Camille Vaughn OT 425

The article I chose to review was titled  The Benefits of Group Occupational Therapy for Patients With Parkinson’s Disease. I found this article through AJOT, and chose it because I am very interested in Parkinson's Disease interventions. This study looked at how progressive physical symptoms of Parkinson's disease affect participation in activities of daily living.  The aim of the study was to see whether a group rehab program using an OT approach specifically designed for IPD, in association with ideal medical management, could maintain the functional status of these patients.  A two group experimental design was used in this study. Individuals with Idiopathic Parkinson's disease were randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving group occupational therapy intervention, or a control group receiving only medicinal treatment.  Immediately after randomization, the  experimental group received 10 sessions of group occupational therapy....

Yesterday I had the opportunity to facilitate a occupational therapy group session on my own. At first I was very intimidated by this assignment and was not sure how it would go. I decided to do my life skills group session on meal planning and preparation. I think this is an important life skill that can benefit people in multiple ways. Overall, I feel like all of the group members enjoyed the warm up and main activities completed during the group. I began my session by giving an overview of what would happen during the session so that everyone would know what to expect. Then I had everyone go around and introduce themselves and describe a weekly go-to recipe that they enjoy making. I quickly learned that the group was very diverse, and some members enjoyed meal prep and cooking, while others rarely ever prepared nutritious meals for themselves. After the warm-up activity, I had meal planning and preparation worksheets for each member to fill out for use during the following week. E...

I met with my fellow classmates Rachel Scarbrough, Emily White, and Caitlyn White for my leadership summit. We discussed our ideas and current plans for group facilitation, as well as the theories that we based our protocols on. Rachel is presenting on budgeting, Emily is presenting on volunteer opportunities, and Caitlyn is presenting on care of pets. I enjoyed getting to hear their ideas since we all are facilitating different group discussions. Brainstorming with my classmates really helped me come up with more ideas for my group protocol. I think it is important to collaborate with fellow colleagues in the school and professional setting in order to not only help you think your own ideas through, but also to receive feedback from others who might be able to add more creativity to your plan. I will absolutely do this when I am a practicing OT. I enjoyed this experience and found it to be very beneficial for this group assignment.

Today I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting with a classmate. This assignment was one I have been looking forward to because I have been very interested in seeing how group facilitation works firsthand in our Memphis community. This group meeting was very structured and followed a step by step process. The leader played the role of a directive facilitator. He would ask a group member to read the rules and today's lesson, and then asked each member to share how they were feeling and coping with their addiction. In one instance, a group member began to speak off topic. The leader redirected him a minute or so after he began his story. I believe the environment greatly impacts these meetings. This was an open meeting, meaning anyone could walk in or out of the room at any time. While this kept the environment more casual, it also brought upon some distractions for the members.  To me, this session was very therapeutic. Each group member was v...

                                                           Date of Group Facilitation: Feb. 5 th , 2018                             Theoretical Basis: MOHO Where: Nolen Media Lab When: 11 AM Who: 7 participators, 2 leaders                         Title of Group: Let’s Get Motivated!! Purpose: The previous group session consisted of forming professional development goals that students are to work on during the current school semester. The purpose of this group session is to come up with a “reminder” as a beginning stage of motivation. This is in the hopes of everyone pa...

Joe's Story: Joe is a 22-year-old man who has just graduated college and hopes to soon find a job and propose to the love of his life. However, he has not been the same independent person since his diagnosis of Transverse Myelitis (TM). This disease has caused Joe to have extreme weakness in his lower extremities, causing him to need help bathing, toileting, dressing his lower body, and transferring. Joe's leg strength is 2/5, and he cannot bear any weight on his legs while attempting to stand. All of these factors prevent Joe from independently doing the activities that he enjoys, including preparing his own meals, attending sports events, and going out to new restaurants with his girlfriend.  Extra! Extra! Read All About It! There's a New Sport in Town! NewsBall!   For this project, everyone drew a random item out of a bowl. The object I picked was newspaper. At first I was completely stumped and had no idea how newspaper could...