Student Blog

“Say yes to play” ⟩
February 7, 2013, by Alisa

What are OS/OT?

Growing up in Thailand, oftentimes I would get scolded for playing or being playful. At a young age, I felt that I had to grow up. Even though I wasn’t the oldest child, I felt that I had to be mature. Was I trying to please the adults? Probably. I was the well-behaved one growing up. I would feel guilty for playing. It was like a stigma if you’re an adult and still play, but that didn’t stop my uncles. Maybe that’s why I admire them so much. Although they are very busy as business owners, they embrace me whenever I visit them. One of them enjoys playing golf and being a Thai Elvis. He seriously has one of the best voices — his tone is amazing. Another one knows everything about technology and video games. I realize that what drew me to them was their playfulness. They have many interests and are willing to share the joy of playing and being playful with me. Now I realize that playing is okay. It’s a form of self-care. Play continues throughout the lifespan. I am thankful for choosing the path to be an occupational therapist because I will be getting paid to play! The profession has instilled in me the balance of work, rest and play. Although it could be tough to make time being that I have many roles and responsibilities, it is important.

From reading Dr. Erna Blanche’s Play and Process: The experience of play in the life of the adult, I learned that there are different types of play: restoration, ludos (light-hearted play like joking around), self-awareness, mastery, adventure, and creativity. Now that I’m getting older — ahem — as evidenced by the amount of gray hairs I have, I enjoy more of a restorative play. I engage in this type of play through yoga. I find that I am able to put my mind into the practice and forget about everything else for just a bit, but that is probably the most refreshing part of my day.

How often do you play? What kinds of play do you engage in?

This is a photo of my dog, Summer. He likes to do leaps in the air.

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New Digs ⟩
February 7, 2013, by Ricky

Housing and Transportation Living in LA School/Life Balance

Some of you might remember me venting about all the things I had going on last semester. Winter break gave me some time to reassess and consider making a few changes. I concluded that the likely best thing I could do was rent a room nearby campus, just for the last semester. But being the budget-conscious ex-accountant that I am, I was still hesitant . . . up until my first week of classes. After sitting through all 6 classes for the first time, I was like, “oh heavens no. I need to move closer . . . and then I have the comp exam to worry about . . . oh my . . . looks like I’m moving to LA.” All I really needed was a place nearby to lay my head and shower — I planned on going back home on weekends anyway. I came pretty close to renting a couch in someone’s living room — so glad I didn’t. I ended finding a great place down the street from campus, with my own bed and bath for a very affordable price. It’s in “not-the-nicest” area of Los Angeles, but it’s really not so bad for a guy who can hold his own. It’s close, clean, gated, has pretty much all my preferred amenities, and my landlady is great. While I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, I just thought I’d let ya’ll in on the fact that options like this exist. While searching for a place, I looked on Craigslist, asked classmates/friends, and checked for postings around campus. Take note of that last point because the best places I saw came from ads in the med-school buildings across the street from our building. I’ve only been living there for 2 weeks and so-far-so-good. I’ll be sure to give ya’ll an update later down the road. Cheers!

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A Day of Celebration ⟩
February 4, 2013, by Amber

Getting Involved

Before deciding to change careers and become an occupational therapist, I worked for many years as a corporate event manager. I still have a love for pulling off great events, so in my “spare” time I work occasionally for an event production company helping with day-of event management and coordination. The pinnacle of my time working for this company was when I had the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama at a private fundraiser in 2011. I do have a picture of us together, and if you really want to see it post a comment below and I’ll put it up for you!

But this blog is about a wonderful event I worked this weekend: the grand opening of a new patient care tower at CHOC Children’s hospital in Orange County. The day before the event, I had the opportunity to tour the new facility, which is still empty. It was incredible to see the shiny new hospital with all the latest technology. There were so many little improvements that will make a huge difference in patient care. For example, there is a nurse’s station between every two rooms, with windows looking directly into the rooms. This allows the child to see someone nearby at all times, and allows the nurse to monitor the child more closely. Also, they mounted all their equipment from the ceilings, with the knowledge that the number one error in operating rooms is tripping over equipment.

