Caitlyns cruisin' through OT school!

This assignment taught me about the importance of using creativity to my advantage. It is important to be innovative when working with a client because adaptive equipment may not always be available or affordable for the client. What I have realized is that it is possible to make adaptive devices out of nearly anything with a little ingenuity. I am not a traditionally creative or crafty person, and often feel out of my comfort zone when in this position. What I have come to realize is that I am capable of creating something out of nothing when it is necessary. During clinical work, I will feel more comfortable making an intervention or an adaptive device because I now know that it is in my tool box of skills. Before this assignment I was intimidated by the thought of creating an original device or intervention for a client as I was unsure that I would be able to think up and implement my own ideals. This assignment has actually made me excited to put my skills to the

Dad living with Parkinson’s For my final neuro note I decided that I wanted to dive deeper into the life of someone who has been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease. I chose this topic because I was interested to learn more about how this disease affects the younger population compared to the more commonly diagnosed population over 60. After researching on YouTube, I came across a video about Andy McDowell, a 48 year- old father of two and husband. He was diagnosed at the young age of 43 and decided to share his journey thus far. Andy is still living an active life but with modifications when necessary. One day on his way to drop off his children at school like he does each morning, he began to notice that his right foot was not able to move over in a timely manner to press on the brake. This became a worry for Andy as he would be putting his life and his children’s lives in danger behind the wheel. He was able to re-train his brain to using both feet while dr

Facing Death Full of Life | TEDxBerkshires Danielle Valenti gives a heart wrenching discussion on the impact that Huntington’s disease has on the children and family of those affected. We often examine the lives of those who currently suffer with the disease, but not enough are we listening to the other half of the story. Danielle discovered that her mother had Huntington’s disease at the age of 25, after years of secrecy. She had to take on the impossible task of being her mother’s caregiver during the last years of her life. It was eventually too much to bare and she had no choice but to place her in a Huntington’s end of life home and had to watch as her mother chose to end her life by refusing to eat. This journey was extremely painful for Danielle, but it was unfortunately just getting started. She later discovered that an affair her grandmother had would be the reason that she would become the next generation of Huntington’s. I chose this story because I wa