Camille Vaughn OT 425

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...

Pat Summitt is well-known for being an exceptional basketball coach for the Lady Vols at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, as well as being a coach for the women's USA olympic team. In 2010, Pat began showing subtle signs of dementia, but she ignored the signs for another year. In 2011, she was diagnosed at age 59 with early-onset dementia. She went to Mayo Clinic when she began experiencing symptoms including showing up to a game while leaving her car running and calling the wrong terms during the game. She also reported signs such as feeling disoriented when waking up in the morning. She reported that numbers were especially difficult to understand and deal with at this point. After her diagnosis, Pat was determined to continue coaching at UTK; however, after about a year she was encouraged to retire from her position as head coach. She then started the Pat Summitt Foundation to raise money and awareness for research about early-onset dementia. During the middle stages of de...

For my last neuro note, I had a hard time deciding what topic I wanted to learn and write about. I came across an article titled "OT's Role in Helping Kids Understand a Grandparent's Dementia." I found this to be a very interesting concept because it is not a topic this is often discussed. As occupational therapists, our main priority is to provide services for the client; however, it is also our job to educate the family, including children. Grandchildren are affected by dementia because they are watching their grandparents completely change. It is important to let the grandchildren be involved in the progression of this disease so that they are not scared of what is happening. Whether it is teaching them how to adjust the hospital bed or helping their grandparent with feeding, it is beneficial for everyone to be involved in this process. Mandy Chamberlain stated in her article that her kids enjoyed their grandmother's new playful attitude, and loved playing with...

I decided to do my fourth neuro note on an article involving assistive technology because I am very intrigued by the world of adaptive equipment and all that it has to offer. I stumbled upon an article from FoxNews Health titled " Device gives man with ALS ability to write novel, produce music." This article stood out to me after learning more about ALS and what a tragic disease it is, progressing in the body until you can no longer live on your own.  This article is about a man named Kip Jackson and how a device called the Tobii Dynavox I-15 has helped him have a more fulfilling life as he copes with the progression of ALS. This device was released in 2013 and is for clients with severe communication problems. It allows individuals to live more independently and happily. The  Tobii Dynavox I-15  can be turned on by looking at it through a program called "Wake on Gaze." This keeps the client from  needing assistance from a caregiver. This device also ...

S.C. was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in June 2015. She was about to turn 22, and had already faced several medical issues including GERD, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can affect people in different ways, and in S.C.'s case, she experiences symptoms including weakness in her hands, as well as poor balance and coordination. She is now in law school, and was diagnosed during her first year. S.C. avoids telling her professors about her diagnosis, even though she struggles hand writing her numerous assignments because she does not want to be treated differently. S.C. enjoys horseback riding, and even volunteers with hippo-therapy three times a week. I think S.C. could benefit from OT because she can be taught new ways to prevent fatigue and even use adaptive equipment to help her with horseback riding or writing her papers. Her story is very inspiring because she has not let her diagnosis keep her from achieving he...

Dr. Remy Hadley's mother and brother both previously died from Huntington's disease. She finally decided that it was time to get tested, and then found out that she too had the gene for the disease. Because Huntington's is a genetic disease, there was a very high chance for a positive test. A year later, Remy began noticing symptoms, beginning with tremors in her hands. Dr. Hadley is a 35 year old physician, which is one of her major occupations. Because of this, documentation is very important to her, and the tremors in her hands are keeping her from efficiently doing this. Dr. Hadley was referred to OT in order to maintain independence in her ADLs, such as feeding and drinking without spilling his food and drink. Adaptive equipment such as weighted utensils and cups with lids and a straw would be helpful. As a physical, Dr. Hadley finds her independence to be crucial, and I think OT would be beneficial for her case. Although this is a highly progressive disease, OT can tr...

