Student Blog
Classes

Adaptation Elation: Equipment Creation! ⟩
November 11, 2015, by Ariel

Classes What are OS/OT?

As an occupational therapist to-be, I’m always keeping my eyes peeled for cool products that will help my future patients live their lives to the fullest.

Today in class, we had the opportunity to not only learn about adaptive equipment, but also try our hands at designing our very own product! As part of our lesson, we were given an “adaptive equipment challenge,” a la Iron Chef, where we were told to use the materials given to us (cardboard, duct tape, foam pipes . . . creativity) to create a piece of adaptive equipment. My team made a prototype for an adaptive chair, called the ‘Astro Chair Unlimited.’ We designed it specifically to help support children who have difficulty sitting upright when otherwise unsupported. Our product includes a fully padded seat cushion to relieve pressure and keep kids comfortable, a fun customizable (space-themed!) design, and supports on each side intended to help the child stay seated in an upright position while at a tabletop. 3-2-1 . . . ENGAGE in meaningful activities!!!

Here’s a picture of our final creation:

Another group in my class chose to make an adaptive Catch Game. Here’s a photo of what they came up with:

After prototyping our adaptive chair, I was interested in what else was out there for people with disabilities. Given what I found through my research, it seems like the possibilities are truly endless! Here are just a few of the ideas that struck my fancy.

These ideas, and the plethora of others out there, are such great sources of inspiration. As Maria Montessori put it, “Watching a child makes it obvious that the development of his mind comes through his movements.” We as occupational therapists have the pleasure of helping people in all walks of life — no matter what their abilities — become truly UNSTOPPABLE!

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Learning How To Dress in OT School! ⟩
November 10, 2015, by Rashelle

Classes What are OS/OT?

In OT 502: Adult Physical Rehabilitation, we have a lab every week to learn practical skills that we can incorporate when treating patients — this week depicted below, focused on the activity of dressing.

The picture on the left demonstrates me using a sock aid! This assistive device is often utilized with adults, who have physical limitations that make dressing difficult. The sock aid can facilitate modified, independent dressing for people following surgeries to the hip, spine or legs, or for those who may live with chronic diseases such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. Within that same lab, we learned about the benefits of dressing sticks, button hooks and reachers to assist with upper body dressing (as pictured on the right).

Additionally, in my level 1 fieldwork rotation, I learned how to dress a patient with compression bandages, in order to treat edema. Edema is a condition in which a person has a fluid buildup in a part of their body. By dressing patients with these bandages about once a week, the fluid can drain away from the swollen region.

(That’s my foot! I even got the real patient experience by having to lay in the hospital bed).

Furthermore, while you can learn these patient dressing techniques at most occupational therapy schools — USC also teaches students how to dress professionally and with school spirit!

Here, Joe Ungco, a fellow student ambassador, and Ellen Wleklinski, an OTD resident are modeling their business attire, which we wear often for class presentations, fieldwork, conferences, meetings or interviews.

Finally, we FIGHT ON proudly with our traditional USC attire for football games, tailgates and other sporting events.

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Getting Crafty with Neuro! ⟩
November 7, 2015, by Heather

Classes What are OS/OT?

In our first semester of the Entry-Level Master’s Program, we take a course called the Foundations of Neuroscience. For many students, it is one of their favorite classes. It is challenging, instructive and interesting. Not to mention, it is taught by Dr. Leah Stein Duker, who is incredibly talented, intelligent, and well respected within the Division and the entire field of Occupational Therapy.

As part of the course, we are provided the opportunity to get creative with a “neuro project” of our choosing. Many of the projects that my classmates chose to create depicted the functions of the various structures of the brain. To name a few: the neural pathways, the cortical homunculus of the primary motor cortex, and the innervations of the the central and peripheral nervous systems.

For my extra credit project, I created the peripheral nerve distribution of the hand as part of the brachial plexus. I did this project because I am interested in hand anatomy and the biomechanics of the upper extremity. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of my project to share, however, I took a photo of another classmate’s project that did something similar by sewing the innervations of the hand together in glove form.

And just to get a little technical on you, the brachial plexus are formed from the junctions of the anterior rami from C5-T1. They innervate the entire upper limb. The nerves that I painted on the hand are the musculocutaneous nerve (green), the ulnar nerve (blue), the median nerve (yellow), and the radial nerve (red). Voila!

P.S. If anyone can tell me what this last project is supposed to be, comment and you will get a gold star!

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Assessing Cognition While COOKING! ⟩
October 24, 2015, by Rashelle

Classes What are OS/OT?

This week, in the Primary Care Elective class, we learned how to assess somebody’s cognitive abilities, by analyzing their performance in the kitchen! To begin, we looked at the Kitchen Task Assessment, which requires a patient to prepare pudding by following the directions of a commercial package. I was able to role play as the patient in front of the class, as another student pretended to be my therapist. Due to my limited knowledge in cooking and safety awareness, I fulfilled the perfect role of a patient needing cognitive support during a functional task of daily living.

The picture below displays the score I got on the Kitchen Task Assessment.

As you can see, I required assistance from my therapist both in verbal cues and physical assistance. Jen, the practicing therapist, needed to give me verbal reminders of when to add in the pudding mix to the boiling water, how many cups were needed to pour the finished pudding into, and when the task had come to a complete end. I required slight physical assistance when Jen held one of the cups for me to pour the pudding into, and when I attempted to pour the boiling hot pudding mix into the cups on the counter, in an unsafe manner. PHEW. Was it a relief when I finished!

Every step of the pudding-making process we, as a class, discussed possible scenarios that we may encounter when working with a patient that may have an actual cognitive impairment (e.g., when diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a traumatic brain injury). After role-playing this encounter, I can better empathize with my future patients, whom may face confusion, agitation, disappointment, apprehension or timidness while performing this task. I am excited to also be able to problem-solve with these patients on how they can change their approach to the task, to be able to cook as independently as possible, in a safe and effective manner.

Here, two other students, Kellyn Trummer and Renée Boivin, are demonstrating the Kettle Test — a cognitive functional screening test that requires a patient to prepare two cups of hot beverages. Similarly to the Kitchen Task Assessment, every component of the task is scored on the patient’s level of independence, which the therapist then will use to determine the amount of assistance the patient will need tp perform a functional task. For instance, the Kettle Test analyzes a person’s ability to prepare the hot water, assemble the kettle and add all of the ingredients together despite having visual distractions.

Overall, this lesson was a great opportunity to improve our clinical reasoning skills, and to practice assessments that an occupational therapist may use in the future!

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Silly OTs . . . Peds are for Kids! ⟩
October 8, 2015, by Joe

Classes What are OS/OT?

This week Pediatrics has focused on Sensory Integration, which basically looks at how a child’s sensory processing relates to their motor planning and ability to engage in occupation. Sensory Integration, or “SI”, was started by USC’s own A. Jean Ayres, who was part of the first OT class to graduate from USC in 1945!

When I first looked into OT, I found this to be one of the most fascinating specialty areas . . . and today, I also found out that it can be super fun!

In lab, we got to use a variety of the tools & equipment needed for effective Sensory Integration treatment.

It might look like we’re playing in a kids’ gym or maybe training for the circus, but we use these tools to provide important sensory experiences for children with sensory processing disorders (which is common for children with Autism, for instance). The various types of swings, mats, and sensory “toys” give us fun, playful ways to target a child’s sensory systems related to touch, movement in space, & bodily awareness. Through this type of targeted therapy, we aim to help develop a child’s neurological systems to better process information from the environment to support their engagement in activities, such as play and daily living.

You can read up more on Sensory Integration.

Now I’m off to my next fun occupation!

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