OT POV: Forums

Exam Prep Course

Robert Moody — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:25:42 GMT

A friend of mine suggested OT Advantage to help me pass my COTA exam and I must say I am happy that I listened to her! The instructor is VERY thorough and is quick to respond to questions.

I would recommend this class to anyone!

Rob

ETCH handwriting assessment

Lindsey Jaworski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:40:27 GMT

Does anybody know how to score and/or administer the ETCH for handwriting assessment?

Shaky hands first few minutes of writing

Kathy Hanson — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:16:24 GMT

I am a school OT. I have a student who has trouble writing in the morning and in the evening. His hand starts out very shaky, so much so that he writes with the right hand and has now started holding the top of the pencil with the left hand to help keep it still. After a few minutes of writing (up to 10) the shakiness disappears and he can write OK. He is 13 and it has always been this way. The father states that he had the same issue in school, but not quite as pronounced. There does not appear to be a lack of strength when performing daily tasks. The student does not have any difficulty manipulating other school tools or performing self-care tasks, such as buttoning. However, he does use a fisted grasp on a spoon or fork. The shakiness is reportedly just with writing, and just for the first few minutes of writing. The parent reports that the child does not appear tired when writing, such as in the evening. The parents have had the student do activities to warm up the hand before starting to write, with no change. There are no medical conditions known.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks. Kathy

patching for pediatric patient

Laurie Nelson — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:39:32 GMT

I am curious to know if it is common in other areas for children to wear an eye patch to strengthen a weak eye for extended periods of time. We are currently working with a 4-1/2 year old with a congenital eye condition causing significantly reduced acuity in one eye. He has been on a patching schedule for nearly 2 years, with some but not significant improvement noted. Last year he wore the patch 8 hours a day, including all the time he was in a school/day care setting. This year he is down to 4 hours a day but it is during the time of most academic learning in his preschool program. I have spoken with the opthamologist and he would like to get as much functional vision now while he is young, he feels it gives him the best chance for long term vision in that eye. He doesn't think it's really important to worry about his learning until he starts attending "real school". (Has he read any of the recent research regaring the importance of the early childhood years?) Vision in the other eye is normal. My question is, how can this not affect his learning, fine motor development, etc. Even if the unpatched eye had perfect vision, I would think using only monocular vision for all learning would affect depth and overall visual perception, fine motor skills etc. At this point he shows mild fine motor delays compared to same age peers but his main issues are behavioral, including being strongly resistant to wearing the patch. Just curious what others think.

Laurie N.

SI toys for Early Intervention... Any suggestions?

Stephanie Cogburn — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:28:07 GMT

Hi everyone, I am an OT working part-time in Early Intervention. Can you recommend some must-have toys that I can keep in my car? I have a great deal of fine motor toys, but I was wondering what other therapists carry with them in their cars as must have toys. One of the teachers I work with actually brings one of those blow up houses that you actually plug in (it's huge and would take up someone's entire living room)... this is not possible for me. Just feel stumped and need some ideas. I feel like I keep doing the same things over and over. Thanks so much!

pediatric evaluation form

Lindsey Jackson — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:53:43 GMT

Does anybody have a sample of a pediatric evaluation form? I am trying to make one up but I'm not sure how detailed I want to be with it or if I should let it be more narrative. any suggestions of examples would be great!

