labyrinth LE - remember the old wooden labyrinth games with the metal ball? Super fond memories for me of my great-grandma's house. This app allows you to get the same effect on the iPad. I think you were able to choose which level to try, but I can't remember. I thought this would be a great praxis task, but it was extremely hard for my kids just to hold the board steady. Most needed HOH assist to stabilize and grade their movements.
- Tangram - This is a very basic tangram game that allows you to choose which picture you want to attempt. You can touch the pieces to drag into place. My kids had a hard time understanding how to flip the parallelogram and how to use 2 fingers to turn the pieces. You get a really cool fireworks display if you complete the puzzle, but the sensitivity is off so even when the puzzle looks complete, it doesn't register as complete.
- Injini Lite - This is a great game that I continue to recommend to iPad owners for their kids. This app offers tracing, pattern recognition, matching and some easier cause and effect activities for kids. You can choose which section to work on and it was pretty reinforcing for the kids. The full version is expensive but the lite version is a must-have.
Other helpful app resources:
AOTA 'Appy April series
AOTA list of OT related apps (members-only content)
Advance Magazine Speaking of Apps
Army OT Guy's Apps for mTBI
- Injini Lite - This is a great game that I continue to recommend to iPad owners for their kids. This app offers tracing, pattern recognition, matching and some easier cause and effect activities for kids. You can choose which section to work on and it was pretty reinforcing for the kids. The full version is expensive but the lite version is a must-have.
Other helpful app resources:
AOTA 'Appy April series
AOTA list of OT related apps (members-only content)
Advance Magazine Speaking of Apps
Army OT Guy's Apps for mTBI
5.21.2013
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.
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.
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.
4.30.2013
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.
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.
4.16.2013
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.
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.
4.12.2013
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!
4.02.2013
#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!
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!
3.08.2013
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!
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!
2.22.2013
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.
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.
Writing goals -I need to update this since my approach has changed somewhat since I wrote it
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 ScoutsMalcolm 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 familyreading 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 exercisesmetacognitive 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.
1.19.2013
Pediatric Playthings Giveaway!
I never would have imagined when starting school, or even ending school, that I would someday consider myself a primarily pediatric practitioner. But it has largely become my OT identity and something that I really enjoy. Now I get to share some great pediatric related items with you!
The friendly folks at Maddak have been very generous in providing many items for all the giveaways. I have always liked Maddak because they provide a lot of unique tools that are very useful and they really respect the therapy professionals that use their tools. I love the awards they give out at the AOTA annual conference for therapist and student inventions that fill a new need, and now they have started a special "OT Circle" for therapists to provide feedback on their products.
Pediatric practitioners should get a lot of use out of a large roll of Tenura non-slip. Great for keeping games and materials from sliding off desks and slant boards, adapting toys for easier holding, and sometimes making it easier for little bottoms to stay in their chairs!
The Pencil Grip company makes more than just grips, but they have included standard, jumbo, and crossover grips for you to try. Their standard grip is my favorite for kiddos (and myself) and the jumbo version takes those teeny tiny hard to grip pens and makes them into comfortable arthritis-friendly writing tools. I haven't gotten a chance to try the crossover grip but the quality is quite nice. They have also donated some terrific Tri-Write crayons, which I love to use for the little ones who are just starting to color.
In the "intangibles" file is a great gift from Tactus Therapy. They will be donating a free download of their Visual Attention TherAppy app, a great tool for therapists working on cognition, attention, and scanning. This can be used on any iOS device, I'm anxiously awaiting their android versions.
There are two of the best blog resources for pediatric practitioners that I want to highlight. Karen blogs her school OT adventures at Miss Awesomeness and always comes up with terrific ideas for working with kiddos. I'm passing along some of her great tools for developing fine and visual motor skills- it's a great party pack to start or freshen your OT kit. She also developed the fun and exciting Lava Paper in conjunction with Tonya from Therapy Fun Zone. Tonya has started highlighting activities each week that therapists submit, so I'd definitely encourage you to check that out and stay fresh.
