Speaking of.....OT

To Sit or Not To Sit.. I walk into a crowded coffee shop with my laptop in hopes of getting some work done but there are no seats available. I look around and spot a square table for four in the corner of the room and briskly charge towards it before someone else calls shotgun. I'm thrilled that I found somewhere to park myself for the next few hours but wondered why no one else was sitting there before. A little symbol on the corner of the table tells me it's a handicapped accessible table. Nobody at the other tables seems to be leaving anytime soon and there aren't any other places nearby where I could steal wifi from. So, do I sit at the handicapped accessible table or not?  I look around and start wondering what people will think of me if I sat at that table. I mean, I can just get up if someone needed it, right? Then the therapist in me took over and turned around, just as a neighboring couple got up and left. For the last one hour of sitting at my new non-accessi...

The Future of Occupational Therapy I went to the WESTEC conference a few weeks ago, which showcased the latest innovations in manufacturing technology and engineering. I strolled through booths displaying electric welding systems, optical communication encoders, expansion clamps, CNC machines, and all things redefining the future of manufacturing. What's this got to do with Occupational Therapy? Well, after strolling through a lane offering free candy, I came across the Additive Manufacturing, or commonly known as 3-D printing, booth. Recently, there have been a lot of advances made in the field of medicine such as targeted cancer therapies, the first full face transplant, bionic hands that position using an iPad app, bluetooth devices that coordinate motor movement, and 3-D computer models that customize eye socket design. But what really blew my mind was in a glass showcase - a 3D printed "magic arm," also known as WREX (Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton) and a 3D prin...

October - National Awareness Month of ..... "Just before the death of the flowers, before they are buried in snow, there comes a season when nature is all aglow." - said Anonymous Winterfylleth, the Anglo Saxon or Old English name for October, is the beginning of the cold weather, green leaves changing into hues of red and golden yellow, creating a foliage worthy of an artist's palette. Blackberries are in season, cotton scarves and knee-high boots are in fashion and everything is pumpkin flavored. It's a busy month for people decorating their windowsills and porches with ghostly decorations and rushing to find that perfect costume for the much awaited end of the month Halloween, followed by making Thanksgiving and Christmas plans.   Yes, it's a grand month to celebrate not only the changing seasons and Halloween but it's the granddaddy of National Awareness months. Instead of creeping through the internet and walking streets on ends for those ...

Sue Austin: Deep sea diving...in a wheelchair - The title will inspire you and the video will take your breath away. It's the experience of unbounded freedom and joy, as described by Sue Austin that really moved me. The wheelchair brings her freedom and is her best friend. If all wheelchair users thought this way the fear of limitations and being bound in would be eliminated. Freedom is found by creating our own stories, by learning to take the texts of our lives as seriously as we do 'official' narratives.' --Davis 2009, TEDx Women. The following individuals have created their own stories. Aaron Fotheringham, aka "Wheelz", 21 years old, does backflips in his wheelchair. Dick and Rick Hoyt, the most inspirational father and son team have raced in the Ironman Triathlon, many times. Aaron Fotheringham - Dick & Rick Hoyt - You don't have to be disabled to be inspired by what these individuals have done..

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/01/03/n-occupational-therapy-low-unemployment.cnnmoney OT has graced many headlines in the past: from raising public awareness about the practice and research, bunking/debunking the Autism and vaccinations “myths”, following the successful recovery of Gabby Giffords, to discovering the Ergo Wok (see link below). During the times when the drastically increasing unemployment rates are still plaguing the nation, one profession shows promise to those displaced workers looking for stability and higher salaries. CNN Money reports the Occupational Therapy profession as having one of the lowest unemployment rates: 2%. While nurses are waiting longer to retire resulting in longer waits for some graduates to enter the field and dental hygienists taking up to six to nine months to find work due to slacking demand, Occupational Therapy is reporting a staggering growth in the years to come. Here, just look at the following statistics: In Nev...