It is estimated that Autism Spectrum Disorder affects over 3 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide.
Occupational Therapy plays an important role in helping individuals living with autism. Learn many of the ways an OT can support individuals and their families in the following infographic:
March 26th has been designated Purple Day across the globe in honour of epilepsy awareness. Individuals are encouraged to wear purple clothing, local organizations host events, and many of our nation’s landmarks will also be bathed in purple light to increase awareness of the need for research about epilepsy.
Increase your awareness and learn how Occupational Therapy can assist those living with epilepsy and their families to live life to the fullest in the following infographic.
There is a misconception that home renovations for safety or disability need to be expensive. While this can be true for large-scale projects, there are some quick-fix modifications that are small but pack a punch. Watch our latest OT-V Episode below for our top 10 pick of modifications you can make for under $100:
Sleep is one of the most important determinants of health. Proper sleep helps to restore our minds and bodies so that we are able to effectively tackle another day. Sleep supports growth and development, and helps with the body’s healing process. However, knowing how many hours a person actually needs each night is difficult as this differs from person to person and can change with age.
Learn more about sleep and how it can change as we age in the following care of the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal.
McMaster Optimal Aging Portal: Sleep and aging: How many zzz’s are optimal to stay healthy?
If you struggle with sleep take a look at our OT-V Episode, Improving Sleep, for some solutions that can help.
The old cliché is true when we talk of cognition – “use it or lose it”.
Our brains are made of billions of neurons, which interact with each other to complete specific tasks. Signals are sent from one neuron to another along neural pathways, and these determine our thoughts, emotions, insights, and so much more. Each task relies on a different neural pathway, so the pathway for reading a book is different than the pathway for putting on our shirt. The more we use a pathway, the stronger the connection becomes.
These neurons have the ability to physically change themselves when faced with new and difficult experiences. This ability is called neuroplasticity. As we are exposed to new areas, tasks, information or experiences, neural pathways are formed and existing ones are reshaped. This will continue throughout our entire lives as we learn. As we have experienced through practicing a musical instrument, memorizing our shopping list or recalling a friend’s phone number, if we consciously focus and train our brains in a certain area, they will become faster and more efficient at performing those tasks.
Just as we need to exercise the muscles in our body, we also need to exercise our brain.
Some great ways to keep “work up a cognitive sweat” include:
Try our 30 Day Healthy Brain Challenge to help you find other ways to boost your brain and prevent cognitive decline.
Caregivers do not really “elect” the role. They are not trained to be a caregiver, and really just try to do their best with the skills and resources they possess. However, where many fall short is maintaining their own health and well-being in dedicating their physical and emotional time to another person. We have penned many blog posts about the importance of caregivers avoiding burnout by asking caregivers to “put on their own oxygen masks first.” The following care of Alzlive provides some fun and specific ideas for caregivers to try to ensure they are concentrating on their own health as well as that of their loved one.
Guest Blogger Lauren Heinken, Occupational Therapist
It’s winter, and with the season comes decreased daylight and increased risk of weather-related adverse driving conditions. These factors can contribute to a higher incidence of motor vehicle collisions, and this may be particularly true for older adult drivers who are experiencing physical and cognitive health changes. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) reports that senior drivers with cognitive impairment/dementia have up to 4.7 times the risk of being involved in a motor vehicle collision. The MTO’s Senior Driver License Renewal Program operates in an effort to ensure that older adult drivers are screened for health changes that may impact their ability to drive. Occupational Therapists (OTs) may be involved in the process by administering the screening tools that can play a role in determining an individual’s fitness-to-drive; however, physicians and the MTO work together to ultimately decide whether an individual is able to maintain their license or not.
Many older adults see driving as imperative for maintaining their independence, especially if they have been lifelong drivers or are relatively unfamiliar with other forms of transportation. More physically demanding forms of transportation, walking to bus stops, or cycling, may no longer be viable alternatives for many. Outside of the main urban centres, Canada’s population is dispersed across great geographic distances; in more rural areas, public transportation services may be sparse if available at all. The distances individuals need to travel on a frequent basis to access services and participate in activities of their choosing are often great. As health professionals who focus on helping individuals find ways to engage in their chosen occupations, it fits that OTs should be involved in supporting older adults who have lost, or are at risk of losing, their ability to drive. OTs can work with their clients to minimize the way in which losing one’s license influences overall quality of life and ability to engage in chosen occupations.