Remember that AOTA is always your best resource no matter your practice area. They have sent items to promote OT in your clinic, including a T-shirt, brand posters, and pens. For your everyday life, they've include a great tote bag, umbrella, and car decal that I'm sure will have great usefulness no matter your job site.
This pack also has some of my own personal items that I've used and enjoyed and pass along to you. This includes small travel versions of Spot It, Cranium, and Puzzominos. I've also thrown in a super toy for working on motor planning- the Astrojax.
I serendipitously found golf-sized colored pencils and my most favorite writing implements (for personal and professional use) the Bic Grips Mini. There are also a few extra sensory and learning surprises thrown in (including bubble wrap!!).
If you're a practitioner in this area, enter now by leaving a comment below. Comments must be received before 11:59pm EST on January 31. Good Luck!
The friendly folks at Maddak have been very generous in providing many items for all the giveaways. I have always liked Maddak because they provide a lot of unique tools that are very useful and they really respect the therapy professionals that use their tools. I love the awards they give out at the AOTA annual conference for therapist and student inventions that fill a new need, and now they have started a special "OT Circle" for therapists to provide feedback on their products.Pediatric practitioners should get a lot of use out of a large roll of Tenura non-slip. Great for keeping games and materials from sliding off desks and slant boards, adapting toys for easier holding, and sometimes making it easier for little bottoms to stay in their chairs!
The Pencil Grip company makes more than just grips, but they have included standard, jumbo, and crossover grips for you to try. Their standard grip is my favorite for kiddos (and myself) and the jumbo version takes those teeny tiny hard to grip pens and makes them into comfortable arthritis-friendly writing tools. I haven't gotten a chance to try the crossover grip but the quality is quite nice. They have also donated some terrific Tri-Write crayons, which I love to use for the little ones who are just starting to color.
In the "intangibles" file is a great gift from Tactus Therapy. They will be donating a free download of their Visual Attention TherAppy app, a great tool for therapists working on cognition, attention, and scanning. This can be used on any iOS device, I'm anxiously awaiting their android versions.
There are two of the best blog resources for pediatric practitioners that I want to highlight. Karen blogs her school OT adventures at Miss Awesomeness and always comes up with terrific ideas for working with kiddos. I'm passing along some of her great tools for developing fine and visual motor skills- it's a great party pack to start or freshen your OT kit. She also developed the fun and exciting Lava Paper in conjunction with Tonya from Therapy Fun Zone. Tonya has started highlighting activities each week that therapists submit, so I'd definitely encourage you to check that out and stay fresh.
Remember that AOTA is always your best resource no matter your practice area. They have sent items to promote OT in your clinic, including a T-shirt, brand posters, and pens. For your everyday life, they've include a great tote bag, umbrella, and car decal that I'm sure will have great usefulness no matter your job site.
This pack also has some of my own personal items that I've used and enjoyed and pass along to you. This includes small travel versions of Spot It, Cranium, and Puzzominos. I've also thrown in a super toy for working on motor planning- the Astrojax.
I serendipitously found golf-sized colored pencils and my most favorite writing implements (for personal and professional use) the Bic Grips Mini. There are also a few extra sensory and learning surprises thrown in (including bubble wrap!!).
If you're a practitioner in this area, enter now by leaving a comment below. Comments must be received before 11:59pm EST on January 31. Good Luck!
1.08.2013
A very NEW NEW NEW year
I won't say "New year, new me" but there are a lot of changes taking place in my life.
Job changes are so ever present in this blog. If you are a student, you should be comforted by the fact that there truly are SO many options for OTs, it's often true that you can work as much as you want. The only downside of this right now is that I am dreading tax time with 4 (I think?) W-2s and a 1099 with small business deductions... it's enough to make you hyperventilate. At any rate- my early intervention work is something that I really enjoy. I have families that I am close to, coordinators that respect my evals and opinions, and a burgeoning caseload. It has taken 6 months (and the willingness to be very flexible) but the business has grown well. I still have my occasional hospital days, where it is nice to switch up and work with adults (particularly neuro cases) but I mostly enjoy visiting with my friends. But now, I will have the option to cut back on both as I want to with the onset of a new job.
