Books I am Reading
Reading to me is the greatest luxury of all time; ever since I started reading as a child it is rare for me to have a book out of my hand. There is most often a book a short distance away or tucked in my bag just waiting for me to finish "everything else." I must admit, most days I am reading something of a nonfiction nature; since college I feel compelled to continue to learn. I know I need to round out my reading repertoire, but I will save that for another time.
Unfortunately, I can count on one hand the number of fictional books I have read since college.
What is fortunate is my love of reading and learning and the craving to fully exhaust a topic of interest. (I know, there is no conclusion to this type of quest; it never ends!) I am not quite sure if this qualifies me as boring to my friends and family, but I myself am never bored!
A recent find for me that I believe to have important ramifications for the field of Occupational Therapy is a book called SPARK, by John J. Ratey, MD. (http://www.johnratey.com/site/default.aspx) I found this by accident when looking up books about Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. SPARK is a book all about the neuroscience research into the connection between exercise and the functioning of the brain. The book sites examples of how the simple act of moving the body can improve concentration, elevate mood, delay aging and my all time favorite activity, reduce one's stress!
The basic premise is that exercise is medicine!
The reasoning behind why I feel this is so important to us as OTs and COTAs is that it allows us to bring up exercise or movement of the body to patients/clients as an activity of daily living. Of course I am talking about the clients that it is appropriate for, but that is a large group. It is has been important in the areas of wellness and disease prevention, but reading this book will give you ammunition to categorize exercise as an ADL for almost everyone. Of course I am simplifying this idea, but I am of the opinion that exercise, as an activity of daily living just like brushing our teeth, is an unused resource for improving quality of life.
Different topics that are addressed in this interesting and easy to read book are case studies, learning, stress, anxiety, and depression. Do we work with any people who experience any of those challenges? He also has chapters on attention deficit, addiction, aging and hormonal changes. The book ends with suggestions for the individual reader who is inspired to work with the outlined concepts; Dr. Ratey call this the "regimen." Also included are a glossary and an index that is quite helpful.
Obviously this is a groundbreaking book when the ideas behind it are fully utilized and lives are changed for the better.