inside erica's crazy creative world

Hey bloggers! Today, I participated in a mock interview in order to prepare myself for the job finding process. In this post I will be reflecting on my experience and what I have learned from this process.  How do you feel the interview went overall?  Overall, I felt the interview went well. There were areas that needed improvement. I didn’t have a problem with answering the questions, I just feel I could’ve articulated my responses better than I did. I was a little nervous before the interview, but once I got started I settled in nicely. I realized it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I learned a lot through this experience and now know what I need to work on in order to improve.   How did you prepare for the interview? I prepared for the interview by viewing and taking advantage of all the resources provided on Blackboard. I viewed the website of the facility where I was scheduled to interview and wrote down questions I wanted to ask. I also...

Hey bloggers!             I recently completed Rotter's Locus of Control Questionnaire/Scale. I found out that I possess a more external locus of control. In doing my research on this topic, I found my results very interesting. My post encompasses t houghts on why it's important for a future OT practitioner to understand locus of control and to know how to influence that in oneself and in others, including future clients. It is important for student and OT practitioners to understand locus of control, and to know how to influence that in oneself and our future clients. Locus of control is included in the Model of Human Occupation and is a component of the volition subsystem. Volition is the equivalent to one’s motivation. This subsystem consists of three components: (1) Personal causation is one’s sense of effectiveness and confidence on performing action. (2) Interests are one’s intention to seek pleasure from certain action, objects or events. (...

Hey bloggers! I recently revisited an activity I completed early in my first term and year of OT school in January 2019. It's called A Self-Portrait of a Leader . I completed the activity again in order to compare and determine whether or not my perspective had changed since I started OT school. I wanted to share my results and reflect on what I discovered with you. (Note: I have included the Glyph Key for the drawing at the bottom of the post.)                          Overall, my two glyphs were similar when comparing them side by side. Although, I did notice that even some of my similarities looked different this time around. Four main differences stood out to me between the two glyph pictures: The eyes, ears, hair, and signature. Eyes: In my first drawing, the eyes were small, signifying my belief that there is a fairly equal mixture of leaders and non-leaders in the field of OT. In my second dra...

Hey bloggers! Today, I participated in a SIM lab where I had to talk to my client's parents about Sensory Processing Disorder as it pertained to the client. My client's sensory profile showed that the behaviors she exhibited were characteristic of Low Registration "Bystander" category. I provided a sensory schedule with activities to be incorporated into my client's day. This is a reflection of how I feel I did in the SIM lab today; how I communicated empathetically; where I feel I can improve; and how I can incorporate what I have learned from this encounter into future experiences. I think I did well in the SIM today. I was nervous upon arrival, but once I knocked on the door and walked into the room, the nerves went away. I felt at ease as I introduced myself to the mother of the client, and asked her how she was doing. My next thought was how I was going to establish rapport and show empathy towards the client. The first thing I did to show empathy was...

My Beautiful Broken Brain Hey bloggers! I chose to write about this documentary because it encompasses the meaning of hope, and shows us the true power of the human mind.  At 34 years old, Lotje Sodderland was challenged by the complexity, fragility, and wonder of her own brain following a life changing hemorrhagic stroke. When she regained consciousness, life as she knew it would never be the same. She was thrown into a new existence of distorted reality where words held no meaning and where her sensory perception had changed beyond recognition. Over the course of a year since her injury, she decides to sort of take control of her life, rather than let the injury control her.  Our class talked about cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs), also known as a stroke. We learned that a stroke is a rupture, or blockage, of blood flow in the blood vessel. This occurs due to brain bleeds, or an area of the brain that may be starved of oxygen. This type of injury is a type o...

Hey bloggers! My creativity and innovative skills were recently put to the test. I was asked to take an original household material/item, given the description of a client with a neurological condition impacting occupational performance, and create an item to be used in OT intervention. The item I drew was a Pringle’s can, and I had no idea where I was going to start. My client, Maurice, is a right-handed, married, 83-year-old retired dairy farmer diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). In addition to his diagnosis, he has bilateral cataracts, which contribute to his extremely poor vision. His speech is somewhat difficult to understand at times, especially when he is fatigued. He reports increased feelings of isolation and frustration as a result of his speech production problems; the inevitable decline in his is speech skills with disease progression, and his increasing reliance on others for help with his ADLs.  He uses very few facial expressions and gestures in...

Documentary: Untangling Alzheimer's Name: David Suzuki I chose to write about this documentary because Alzheimer’s disease has always been an interesting topic of discussion for me. In my opinion. This neurodegenerative disease is one of the worst a person can experience. It not only affects memory and cognition of the mind, but also the physical aspects of one’s wellbeing.  Much of what causes the neurodegenerative disease Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease remains a mystery, but David Suzuki makes it his mission to uncover the latest breakthroughs in the disease. In her late 60s, Suzuki’s mom would forget things. In her 70s, she passed away and the family realized she had died from some form of the disease. All three of her older siblings also passed away from dementia. David Suzuki is now 77 years of age and fears that he and his family are at risk of developing the disease as well. Age and family history are definitely factors, but how much? He is now setting out to u...

Hey bloggers! I watched this movie the other day called Brain on Fire. It is based on the book, and true story of Susannah Cahalan.  Susannah Cahalan was leading a normal, healthy life. She worked at her dream job at the young age of 21. Almost suddenly, she began feeling unusual headaches (h/a) that were interrupting her daily routines, social life, and even her job. It wasn’t until after she had her first seizure that she went to the doctor to see what could possibly be going on.  She experienced h/a, irritability, delusions, hallucinations, inappropriate outbursts, lethargy, etc. She felt trapped in her own body, mind, and time itself. Susannah continued to try and get through her everyday routines and activities, but her symptoms continued to get worse. During her first check up, everything was found to be normal. They used an MRI to rule out CVA and blood clots, and the results came back clear/normal. During the second check up, an EEG was done, and these results...

Chris & Emily Norton Hey bloggers! The story of Chris Norton encompasses the true meaning of faith, hard work, and determination. On October 16, 2010, he sustained a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) while playing football. After receiving an MRI and CAT scan, he learned that he had fractured his vertebrae at the level of C3-4. He was also told he wouldn’t be able to walk or even feel anything below the area of his injury; unable to bathe or clothe himself independently, go to the restroom independently, or even scratch his nose. He trained and pushed himself to go above and beyond in his therapy sessions. He remained positive and not only met his goal physically, but also found love and received his degree. He successfully walked across the stage at his graduation, and walked down the aisle alongside his bride, Emily Norton. Chris continues to spread his positive light as a motivational speaker by sharing his story. He has also started a foundation to raise money for people with sp...

Hey bloggers! Today I will be talking about functional and community mobility, in relation to the hierarchy for restoring bed mobility skills in clients as OTs. The hierarchy for restoring bed mobility skills (least to greatest confidence) is: bed mobility, mat transfer, wheelchair transfer, bed transfer, functional ambulation for ADL, toilet and tub transfer, car transfer, functional ambulation for community mobility, and community mobility and driving.  The hierarchy of skill building for bed mobility is based on increasing activity demands of each task and illustrates the sequence for intervention planning.  Initially, I didn't really understand the order or sequence of the skills; or why they were placed in the hierarchy like they were. As I was reading about restoring functional and community mobility, it became more clear. We discussed in class that "mobility = controlled  instability". This means that a body is easier to move when the base of suppor...