I will be starting (very very soon!) at an outpatient pediatric facility 2 days a week. I had seen the job posting on AOTA's OTJoblink (what is this, the third job I've taken from there?) but was still debating about applying when I was contacted directly from site about my interest and asked to interview. I didn't expect them to be able to provide regular hours at a rate that would offset losses without some kind of crazy demand to drive to multiple locations or covering other types of outpatients, but they well exceeded my expectations. I look forward to getting started there and am really pleased to find a pediatric practice even in my small town area.
The reduced schedule will help me maintain some of my other OT activities and provide time to rest. I've also been spoiled pretty much since my first job- if you don't work 5 days every week it's a lot easier to make doctor appointments, get your errands done, and keep from being overrun with laundry. Again, students! You can work as much as you want to- 0-7 days/week. I've said before that after our move, though I miss some features of Baltimore, that life was largely falling into place for my husband and I with the exception of my job. Hopefully this will be the last moving piece for awhile and things will be settled nicely.
I
didrocked my sprint triathlon last year and really enjoyed it! I had wanted to work up to an Olympic distance for the fall or summer of 2013 by the latest, and hoped to work to running a half marathon by this coming August. Now I've had to reset those goals and think about working back up to a 5K by this fall. I had also hoped to get a Girl Scout troop started at my church but the girls' interest was intermittent at best and I truthfully didn't want to be doing a lot of work when people didn't really want to be there. I still have a Sunday morning class but I'm getting ready to step back from that as well- I'm starting to feel a lot more effective with toddlers than teens.
My involvement with OT extracurriculars is changing too. I anticipate this will be my last year as the VP of Advocacy for the state OT association (provided I can induce someone into running for the position). I expect that I will still be involved in the bill review committee or other events, but I won't be the go-to person anymore. There aren't a terrible number of responsibilities and things to do with that job, but when they need done, they need done NOW. I had to step back from my NBCOT work this year, which is sad because it is a great group of intelligent people and work that I really enjoy (not to mention nice trips that are very fun also!). I plan to reapply as a volunteer in the future, but I will be missing my SQDC peeps. Possibly worst of all, though I love my AOTA presentation group like a little OT family, I will not be able to accompany them as their continued tour of awesomeness hits San Diego this spring. I will be very sad to miss seeing these great people who are spread both cross-country and internationally- and some of the #OTalk2US #OTalk and #occhat crew that are visiting from abroad.
(Before you get too teary on my behalf, remember that with all ebb there must be a flow, and that I just am not good at telling news sometimes so I put it all in a crazy order)
This is a lot of life changes all at once, and though they were planned in various degrees, it's all to accommodate the change that you can't really possibly plan enough for. I'm having a baby! He's coming (ready or not) this spring and the one thing I'm sure of is that no amount of preparation is really going to cover it. There's awe and anxiety and excitement and attempts to not get overwhelmed... and a lot of naps. Change is coming to my life in ways I know I cannot even begin to anticipate. But I think it will be worth it.
Lest you worry, faithful reader, I will be keeping the blog. It is fun for me and so while there may not be copious posts (when have there ever been?), there will be posts. There may be baby related posts... it is what it is. This month I am celebrating my 5 year blogiversary, doing my first big giant giveaways (they are AWESOME!) and hope to clean out my drafts list one way or another. I still tweet more than I write fully because it's been hard for me to carve out writing time with some of the other demands of life (5 eval calls in a week, hello) and if you want a (more) prompt response then you should tweet at @OTnotes.
Hope that you are having a wonderful, healthy, happy new year as well! Who can really say what it will bring, but I'm certainly looking through rosey glasses right now.
