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You Might Be An OT If…
What is OT?
Defining occupational therapy to your family, friends and general public everytime someone asks what you “do” or “study” …. should be a full time job. Maybe every OT and OTS in the world should get matching definition t-shirts made and wear them for a year straight. 🙂
I thought I would post a note explaining exactly what becoming an OT means! If you’ve ever heard of physical therapy, reading this description will make a little bit more sense. We are similar; however, we definitely have our own specialty…and that is FUNCTION! Who cares how strong your legs are, or if you have full range of motion in your joints, if you can’t walk to the toilet, unbutton your pants, pull down your zipper, pull down your pants (without losing your balance), sit on the toilet, and use the restroom like you used to before you had a stroke. It’s the little things in life that we take advantage of, and we don’t realize how important those little things are until we are unable to do them, or our children are having difficulty learning how to do them by themselves. OT is part of the rehabilitation team, which…
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Super Duper Handy Handouts & OTis
Fun free resource. Educational resources for professionals, caregivers and clients. Must remember to bookmark this.
I absolutely love free, awesome, printables…yes, I said free! These handouts are great for brief education to parents, caregivers, and teachers. I keep a copy of the ones I use the most in clear sleeves in a binder. Then I can just send it through the copier when I want to give it to someone.
http://www.handyhandouts.com/search.aspx
Handy Handouts are a component of Super Duper Inc., a great place to purchase toys, games, and other learning materials.
One of my favorite, and very unique, things off of this Web site is the Yogarilla Exercise and Activities Card Deck. OTis, the OT gorilla, teaches traditional and original yoga poses in an exciting way! 55 yoga poses, color-coded by starting positions, and 110 activities compile this colorfully illustrated card deck. Yoga has been shown to help children understand how their bodies and minds work together. The yoga poses (10 standing, 10 seated…
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Mouthwash Fun
DIY Kid’s Sensory Activity. Fun and functional play!
Hello there! Today I’m sharing an activity I learned from the first placed I worked as an OT. It’s a great activity, cheap, re-useable, and fun!
Supplies: ACT Mouthwash for kids (or any kind that has the capability of squeezing only a certain amount into the top), and a container.
Have the child squeeze the bottle to fill the top of the bottle with mouthwash. You can have the child use both hands, or just his dominant hand, depending on current strength and end goal. Talk to the child about grading the amount of force used to squeeze the bottle so there is no spillage. It’s fun to watch the level of the mouthwash change if too much is squeezed. This can teach the child how to control and grade their hand strength.
Next step is pour into a container. You can have them pour into a large container, small…
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The “meantime” child.
Beautifully written post on the today’s education and societal practices.  The author is a life-long educator, my hero, my mother and contributor and supporter of THE OT-SI PROJECT.Â
Here’s THE THING: Education is the answer for making a better world. BUT education takes time. What do we do in the meantime for the starving, the suffering and the downtrodden? We must educate our parents to make a positive difference for their children. But it’s the Meantime Children who worry me. Meantime Children are hungry and sick and suffering. Meantime Children are being beaten and damaged while we educate their parents. Cutting funding for education is a short-sited crime that will result in the collective ignorance of our populace. But cutting funding for programs that protect and provide for Meantime Children is a moral indignity that will lead to the disintegration of our world. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve given my entire life to education. But if someone is bleeding to death, we have to stop the bleeding before we can teach the person to use a tourniquet. If children are sick or hungry, sleep on a dirt floor or in the back seat of a car, I CAN”T TEACH THEM. If children come to school after having witnessed daddy beating mommy to a pulp, big brother being hauled away by the swat team or sister entertaining her “clients,” I CAN’T TEACH THEM.   So, what I’m trying to say is that before we congratulate ourselves on funding programs that make us feel good, let’s take a look at what’s being done to save our children in the meantime.  J. Flores 10/13/12
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