Tutorial Eight

Assistive technology

Assistive technology is another facet of the physical environment that can be introduced to enable occupation. A wide range of technology is available to assist people with instrumental aspects of occupational performance such as opening a door, turning on a switch, or holding a fork (Christiansen & Townsend, p.320, 2010).

To me this means that assistive technology can be part of the everyday environment which can help people to participate in everyday occupations. There is an abundance of equipment that helps people from using a computer, to opening a jar or brushing your hair. Even the smallest occupations play a big part in people’s life, if they can participate in doing the smallest occupations it can have a significantly detrimental effect on the quality of their life. Even the photo album below may appear insignificant but it has a major impact on the quality of life of a person who suffers memory loss

Talking photo albums
A4 size,cost $98.00

Each of the pages will hold a single 5x7" Photo or Image, (125x175mm).

Record a separate voice message on each page using the built-in microphone.

Recording time: 10 seconds per page

Each page has an individual PLAY/STOP Button.

Built-in Speaker with Volume Control.

Recordings are preserved forever, even when batteries are replaced.
To view book check out Star mobility http://www.starmobility.co.nz/talking-photo-album-a5.html

This book has a number of uses for different people with disabilities and illness. For instance, this book can be ideal for a person with dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s. At the front of the book, the photos could be of the person with the illness and their family, then there could be a recorded note to say what is happening in each photo. As the person continues through their book they can see how people have aged and see milestones that their loved ones and themselves have passed, all with recordings to tell a story on each page about the photo. This limits occupational deprivation through memory-loss to help them reengage in life. It also shows the person's occupation with transition, going from who they were to who they are now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMLV409Sbdw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UhPyj1asQA this video shows a boy following a step by step guide that has been previously recorded and has the photos as a prompt

Tutorial Six

Stroke Foundation New Zealand

This website is about people with a similar injury where they can learn more in depth information about strokes, meet new people who have suffered from strokes, and gain support from people and peers that have had the same trauma happen to them. The site makes a lot of information available to the public, such as stroke forums, how to manage a stroke, learning how to tell the signs of an oncoming stroke, and tips and traps of salt reduction.

American Heart Association

This site has tests that you can take to see for yourself whether you are living healthily enough and  to measure that you are taking all the steps to avoid suffering a stroke. There are also fact sheets available to print off and keep. The main page contains links to information about healthy living, losing weight, stress management, and nutrition (including fats and oils information). If you are a smoker there are also some tips on how to give it up. There is information on understanding blood pressure and warning signs of heart failure.

Stroke Foundation

The Stroke Foundation Australia contains a wealth of knowledge on things such as: what is a stroke; how to prevent a stroke; how to tell if someone is having a stroke and what to do; and information on life after a stroke. There is a forum that people can post their stories or questions on. This website also has a test to take to see if you are in the right track to a healthy lifestyle. There is research shown from each year, starting from 2008.

On all three websites there is information on how to contact them and how people can contribute by donating money, donating cars, and fundraising and passing the money on. Another way of giving  to these foundations and associations is to give your own time by volunteering, joining into fundraising events, or even getting businesses into doing a fun walk to raise awareness of the cause and fundraising at the same time.

Consider material presented in the online package

People generally choose to contribute to the community because everyone knows someone who has suffered from a stroke and want to help in some shape or form. But people who have suffered from a stroke can branch out to others who have suffered the same and help them bring that person's life back to them; giving them the support and understanding of what a stroke victim goes through, and how their life may be affected after a stroke. These sites help individuals who have suffered from strokes by giving them confidence and the understanding of what they have been through, how it happened and how to prevent it.

Without such a strong community, people would have a harder time rehabilitating from a stroke; this minimises occupational deprivation. These individuals within the online community understand that occupational disruption has occurred after suffering from such a traumatic experience and are therefore in a better position to help. These communities assist stroke victims to attain a life as normal as possible after suffering their stroke, all part of maintaining a smooth occupational transition from their life before to their life after their stroke. The communities do this by providing information on what life will be like, personal experiences, and articles on what stroke victims can do to make the transition as easy as possible.

The benefits of these websites are that there is lot of information about strokes, how to avoid having another, what life is like and much more. However, because of the vast amount of information available I found it is so easy to get lost on the website and became bombarded by the information, which could be quite a frightening experience for someone who has just suffered a trauma such as this. Another thing I had difficulty with was doing a test to see if  I was on the right type of diet and had a healthy life style. The units used in the questions were all in pounds and I had no idea of the amount of proper food intake as I don’t weigh my food. That aside, I learnt heaps on each website and would encourage others to use it.

Tutorial Five

Video production session

introduce a chosen topic of interest drawn from your field work experience or an OT Practice area

Field work two had me located in a special needs school where they would take the children to the local hydrotherapy pool. The class thrived off it as they loved to go swimming. After doing some research I found that the exercises they do in the pool help co ordinate, give the children balance, help relieve spasticity in their arms. Since all the children were wheel chair bound it was great to see how they performed in water with such things as holding onto the edge of the pool and walking along the edge or walking and pulling their legs up as high as they could as they walked from one side of the pool. One of the biggest accomplishments was getting them to blow bubbles underwater which was very rewarding for me as I love the water and didn’t mind showing them and asking them to copy what I was doing.

These are 5 different exercises that we did in the pool.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqaGH4aycyo, this video shows exercises for strengthening the upper limbs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znHHKy5JXeo, because the floor wasn’t a moving the floor this video is a bit different but its the same idea, instead the class walked across the pool at their own pace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq3o2z47Tao, this video shows actual activities that i have been personally involved in while on field work placement, this shows how sitting on a floating device can strengthen core muscles, also the girl is able to talk in the pool building up leg and body strength

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAZxya3pdY, this video shows Ewan walking with his knees up, this is  a specific exercise we did with the children to get them to stretch their leg muscles and build upper core strength

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6yWbDpy4-k, this explains why the school children needs to learn how to blow bubbles