Job changes are so ever present in this blog. If you are a student, you should be comforted by the fact that there truly are SO many options for OTs, it's often true that you can work as much as you want. The only downside of this right now is that I am dreading tax time with 4 (I think?) W-2s and a 1099 with small business deductions... it's enough to make you hyperventilate. At any rate- my early intervention work is something that I really enjoy. I have families that I am close to, coordinators that respect my evals and opinions, and a burgeoning caseload. It has taken 6 months (and the willingness to be very flexible) but the business has grown well. I still have my occasional hospital days, where it is nice to switch up and work with adults (particularly neuro cases) but I mostly enjoy visiting with my friends. But now, I will have the option to cut back on both as I want to with the onset of a new job.
I will be starting (very very soon!) at an outpatient pediatric facility 2 days a week. I had seen the job posting on AOTA's OTJoblink (what is this, the third job I've taken from there?) but was still debating about applying when I was contacted directly from site about my interest and asked to interview. I didn't expect them to be able to provide regular hours at a rate that would offset losses without some kind of crazy demand to drive to multiple locations or covering other types of outpatients, but they well exceeded my expectations. I look forward to getting started there and am really pleased to find a pediatric practice even in my small town area.
The reduced schedule will help me maintain some of my other OT activities and provide time to rest. I've also been spoiled pretty much since my first job- if you don't work 5 days every week it's a lot easier to make doctor appointments, get your errands done, and keep from being overrun with laundry. Again, students! You can work as much as you want to- 0-7 days/week. I've said before that after our move, though I miss some features of Baltimore, that life was largely falling into place for my husband and I with the exception of my job. Hopefully this will be the last moving piece for awhile and things will be settled nicely.
I My involvement with OT extracurriculars is changing too. I anticipate this will be my last year as the VP of Advocacy for the state OT association (provided I can induce someone into running for the position). I expect that I will still be involved in the bill review committee or other events, but I won't be the go-to person anymore. There aren't a terrible number of responsibilities and things to do with that job, but when they need done, they need done NOW. I had to step back from my NBCOT work this year, which is sad because it is a great group of intelligent people and work that I really enjoy (not to mention nice trips that are very fun also!). I plan to reapply as a volunteer in the future, but I will be missing my SQDC peeps. Possibly worst of all, though I love my AOTA presentation group like a little OT family, I will not be able to accompany them as their continued tour of awesomeness hits San Diego this spring. I will be very sad to miss seeing these great people who are spread both cross-country and internationally- and some of the #OTalk2US #OTalk and #occhat crew that are visiting from abroad.
(Before you get too teary on my behalf, remember that with all ebb there must be a flow, and that I just am not good at telling news sometimes so I put it all in a crazy order)
This is a lot of life changes all at once, and though they were planned in various degrees, it's all to accommodate the change that you can't really possibly plan enough for. I'm having a baby! He's coming (ready or not) this spring and the one thing I'm sure of is that no amount of preparation is really going to cover it. There's awe and anxiety and excitement and attempts to not get overwhelmed... and a lot of naps. Change is coming to my life in ways I know I cannot even begin to anticipate. But I think it will be worth it.
Lest you worry, faithful reader, I will be keeping the blog. It is fun for me and so while there may not be copious posts (when have there ever been?), there will be posts. There may be baby related posts... it is what it is. This month I am celebrating my 5 year blogiversary, doing my first big giant giveaways (they are AWESOME!) and hope to clean out my drafts list one way or another. I still tweet more than I write fully because it's been hard for me to carve out writing time with some of the other demands of life (5 eval calls in a week, hello) and if you want a (more) prompt response then you should tweet at @OTnotes.
Hope that you are having a wonderful, healthy, happy new year as well! Who can really say what it will bring, but I'm certainly looking through rosey glasses right now.
11.21.2012
10 Minute Tuesday- Intro and cell phones
I am going to start my new feature, which may dribble a bit
in the holiday time but I want to make it regular in 2013. This involves me
writing for 10 minutes and topic switches are permitted- anything to get the
post written!
Obviously I missed getting this done on Tuesday but I
essentially worked 13.5 hours and was nothing short of exhausted. Did inpatient
hospital in the morning, outpatient in the afternoon, and an early intervention
client late that evening. It's funny to see sensory overload sometimes, I came
home and my husband wanted to talk to me about a video he was watching at the
same time that there was something on the TV and I just had to tell him to
choose. I could not possibly focus on all that when all I really wanted to do
was get in a fetal position and sleep for 20 hours.