Coming into this program, I obviously thought I knew exactly what occupational therapy is. Well, about a week into our Foundations of Occupational Therapy course, I realized that this was not the case. Occupational therapy can be such a vague field, and even as an OT/S, I found myself stumbling on words trying to come up with a simple way to define the profession. As our last assignment for the course, we were asked to create a conceptual diagram summarizing what we think OT is and how we can display it for others who might not know. Now that we have reached the end of this course, I feel like I know so much more about OT and am even more thrilled that I am in this program and entering into such a well-rounded profession. This field is truly so unique. As a future occupational therapist, I will be able to help others be more satisfied with life because I will be focusing all of my time with them on aspects of life that they actually find meaningful. I look forward to advocating for occ...

Myasthenia Gravis is a rare autoimmune disease, and Brandon Cox's story coping with it is extraordinary. MG is an autoimmune disease that attacks nicotinic receptors Brandon was diagnosed with this disease at 15 years old. The first symptoms he experienced were severe headaches, excessive fatigue, and eye drooping that caused double vision. Brandon went on to become the starting quarterback at Auburn University, not allowing his diagnosis to keep him from pursuing his dreams. His main passion and one of his main occupations is playing football. Brandon has been recommended occupational therapy in order to learn techniques for energy conservation, prioritizing safety, as well as looking into certain adaptive sources such as an eye patch. Eye patches will prevent his weak eye from becoming too strained. I think that occupational therapy will be very beneficial for Brandon and help him maintain an active lifestyle that he is used to.

For this neuro note, I wanted to look into someone's story coping with Multiple Sclerosis because although it is a disease that you may often hear about, I wanted to know more.  I decided to watch a YouTube video about a girl named Breea who was diagnosed with severe onset MS her senior year of high school. One day she woke up feeling off balance and not like her normal self. By the time she woke up the next morning, Breea was experiencing paralysis in her left arm and leg, as well as blindness in her left eye. She also had a lot of difficulty swallowing and speaking. She was taken to the hospital and spent about three months there working with doctors and receiving therapy.  What struck me most about Breea's story was the immense amount of support she had from friends and family. She was a cheerleader at her high school and seemed to have a lot of great friends who constantly visited her and helped make light of her situation. Breea's mom was recording most of the...

An aspect that I love about the occupational therapy profession is that there are always improvements to make, and everyone works together to achieve these goals to further the field. Vision 2025 was created to build upon the Centennial Vision for the field to work towards following 2017.  The vision states, " Occupational therapy maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living."  What I admire most about this vision statement is the diversity factor. Occupational therapy is for ALL people, populations, and communities. It does not matter where you come from or what you are struggling with-an occupational therapist will work with you to make adaptations and improvements in order to live your life to the fullest.  Occupational therapy is often described as being a=full of  "grey areas," not having any defining borders o...

Today I wanted to talk about my personal experience and thoughts as a current occupational therapy student. Since school started just a few months ago in January, my perspective of this profession has changed significantly. For example, I have always planned on working in a geriatric setting once I graduated; however, after just a few classes, my eyes have been opened to numerous OT settings that I could see myself pursuing a career in. I am constantly learning about new populations and settings that OT's work with, and even more emerging practice areas are coming about.  As the AOTA Vision 2015 states, " Occupational therapy maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living." Occupational therapists work with ALL people, not matter their background or disability. This profession is centered around allowing individuals to enjoy life though participat...

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS, became well known when the former Yankee's baseball star Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with it. It only took a matter of three years for an athlete in great physical condition to be taken over by this terrible disease. ALS is a degenerative disease that takes over your body in a matter of years, until it results in death. Occupational therapy can help clients like Lou Gehrig who have ALS maintain as many ADLs as possible, while maintaining range of motion and strength. Since he was used to such a fast paced life, Lou had a very hard time adapting to a lifestyle in which he becomes fatigued very easily and finds simple tasks to be very difficult. His goals include being a NYC Parole officer for as long as possible, being able to attend Yankees baseball games to cheer on his previous teammates, and to remain as independent as possible. Because ALS is a degenerative disease, OT cannot make a huge difference in his physical well-being; howev...