SG the Future OT

            This project proved to me that you can use almost anything as a tool in a therapeutic intervention. My client profile described a man whose deficits were in the lower extremities, but I was assigned a pill bottle. For a while I was convinced that a pill bottle could only be a hazard for my client. The ah-ha moment was definitely discovering a way to attach the pill bottle to a client’s feet—Velcro. It was not obvious how a pill bottle could be useful for a client with lower extremity deficits, but it is possible, and I now think a pill bottle has more uses than I could have ever imagined before this project.             As I continue with my education and in the future, I will remember to persevere and continue pursuing ways to help a client in a cost-efficient manner because it is most likely possible. In the future I will not be limited to just a pill bott...

            For my final Neuro Note assignment, I decided to watch a Ted Talk about dementia, “How my dad’s dementia changed my idea of death (and life)”. I chose this talk because I think dementia looks different for a lot of people, and it affects families and caregivers so tremendously. Beth Malone talks about her experience with her dad who has frontotemporal lobe dementia. He has been diagnosed with dementia for a decade, but a few years ago, he became so sick that Beth and her family decided they needed to move him to a facility that could take care of him around the clock. Her father turned violent and was sent to a new facility specifically for people with dementia. She talks about the onesie that they have the residents wear, and she says it reminds her of a straight-jacket. She became so overwhelmed with guilt and sadness that this is what her father’s life had become.         ...

For this assignment I watched “The Theory of Everything” about Stephen Hawking’s life starting with his diagnosis of ALS. I chose to watch this movie because I remember hearing about Stephen Hawking’s speech using the speech-generating device, and I think his life is so interesting. He was told he had two years to live, but he lived for many, many years after his diagnosis. In the movie, the camera focuses in on the little signs and symptoms that might point towards ALS. First I noticed that Stephen knocks his coffee off of his desk while he’s scrambling to do some homework at the last minute. Next, he has trouble grabbing his pen. Then he stumbles up the stairs on his way to the train. Stephen’s character could appear to just be clumsy and awkward, but having studied the early signs and symptoms of ALS and knowing that Stephen Hawking had ALS, it is clear that these quick scenes are indications of his disease. After Stephen has the devastating fall that takes him into the hospita...