Sad that I missed today's #occhat which appears to be on
adaptive equipment use and practices when issuing equipment. I have lots of
thoughts on that and have posted before, may need to do another after reading
their grabchat. I also have interesting really old-school AE pictures from when
my mom was in school to do voc rehab. It's neat to me to see how people used to
make certain things, and some of them have completely gone out of vogue but
would still be useful. The copyrights are expired on most of them so I will
have to scan in some pictures if people are interested.
OK my main topic was going to be cell phones, and how
essential they really are in today's world and especially my OT practice. I
seriously cannot imagine doing my early intervention job without my phone. For
today' client alone, I was able to do the following:
- text to confirm the appointment before driving there
- access my master file of client names and addresses
- get directions and navigation from an unfamiliar starting
point
- show an app that would be helpful to the family's goals
Seriously, without my phone, I would have had to use my
rolodex to get their number, just leave
a message on their machine and hope they'd be home when I got there, have to
add in an extra 25+ minutes to get back on my familiar route, and spend a lot
of time making equipment by hand. I have also used my phone to show a picture
of a toy that would be helpful, and in the school system it was so crucial to
get a picture of hand function for the evaluation. That's barely scratching the
surface of what it is capable of, but I really couldn't do without it in
practice.
Time's up! Hope you enjoyed this post and that I'll be able
to keep up the pattern.
11.10.2012
Trauma Awareness for the Infant/Toddler Population
I recently attended our state conference and there was a standout session by Marcella Jacobs of the Kennedy Krieger Institute on OT and Trauma Training for Infants and Toddlers. It was very informative and thought provoking, so I've decided to share some of the things that I learned from that session. Warning, there are some sad references in this post, because of the types of trauma that infants and toddlers incur.
First off, she brought up a point that maybe some will find as common knowledge but I think is important to reiterate. If you move into a specialized OT role (though we all interact with children of trauma, knowingly or not), or a position that is not traditionally filled by an OT, you are going to have to look outside the OT CE box to learn new and relevant things. So to become a trauma-aware OT practitioner, she looked to courses offered mainly to psychologists and other groups that would apply to her OT life. Something to think about when planning your professional development.
As someone who has spent so much time in the phys-dys hospital world, "trauma" usually means multiple orthopedic injuries with potential (possibly undiagnosed) neuro injuries. Obviously, this isn't the same in pediatrics. Trauma to an infant or toddler can be any experience(s) that cause continued autonomic nervous system activation which changes the chemistry and constructs of the developing brain. So while that can be physical, such as shaken baby syndrome, it can also be chemical, such as prenatal drug use, or emotional, in the case of abuse. Other potential causes of trauma include neglect, hospitalization, or disaster. Being placed in foster care and having a continual rotation of caregivers and "siblings" can also be traumatic.
Brain scans show that compared to a person who did not have a traumatic experience, a person s/p trauma may have less activity in the fronto-temporal regions. This includes a less active parietal lobe which can lead to decreased speech. Occipital lobe activity is increased, which is sometimes seen in a child's hypervigilance.
Children with disabilities are at an increased rate for abuse and neglect, so it is likely that OTs will encounter children who have gone through or are going through a traumatic situation. I remember an upper-elem student that I worked with who was very verbal about the effect that his disability had on his family life- his deep sadness at not having his parents around was continually heartbreaking to me. And truthfully, if you are worried that your parent might not come back for their next scheduled visit or whether a complication of a condition you barely understand will land you in the hospital tomorrow, how can you really be ready to learn and grow?
I had not heard of the term "PURPLE crying" before, let alone knew that it was a normal baby phase. But when this was discussed it was clear that this would be a time when abuse would increase. Personally, this was incredibly intimidating and terrifying to me as a person who does not have children yet, but by having the information, new parents are more prepared for this time period. The aftereffects of shaken baby syndrome are just horrendous... I may never forget the faces of the toddlers and older school children I saw who had survived, and the EI team was absolutely inconsolable after a child died from this.