As with any major life change, planning for the loss of one’s drivers license well in advance can help to limit the impact of the change when it happens. After all options for ensuring and promoting someone’s ability to drive safely have been exhausted, the next responsible therapist-client step would be to initiate discussions related to transportation alternatives, regardless of whether or not this lifestyle change will be occurring in the near future. It is understandable that OTs may be reluctant to initiate these discussions as safe continuation of driving is often an emotionally charged subject and can lead to very difficult conversations. Introducing the subject slowly and matching the content of the conversation to the client’s comfort level can help to limit any negative effects on the OT-client therapeutic relationship. Below is a proposed progression of an OTs involvement with a client who has lost, or is at risk of losing their ability to drive.
OTs should let the changing seasons serve as a reminder to consider initiating these discussions during client sessions. Although clients may be unreceptive and unwilling NOW to accept intervention aimed at preparing for this lifestyle change for LATER, a brief discussion may be enough to get them thinking about this important topic to help them adjust to the possibility when / if it arises. Sometimes as therapists the ideas we introduce early are not accepted for months or years later, but our role includes having the patience to work with clients around their comfort level and to support change when they are ready to accept it.
Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)
The pendulum has surely shifted on what society will and will not tolerate when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual abuse. For those that remain confused on these two overlapping but very different concepts, here are simple definitions from Wikipedia:
Sexual Harassment: bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors.
Sexual Abuse: undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another.
Sexual harassment has often been related to the workplace and women tend to be the most common recipients. It also tends to involve a power imbalance whereby one person is in a position of authority over the other, but by definition, this does not have to be the case. With the current societal shifts, it is now recognized that harassment can extend beyond the workplace, and is not gender specific. Sexual abuse, on the other hand, has always been more of a global term, applying to anyone, anywhere, anytime, who is forced into sexual activity without their consent. It has always been socially unacceptable, even when sexual harassment was more of a commonality.
Truth be told, I have been a victim of both. I can say that harassment is easier to talk about but at the time I was being harassed it was not as socially unacceptable as it has become. In fact, it almost seemed common that a young woman working (and in my case playing sports) who was exposed to men in more senior positions would be solicited, propositioned, flirted with or asked on dates or to social events. I was fortunate in that none of these experiences turned into sexual abuse and I trust (hope) that men today behave much more professionally around women in general. Sexual abuse, on the other hand, is much harder to talk about, and my experience with this is not one I am comfortable sharing publicly. I do know though that victims of sexual abuse often need therapy to help them recover from their trauma, and I am hopeful that the recent media attention to this will encourage victims to come forward and seek help should they need it.
Occupational therapy can be one form of treatment for people who have suffered from sexual harassment or abuse. When people are off work or struggling with work, our therapy helps people to discover functional barriers, develop solutions, proactively engage in problem solving, and then assists people to forward in their new chosen direction (albeit return to work, seeking new work, or addressing retraining). With sexual abuse some occupational therapists are trained in psychotherapy and work with people directly to address the results of their trauma. Occupational therapy also helps people to rebuild the elements of their life that have been lost because of their trauma. Sometimes victims of sexual abuse develop maladaptive ways to cope (addictive behaviors, inactivity, social isolation to name a few) and these can be addressed in treatment. It is also common that depression and anxiety surface following sexual abuse, and these too can be tackled through activation at home and in the community. Occupational therapists work very well with other providers who may also be involved – social workers, psychologists, and the medical team, helping to create a cohesive and impactful approach to recovery.
If the media attention to these problems results in positive societal and behavioral change, then we all need to be thankful and grateful to the people that have come forward and for the stories that have been shared. And if sexual harassment or abuse have caused problems for you and impact how you manage your day-to-day activities including work, taking care of yourself, enjoying leisure, or managing important elements of how you want to spend your time, consider occupational therapy as one element of your recovery team.
