Last post Wed, May 14 2008 11:23 AM by ducky01. 14 replies.
I am an occupational therapy student in Michigan. I am currently a senior and have come to the realization that I will be out in the field practicing on real people soon. I want to learn about the daily struggles both emotionally and physically that people with disabilities face. I want to be able to use this knowledge to better treat my patients and have thier concerns and priorities take center stage. I do not want to rely on a theory to plan my treatment. If I have some background knowledge that goes more indepth than a textbook, I believe I will be a better therapist. Please feel free to share your story and experiences with me. I truly believe in client centered practices and listening to the client.
Hello Student,
welcome to Disaboom.
A laudable idea You have there. But I would like to point out that I don't struggle daily. I'm using a wheelchair for ten years now, and am well adjusted to my daily life.
For me I can say that I loath it when therapists feel sorry for me. They should know better I always think.
Daisies
Listening to the client is a good place to start.
I have mild cerebral palsy and am a pediatrics resident. My CP mostly affects my hands but also my gait over the past few years, and wasn't diagnosed until I was an adult. I've been in OT twice and PT three times, plus it was an OT student who finally taught me how to swim. My therapy went well when we were able to work together on my goals. It went less well when the therapist's goal seemed to be to turn me into a non-disabled person. I remember when they wanted me to lift weights with the wrist I had broken and I finally had to demonstrate I couldn't lift a pound weight with the wrist I hadn't broken either! Part of successful therapy is believing there is no "One True Way" and that getting the job done is more important than how it is done.
I would agree with the other comment that I really don't struggle all that much. At least I don't struggle from my actual disabilities. It's the difference between the medical model and the social models of disability. The big challenge is always dealing with the attitude of others. I can only write a few sentences at a time with a pen. You know from your hospital rotatiations that a daily note is written by medical students and residents. My school didn't want to allow me to type those notes so I spent months fighting, finally had to get letters from my doctor and functional capacities eval before they would even consider my request. Fighting for the greater part of a year was a struggle, and an unnescessary one. I am fortunate my current program has no problem with my typing notes "as long as they are on the charts." So I'm much better able to do my job. Same person, same disability - different attitude from the environment.
I know you are a student, and probably do not have much free time, but why not consider volunteering (even if only 2 hrs weekly), at an OT department at a local hospital. In such a situation you would have a much better chance of talking to people, and understanding their needs on a personal basis than from written answers you get from here.
However, I do not discourage any who might wish to reply to this sincere request--it is only my own observation. I personally have rarely been helped by an OT, who usually has no clue as to my real needs. I have read here about great OTs at the Shriners Hospitals, but my experience has been with people who have preconceived notions about how I should do things, and are unable to actually look at my own situation, ideas, and experiences and adjust their recommendations and support accordingly.
I agree it would be best for me to volunteer at a clinic or hospital to observe patients and learn more. I am taking fieldwork classes that allow me to do just that, however; students are only required to complete 16 hours per 10 weeks. My current job is working with children with disabilities and it allows me to see the family dynamic. I wish I had more hours in the day, to do all that I want.
Thanks so much for your comment and advice. I really appreciate the information. I am surprised, I have received so many comments and they have all been really helpful. Once again Thank-You!
OT Student
I am glad to hear that you are not struggling with your daily life. I completely understand your comment about therapist feeling sorry for their patients. I do not want to feel sorry for my patients. I personally feel that therapist are not there to be one to offer pity. There are many other functional issues that could be addressed during treatment. My entire purpose of this post is to learn more about conditions from a personal point of view and not the textbook. You can read about spasticity and how it could affect daily activities, however; if you see it and talk to those who deal with it, you have much better idea as to possible treatment strategies.
Thanks for your comment!
Wow, thanks for being so open and honest about your feelings and past. I saw in your post that you had worked with PT when you were younger and I was wondering if you currently or in the past have worked with an occupational therapist? If you have, would you be willing to enlighten me on how you feel your treatment session went?