I had also not heard of the ACE study, which looks at the effect of 'adverse childhood experiences.' The ACE score is from 0-10 and measures exposure to traumatic experiences in the first 18 years of a person's life. There are multiple studies that have shown an increased risk for adverse health behaviors (smoking, drugs, alcohol use), heart disease, suicide attempts, development of depression, cognitive impairment, and early death. Again, these questions make me think of the kids I saw in the school system some of whom had such varied awful life experiences.
There are numerous signs/symptoms of trauma in infants and toddlers. Withdrawal can be common, and OTs may also notice decreased purposeful play, sensory processing differences, and uneven development/splinter skills. There are many invisible symptoms as well which have major effects in a child's life. This includes decreased growth hormone, decreased development of mirror neurons, decreased brain size and development, and decreased serotonin.
OK, this has been intensely depressing so far to write up. And it may have been that way for you to read. If you've made it this far, you deserve a reward, and if it's been making you sad you may need to inflate those endorphins through exercise or finding a way to think happy thoughts. (chocolate? cat videos?) Not trying to make light of the situation, but having ways to deal with the stress you're exposed to as an OT is imperative to prevent burnout. I think that this was one of the reasons that I couldn't tolerate ICU rotations well.
Finally, the good stuff! Some treatment ideas! These are more directly from the presentation but I am going to share them because I think that it is a difficult resource to get. The CDC states that the most effective treatment model for infants and toddlers is to promote parent/child attachment. This is directly in line with the early intervention model of empowering parents to improve their child's development. Research shows that music followed by tactile input is the most effective treatment. Ms Jacobs recommended using both a sensory integrative and trauma informed treatment approach. Helpful tips included making sure to decrease the stress response before doing anything else; being mindful of your own nonverbal cues including eye contact and touching; avoiding teasing and sarcasm; and being consistent and kind.
Parents, definitely consult with your therapist before trying any treatments, anything listed here is considered to be tried at your own risk. I have listed some suggestions that were offered by Ms Jacobs.
Gentle tactile stimulation through grooming and play
Calming music (Vibrational healing sounds were suggested) and performing typical preschool songs with motions
Swaddling and infant massage (if you are trained)
Cooperative games between child and parent- ball games, rapper snappers
Consider deep pressure activities such as weighted blanket or body glove with both parent and child (again, only with therapist supervision! Don't put weights on your kid!)
It's horrible that any child is exposed to trauma, but with proper training and intervention, there is a way for OT to make a difference to these families.
This was a terrific presentation and I'm happy to be able to share some of Ms Jacobs' awesome insights with you.
Further Resources:
National Child Traumatic Stress Network: tons of great resources especially for those in schools
CDC resources on Child Maltreatment
Child Trauma Academy: has free online trainings
You can also email the presenter Marcella Jacobs if you have direct questions
As someone who has spent so much time in the phys-dys hospital world, "trauma" usually means multiple orthopedic injuries with potential (possibly undiagnosed) neuro injuries. Obviously, this isn't the same in pediatrics. Trauma to an infant or toddler can be any experience(s) that cause continued autonomic nervous system activation which changes the chemistry and constructs of the developing brain. So while that can be physical, such as shaken baby syndrome, it can also be chemical, such as prenatal drug use, or emotional, in the case of abuse. Other potential causes of trauma include neglect, hospitalization, or disaster. Being placed in foster care and having a continual rotation of caregivers and "siblings" can also be traumatic.
Brain scans show that compared to a person who did not have a traumatic experience, a person s/p trauma may have less activity in the fronto-temporal regions. This includes a less active parietal lobe which can lead to decreased speech. Occipital lobe activity is increased, which is sometimes seen in a child's hypervigilance.
Children with disabilities are at an increased rate for abuse and neglect, so it is likely that OTs will encounter children who have gone through or are going through a traumatic situation. I remember an upper-elem student that I worked with who was very verbal about the effect that his disability had on his family life- his deep sadness at not having his parents around was continually heartbreaking to me. And truthfully, if you are worried that your parent might not come back for their next scheduled visit or whether a complication of a condition you barely understand will land you in the hospital tomorrow, how can you really be ready to learn and grow?