Guest Blogger Lauren Heinken, Student Occupational Therapist
Recently we reviewed the book Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Healthcare for All Canadians, written by Dr. Danielle Martin. While the book is excellent, it did omit to include how Occupational Therapy (OT) services may impact Canada’s Healthcare system, and this blog will fill this gap. I believe that an increase in OHIP funded OT services has the potential to have a positive economic impact on the healthcare system as a whole. This is mainly due to OT being a proactive form of therapy that may help in preventing individuals from requiring more reactive forms of care following an acute bout of illness/injury.
An aging population has the potential to place strain on our healthcare system; however, this can be minimized through strategies that: decrease the number of episodes of acute illness/injury experienced by this population, and improve the management of the chronic conditions they face. These strategies require that a proactive approach to healthcare be undertaken. OTs are well positioned to provide preventative care due to their focus on helping individuals find ways to safely engage in their daily occupations despite limitations that they may have. The OT focus on helping clients to maintain independence and through empowering clients to be accountable for the management of their own health aligns well with a preventative approach. So why does OHIP coverage (and even private coverage) for OT services remain so limited? By limiting the number of individuals who can access these services, aren’t we missing out on an opportunity to reduce costs to the healthcare system in the future?
The answers to these questions lie in the fact that our healthcare system remains highly focused on reactive care. It is no secret that Canada’s healthcare system is much more effective in providing urgent and acute medical services than it is in providing services to those with health conditions that cause functional decline, but not to the point of being imminently life-threatening. Although having these acute services is essential, making cutbacks to services that have the potential to reduce these acute events, is shortsighted. Because acute medical services are necessary, increasing funding for preventative services will initially result in an increased cost to the system. However, as these preventative services become utilized it can be expected that acute costs will decrease to a greater extent than the cost of preventative services in the first place. This is especially true if these services can be administered in a group setting, and OTs are trained to provide educational self-management interventions in this manner.
OTs are also well positioned to provide transitional services that can help to bridge the gaps between care settings, for example when transitioning from acute hospital care to the care received afterwards in the community. Problems can arise during this transition especially if information is not communicated effectively between care sources. This can lead to hospital readmissions and complications in the recovery process, which lead to further healthcare costs. OTs can be effective coordinators and can help to arrange the necessary community care following the acute phase of recovery in the hospital. OT’s understand the demands required for someone to perform their daily living activities at home and are uniquely positioned to assess if returning to these activities is possible, or what assistance might be needed. If patients are given the appropriate assistance during their recovery process, their health outcomes will naturally be more positive. Additionally, since occupational therapists are trained to address all factors that can influence a person’s well being, they are more likely to pick up on additional challenges an individual may face when returning home post hospitalization. Maybe their home environment is poorly suited to their current needs, or maybe they have little social support available to them; whatever the situation, OTs know how best to solve these problems.
Considering the role OT’s can play in improving the lives of Canadians, and in reducing long term costs, as a profession they need to continue to advocate for their services, particularly those that may be considered preventative in nature. Outcome studies do exist that showcase how OT reduces costs and prevents re-institutionalization. This is the data we need, combined with qualitative case studies and stories of client experiences, to promote change. But in the end, it is a paradigm shift that is required in the minds of all Canadians – the “it won’t happen to me” needs to become “it is happening to me and I need help” before people will be able to reshape their activities and get the support and answers required to result in more positive health outcomes.
Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)
Of all the ways I take care of myself, my daily walk outdoors with my dogs is one of the most therapeutic. The only things that keep me from being outside daily would be a horrible rainstorm or temperatures that are too cold for my dogs to endure.
Not only does seeing my dogs enjoying the scents of nature lift my spirits, but the fresh air, sunshine, sounds of nature (or my music, depends on the day), sights of the birds (the hawks are my favorite), trees (and sometimes deer, bunnies and even coyotes) distracts me from the stress of the world, even if just for precious mindful moments.
The below article highlights the concept of Nature Therapy and outlines how sometimes we should consider using the sights and sounds of the outdoor world around us for valuable healing opportunities.
The Hamilton Spectator: Nature might be the prescription for what ails you