The celebration on Saturday was free and open to the public. It was the most elaborate community festival I had ever seen. There was a Disney-sponsored dedication ceremony and entertainment featuring famous child stars from Disney and Nickelodeon. In-N-Out Burger, Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express, and other vendors handed out free meals to the attendees. Games and giveaways were spread throughout the festival area. Stilt walkers, clowns, and princesses roamed the closed-down street. The public also got the opportunity to tour the new facility in small groups. It was a beautiful day celebrating a great cause, and I was proud to be part of the crew that made it happen!

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Try, try again ⟩
February 1, 2013, by Kendra

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

So many times when I write on this blog, I write about inspiring moments or epiphanies I’ve had about OT. And while the bulk of my time at USC has been filled with those exact experiences, sometimes I stumble. Sometimes I fail.

So in an effort to humble myself and let you readers (possible future students) know that school is about learning, I offer a teaching story for you.

Last summer I did my level II fieldwork at a sensory integration clinic. Part of my fieldwork required me to do a case study, using current research, to attempt an intervention with a child. I chose an adorable little boy with Autism, who was underweight and undernourished due to possible sensory issues, weak oral musculature, and picky eating habits. His parents were very eager for me to try something, anything to get their little boy eating again. I found several studies and had my intervention approved.

Three times a week for ten weeks I put little pieces of corn or peas or carrot into his chicken nuggets or pancakes with the hope that I was helping this boy improve his nutrition, muscle strength and preference for different foods.

It didn’t work. In fact at one point he wasn’t eating at all. By the end of my intervention we were not friends, every time he saw me he’d turn away. Meal time was NO FUN and even his social skills during group seemed to be declining.

Flash forward to my dysphagia class last night, and our professor is showing us multiple videos of feeding interventions with another little boy with very similar issues to the one I worked with this summer.

And I do not exaggerate, EVERYTHING she said to NOT DO during feeding I DID. I was humiliated, mortified, embarrassed, and laughing because I was seeing how epically my intervention had failed. There was no going around it, I bombed.

But this is the great thing about attending school and having many internships and mentorships before being released into the real world of therapy. I was never in danger of harming the boy, my actions were always supervised by a therapist, and by allowing me to fail I was still learning.

So remember, future students, that while you come to school to learn and succeed (and I know you want to be perfect) sometimes by failing you learn even more than you imagined.

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Socially Occupied Beings ⟩
January 30, 2013, by Alisa

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

Getting back into the swing of things can be rough. I feel that I’m still getting used to it.  At times I feel that I have many roles and responsibilities, and I just need a time to breathe. After reading Mary Lawlor’s “The significance of being occupied: The social construction of childhood occupations” in class, I begin to view myself as a “socially occupied being.” It made me consider the things that I’m involved in. Almost everything that I engage in has a social component. I remember one time my friend jokingly said, “Are you in school to socialize, or to study?” My theory is that 5 years from now, am I going to more likely remember the time when I did things myself, or the experiences shared with others? Sometimes the motivation to study by myself is just not there, and I end of procrastinating. In other areas of my life, such as exercising, I find that I’m more motivated to work out if it’s done in a group setting. For the past 2 years, I’ve gotten the work out plan at the school gym, which means that I get to take various group workout classes. Some of my personal favorites are yoga and Zumba, where we also danced to Gangnam Style. How trendy, right? I’m getting a little bit better. Recently I attended a wedding where the bride, the groom, the bridesmaids and the groomsmen surprised the guests with Gangnam Style as well. It was awesome. What about you? How do you occupy your time? Do you consider yourself a “socially occupied being”?

Lawlor, M. C. (2003). The significance of being occupied: The social construction of childhood occupations. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 57(4), 424-434. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.57.4.424 Show abstract

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