Thanks for your post!
One main theme that I have found from reading all the replies to my post is that the therapist does not seem to focus on what is important to the patient. As you stated, the therapist goals changed to making you into a non-disabled person. I am glad that you pointed this out. I feel that some instructors believe that patients long to be "normal" and as therapist we should facilitate this desire, whether the patients said it or not. I am definately learning that the views and opinions of the patient are the most important aspect of therapy. Thanks for taking the time to post!
I completely agree that when it becomes a job, is when I would need to reevaluate my situation. I need to look back on my original post and see exactly what I said, because I did not want to convey that therapists should feel sorry for their patients. I have had a couple of posts that have stated that I should not feel sorry for them and this is not my goal. That may sound harsh, but I feel that therapy should be a time where the client should work on functional goals and address the issues that they are most concerned about. I am greatful that a few people have pointed this fact out because it will help me to remember that I am not a person who needs to feel sorry for them, I am there to help them with whatever they are concerned about.
I have visited that website many times and have actually saved it in my favorites folder. It is very interesting and educational. Thanks for the post!
I agree that many people have been giving me much personal information and I have no problem sharing some information with you guys. My name is Erica, I plan to practice in Michigan and am very greateful that people are so willing to share information with me.
The reason I subscribed to the sexual part of the website is that often times, according to the textbooks and recent lectures, people have difficultly with sexuality after experiencing trauma. Now I am not saying that this is an ongoing problem for all people, this is mainly in the first stages of recovery. I will admitt that I am pretty young being only 22 years old, but I have to learn to become comfortable with talking about the best sexual positions for certain ailments such as a hip fractures. If I do not inform my client about precautions, then I am being neglegent. Accordinging to Occupational Therapy's professional document, sexuality is part of the ADLs or activities of daily living. Thanks to all who have given me information!
Hi, Erica, I'm ducky (with the small "d," please), happy to meet you. I think it is great that you are trying to learn things that will help you in your chosen field. I only recently became an amputee (right leg BTK), and I'm still learning the ropes, so to speak. I was blessed in that my therapists at the rehab unit were real champs. I still keep in touch with my OT from there, in fact, she is fantastic, and we actually bonded and became friends. I understand that this is a rarity, as many OT's try not to get too personally involved in their client's lives (it is a job, after all). But, I do recommend getting to know and be friends with a few people that do have disabilities that you will be working with. They will be able to provide you with valuable insight into what life is like for them.
I would say one important part of being an OT is to know exactly what your clients' physical limitations are. To me, there is nothing more annoying than having my OT tell me "Oh, come on, I know you can do this" when it is, in fact something that I am NOT physically capable of accomplishing at that time. As I explained to one of the OT's, "Please LISTEN. I have already told you that I could not do this just now. I did not say that I could never do it, and maybe I will be able to in a week or so. But just now, my body is not CAPABLE of doing what you are asking me to do." The attitude that a new amputee is "just not trying" or is "being lazy" does not apply to every amputee. Learn to know that there is a difference between not being able to do something and just being unwilling to do something, and learn to distinguish between them. To do that, you will sort of have to learn to leave the pity at the door when you come in.
In regard to activities, I found that the best ones were actually the ones that were relevant to my daily living. Embroidery is NOT part of my daily living, but might be wonderful for someone who needs to improve their hand dexterity after a stroke or hand injury of some kind. Get to know your clients' needs in that area. My OT friend realized that a couple of us would be living alone and need to do things like cooking for ourselves, so some of the therapy sessions involved getting around the kitchen safely, making beds for ourselves, vacuuming, everyday things that able persons normally don't think twice about.
This sounds cliche', but try spending a week in a wheelchair, or forcing yourself to use a walker, cane or other device used to assist the disabled. Walk a mile in our shoes - it will really help you to see what sort of things we will be facing and need to learn to do.
I hope this helps you. Best of luck to you!
hugs from ducky