I had not heard of the term "PURPLE crying" before, let alone knew that it was a normal baby phase. But when this was discussed it was clear that this would be a time when abuse would increase. Personally, this was incredibly intimidating and terrifying to me as a person who does not have children yet, but by having the information, new parents are more prepared for this time period. The aftereffects of shaken baby syndrome are just horrendous... I may never forget the faces of the toddlers and older school children I saw who had survived, and the EI team was absolutely inconsolable after a child died from this.
I had also not heard of the ACE study, which looks at the effect of 'adverse childhood experiences.' The ACE score is from 0-10 and measures exposure to traumatic experiences in the first 18 years of a person's life. There are multiple studies that have shown an increased risk for adverse health behaviors (smoking, drugs, alcohol use), heart disease, suicide attempts, development of depression, cognitive impairment, and early death. Again, these questions make me think of the kids I saw in the school system some of whom had such varied awful life experiences.
There are numerous signs/symptoms of trauma in infants and toddlers. Withdrawal can be common, and OTs may also notice decreased purposeful play, sensory processing differences, and uneven development/splinter skills. There are many invisible symptoms as well which have major effects in a child's life. This includes decreased growth hormone, decreased development of mirror neurons, decreased brain size and development, and decreased serotonin.
OK, this has been intensely depressing so far to write up. And it may have been that way for you to read. If you've made it this far, you deserve a reward, and if it's been making you sad you may need to inflate those endorphins through exercise or finding a way to think happy thoughts. (chocolate? cat videos?) Not trying to make light of the situation, but having ways to deal with the stress you're exposed to as an OT is imperative to prevent burnout. I think that this was one of the reasons that I couldn't tolerate ICU rotations well.
Finally, the good stuff! Some treatment ideas! These are more directly from the presentation but I am going to share them because I think that it is a difficult resource to get. The CDC states that the most effective treatment model for infants and toddlers is to promote parent/child attachment. This is directly in line with the early intervention model of empowering parents to improve their child's development. Research shows that music followed by tactile input is the most effective treatment. Ms Jacobs recommended using both a sensory integrative and trauma informed treatment approach. Helpful tips included making sure to decrease the stress response before doing anything else; being mindful of your own nonverbal cues including eye contact and touching; avoiding teasing and sarcasm; and being consistent and kind.
Parents, definitely consult with your therapist before trying any treatments, anything listed here is considered to be tried at your own risk. I have listed some suggestions that were offered by Ms Jacobs.
Gentle tactile stimulation through grooming and play
Calming music (Vibrational healing sounds were suggested) and performing typical preschool songs with motions
Swaddling and infant massage (if you are trained)
Cooperative games between child and parent- ball games, rapper snappers
Consider deep pressure activities such as weighted blanket or body glove with both parent and child (again, only with therapist supervision! Don't put weights on your kid!)
It's horrible that any child is exposed to trauma, but with proper training and intervention, there is a way for OT to make a difference to these families.
This was a terrific presentation and I'm happy to be able to share some of Ms Jacobs' awesome insights with you.
Further Resources:
National Child Traumatic Stress Network: tons of great resources especially for those in schools
CDC resources on Child Maltreatment
Child Trauma Academy: has free online trainings
You can also email the presenter Marcella Jacobs if you have direct questions
8.17.2012
Photo Phriday: The OT Look
A recent magazine cover reminded me of these photos, which I don't think I've posted yet. I like the professional photos that I got done, but it is a credit to the photographer that I got so many usable shots of me looking like a normal human. 80% of the time that I am working with kids, my face is not perfectly posed, it's just perfectly odd. But it's ok, because this is what I think a real OT looks like.
choo choo face
helicopter facesound effects make the day fun! I've always believed that my willingness to make a complete fool out of myself was very appealing to patients of all ages. What are your silly strategies for success?
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