Mealtime antics of a 2 year old

Virginia Yeo — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:47:01 GMT

I am looking for any advice or help with this one...am starting to tear my hair out!! I have a 2 year old that I have been seeing for feeding. When I started he wasn't chewing well and also was resistant to new foods. Now he is chewing much better and is trying some new foods but mom is complaining that his appetite has gone down, he is eating much less and is spitting out food (that he previously was eating). He also used to sit at the table for mealtimes but now takes one mouthful of food, spits it out and then wants to get down. I have tried so many strategies with this family. I have talked about no snacking in between meals to increase appetite (which I don't think they do consistently), I have suggested when he spits food out to try to get him to eat that last piece and then say he is all done. Mom is insistent that he sit at the table until they are finished and so I have suggested she allow him to play with some quiet toys at the table while they continue eating so that he at least sitting there, and she said this hasn't really worked, he still wants to get down. I am really getting desperate and both mom and I are getting frustrated. There are a few family issues, for example, he is sometimes out for dinner and if he is out he will get snacks and take-away, which he eats! Please, anyone with any ideas. Anything would be helpful. Mom really wants him to sit at the table and eat his dinner with the family. I have also suggested giving him smaller portions of food at dinner so he is more likely to try something and also using a timer to indicate when he can get down.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

EI feeding

Melissa — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:30:27 GMT

anyone have any really good suggestions to help with feeding small children 1-3 yrs who reject new textures especially meats

substitute for crocheting hobbie

Nyle Macfarlane — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:48:02 GMT

Many elderly adults that I work with used to knit/crochet as their hobby and many of them miss this leisure activity. Does anyone know of a good substitute that is simple and repetitive, so that it can be used with individuals with dementia.

can anyone help me with tx for MD?

Michelle Vann — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:09:47 GMT

I am an OTA student doing a tx demo on muscular dystrophy in peds and I am having no luck finding articles. Can someone refer me to a good place to find an article?

Michelle Vann

no respect!

Heather Emel — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:11:49 GMT

Just wanted to vent to others who might understand...I've worked in acute care for 5 years, in 2 different facilities. Why is it that nursing staff have no trouble interrupting an OT session with a patient (to give meds, change I.V., take vitals etc) ...but they think twice about interrupting a PT session??!!! I absolutely HATE this lack of respect...anyone else have this trouble?

To change to PRN status in this economy??

Jenna — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:59:22 GMT

Hello all,

I am a newer grad and have worked for almost a year in an acute care setting. I currently have some family issues arising (including a loved one who is dying in another state) that are making it difficult to balance work/life in a full-time position. I am contemplating changing from full-time to a PRN status to give me more scheduling flexibility.Plus my supervisor is not offering me any other options at this point and I need to travel to this loved one. Is this a wise decision in this economy? What is life like as a PRN. I do have a family and plan to secure private insurance...my current position "says" they will have PRN hours for me and I have another PRN position lined up as well. I'm just wondering from other PRNs how much/often is work available? This is a stressful situation, but I have to do something.....

Thank you!

starting OT in a new hospital

Cristina, OTRP — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:27:00 GMT

Hi, I just started working as an OT at this new hospital where there is no OT equipment, materials, etc. As in nothing. Well, there's a room. A few toys for pedia, but nothing for adult population.

Can anyone suggest where do I start? Will appreciate it very much if you can send your suggestions to kit_otrp@yahoo.com.

Thanks a lot in advance!

OT vs. PT issues

Joni Kamiya — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:45:39 GMT

Any one out there had some issues with PTs regarding transfers training and simple goals for functional ambulation for self care and home management? I've been working with several PTs who seem to think that we OTs can not ambulate a person to the toilet with a FWW or let alone do toilet transfers as that is supposedly their arena? What the heck??? One company I worked for did not allow me to write toilet transfer goals since transfers were for PTs to address! Another PT told me that I shouldn't be ambulating a person into the bathroom as she worked on ambulating. I was ambulating this person as she would have to walk from her bed to the bathroom when she'd go home. Just curious to see if any one else had some kooky PTs that had this odd thinking...

lift chair for dementia patient?

Pat Sharpe — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:33:02 GMT

I have a client who is ambulatory with a cane but has difficulty getting in and out of a chair. Family is considering purchasing a lift chair for her room but due to dementia she would probably not remember how to work the control buttons. I am new to geriatrics...anyone have experience with this? Would the lever type remote be any easier? Should the family just look for a firmer more supportive chair without the lift? Thanks.

E-Stim for paralyzed arm

susotr — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 07:59:24 GMT

I have a patient with a damaged Brachial Plexus, leaving his entire left arm flaccid. I would like to explore the possibility of using e-stim to at least assist in pulling the humorous back up into the shoulder girdle.

Do you know of a clinic or center that specializes in the use of e-stim for parallelized extremities?

Minutes vs Care?

rmlski — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:35:42 GMT

Another topic to touch on that is spoken about all over and nothing is seems to be done about is "minutes". When did we go into this profession to max out our patients 100 days and to push 75+ minutes per day whether they can do anything or not. I have seen and experience the effects of manangement pushing to get our minutes with each patient so that our productivity is high and that our buildings RUG category is also at its highest. There have been patients who actually sit for 30 minutes choosing to not continue or unable to, yet are being billed the entire time because we need to reach a certain amount. The focus seems to be the minutes rather then the care and quality of care to the patient. How did this happen and why is it not being changed, I would think most would agree that this is not what we went into this profession to do, we went in to it to make a difference in someones life who needs it. Not to bill the heck out of them and make myself look good on paper with numbers. What can be done to stop this.

Inpatient Adolescent Mental Health Clinic

Popi Moustaka — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:17:53 GMT

Hello my name is Popi and I am an occupational therapist from Cyprus who studied in the US and currently practicing OT back to Cyprus. I work in mental health services for children and adolesecents.

We are currently working on opening an Inpatient Adolescent Mental Health Clinic which will be the first one in Cyprus. I am at the moment working on drafting the OT's role in such a clinic, and I have to say that this is stressfull because I know that what I write will later become an official document and will affect all the OTs to follow. I would really appreciate if you could sent me any information and your thoughts about the OTs role in such a setting, especially concerning OT groups that could be implemented. I have to give specific categories of OT groups or group types that can be carried out in this setting.

Any information would be extremely valuable!

Thanks a lot,

Popi Moustaka

appeal for assistance

robert kariuki — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:28:15 GMT

I am a foreign trained occupational therapist and I have been living in the US since 1995.I recently returned from a visit to OT school in the nation of Kenya-East Africa and I am now sending an appeal to individuals and organisations to help this OT school .The school has an acute shortage of books and other OT teachings materials.Anyone willing to assist this school can contact me at robzenas@netzero.com

Thanks,

Robert OTR/L.

Favorite OT Websites

Kim04 — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:14:01 GMT

I am interested in the various OT related websites that everybody has found over the years. I am familiar with OT Exchange, but was wondering what other websites are out there with activity ideas, documents, free downloads, etc. Thanks!!

Activity ideas for male patients

Michelle — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:27:11 GMT

My project for my level II placement in a SNF is to come up with a creative activity for male patients. I was trying to come up with something to work on fine motor coordination/UE ROM/strengthening. All I got is nuts and bolts or something with PVC. Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks

What is considered an average full-time caseload for a private pediatric clinic?

Lisa — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:43:40 GMT

I am thinking about changing from the school system to a private clinic, and wanted to know what most therapists average caseload is for full time and then what there total hours per week are when you include paperwork, etc. Thanks

Aquatic therapy

Gail Rippey — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:49:05 GMT

Hello.
I am a COTA/L in Pennsylvania and I would like to add aquatic therapy to
my skills set. What continuing education or additional training would
you recommend that I seek?
Along with being a COTA, I am a certified aquatic fitness instructor, working mostly with elderly people post therapy. My classes include Ai Chi and arthritis.
Thank you in advance for your help.

Can a physical therapist employ an occupational therapist?

James Cavin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:58:05 GMT

I have some outpatient clinics in New York State and was considering hiring an OT hand therapist for one of them. Is it legal to for a non-OT to employ an OT without the OT being a partner in the company?

COTAs in the school sys

Jennifer Miller — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:57:00 GMT

I am considering a position in the school system as a COTA and I'm not totally clear on what a COTA can and can't do such as the IEP and goals. As far as the IEP what is a COTA allowed to update, change, add or delete? I do not remember all of the specifics about the school system such as the IEP, daily/weekly notes, and who does what. Can anyone clear this up for me please.