on the OTher hand

Unfortunately like religion, politics is a very touchy subject.  Occupational therapy, like everything else in life is dramatically affected by politics.  What concerns occupational therapist the most politically is universal healthcare reforms in the United States.  The majority of occupational therapist and their services are paid by private insurances, Medical and Medicare (government services).  Only the wealthy could afford to hire an occupational therapist privately. The current bill of an OT is approximately $45-$55/hour (in California).  Being that OT therapy is a series of sessions over a lengthy time, you can see, this can become a heft bill, especially for those with permanent disabilities, who may require OT for their entire lives.  

OT is also an excellent source of preventive medicine.  For example, an Occupational Therapist may work on a patient’s persistent back pain by teaching strengthening skills of the person’s related back muscles.  Further the OT is helping the person prevent crippling back problems in the future.  Unfortunately, this type of therapy is the last type to qualify for insurance or government covered OT services.  The extreme cost of such preventative healthcare treatment is not critical and insurance companies are not willing to pay for it.  What this all boils down to is, how much Federal or State funds will be provided to the healthcare system in order for OT’s to continue providing therapy services for all patients.

I am not one to talk much about politics, but being that the elections are creeping up on us, I do think that the United States is well prepare for, and needs to have a woman president for a change.  As for the healthcare system, Hilary Clinton is well aware of the country’s situation and that something needs to be done in order to improve the deficient system that is currently in place.  As she states on the webpage: http://www.todaysseniorsnetwork.com/new_bills.htm, “I think we need to take a deep breath as a country and ask ourselves, we’re spending more than everyone else and we’re not insuring everyone and we’re underinsuring millions”.  It sounds like Hilary Clinton is in favor of, and prepared to, a Universal Healthcare System.  This is definitely something this country desperate need of.  In the Occupational Therapy system this would help the general population have access to therapy sessions if need be, regardless of the severity of the patient.  As for now it is only the elite who have access to private insurance or have a disability covered by the state insurance agencies, those are the ones who receive Occupational Therapy, when so many millions of others could be benefiting from therapy sessions.

In July of 2005, a group of Occupational/Physical Therapist in Western New York started a blog called ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog. The blog can be accessed at http://abctherapeutics.blogspot.com/. It is open for public comment, yet most of the posts are input by Chris Alterio, an employee of ABC Therapeutics, and comments or questions are typically posted by viewers of the blogging community. The subtitle of the blog, “Reflections on a Lifework of Occupational Therapy”, encompasses information on the field of Occupational Therapy, along with the daily occurrences that happen in the personal life of this group of therapists.

At the start of the blog in 2005, the writers’ enthusiasm for the new blog was evident in the eight to ten entries per month, with topics ranging from professional matters to personal dilemmas. Unfortunately, in the last year the blogging has dropped to four or five entries per month. This reduction in entries has not affected the efficiency or professionalism of the blog. On the contrary, the entries seem to be based more on OT practices and significant vocational issues versus personal matters.

In 2006 and 2007, Alterio posted several blogs on Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome that were quite interesting. I particularly enjoyed the post from Thursday, June 8, 2006, titled “Asperger’s Syndrome: A primer for occupational therapists”. I enjoyed this post because I have been working with the autistic population for over ten years, and the disability itself is absolutely fascinating. Once becoming an occupational therapist, I plan on specializing in autism and sensory integration. Asperger’s Syndrome is on the spectrum of autistic disorders. The characteristics are described as high functioning autism with normal to above normal cognitive intelligence levels, paired with difficulties in social and sensory processing areas of development. Alterio mentions the struggles associated with treating children on the spectrum because of the lack of research linked to autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. In the past year and a half since the post there have been significant studies and discoveries made in order to benefit these children, but for the most part autism continues to be a mysterious disability without explanation of occurrence, nor signs of a cure.

Another appealing entry posted on Tuesday, March 13, entitled “Best treatment options for autism” gives seven admirable suggestions as an effective intervention program for autistic children. All parents of autistic children would benefit from reading and applying these exceptional recommendations. Having worked in the field for such a lengthy time, I feel that parents sometimes expect the school personnel to somehow cure or rid their child of all autistic behaviors. This is literally impossible, for this is a psychological disorder not an illness. As a Behavioral Interventionist, it is difficult to work with a child in a typical school setting attempting to diminish negative behaviors only to find out that at home the child has free range without much discipline or routine. Alterio wrote the importance of having love, structure, and stability at home. A therapist cannot completely change a child’s behaviors if the behavior modification techniques are not also applied in the home environment.

It has been a pleasure to read several years worth of ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog. This blog is incredibly similar to the type of blog I had envisioned writing throughout my Occupational Therapy Program and career as a future occupational therapist. I find this blog extremely academic and professional. Most of his entries are supported with literature, bibliographies, and research from academic journals. Those that are not cited, clarify to the reader that the blog was written on personal beliefs after years of experience as an OT. As a professional, he is putting valuable information out on the web for the benefit of others.

The majority of criticizing feedback is written by parents with autistic and disabled children. This scenario is very typical of anxious parents searching for solutions to their child’s disability. Parents are at times in absolute desperation to cure their child; therefore they read all types of information regarding their child’s disability on unscholarly resources like magazine articles or propaganda on the web, consequently coming up with their own uneducated conclusions to “fix” their child. Fortunately, Alterio has the expertise in the field of occupational therapy, giving him the ability to make educated conclusions and give professional advice on the information he has researched.

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog is an excellent resource for writing a professional, educational blog, but being a first year student I plan on making my blog more of a feedback blog. People already in the field of OT give great insight on their experiences or questions that society in general may have; therefore giving me the opportunity to research the information, and turning this blog into an educational resource for others to use. As of now, my knowledge on Occupational Therapy comes strictly from a school district setting where I would watch and incorporate the OT’s instructions on children that were being treated with my behavioral modification techniques. I am eager to find out more intriguing information on the various avenues of Occupational Therapy.

Hello everyone, my name is Silvina Caivano-Alejo, and I welcome you to, “on the OTher hand” blog at:   http://myot.edublogs.org/ Society today needs to know more about the function and significance of an occupational therapist (OT) along with the growing need for their intense forms of therapy. OT’s strive to help people of all ages enhance daily living activities, if necessary, with the aid of adaptations for the facilitating the persons needs. OT’s help a large range of patients including premature babies, children diagnosed with autism, adults with disabling diseases, elderly who have taken a harsh fall, or anyone who has endured any form of an accident. Many people end up in the care of an occupational therapist at some point in their lives. This blog will give you insight on the different therapies available and the type of therapy which is most beneficial for each individual person. This blog will enhance my education as I become a registered occupational therapist in the near future. In addition, this blog will inform my readers on options available to the countless infants surviving birth at young gestational ages, the  millions of children with disabilities (especially autism), and those individuals whom are faithfully living beyond their 90’s, all of which on a day to day basis struggle with basic living skills. Due to a staggering number of individuals needing assistance, the demand for occupational therapists is substantially growing.  An OT’s vision is to help those in need adapt to life with a disability or return to the previous ways of living through adaptations in ones environment. Enjoy my blog, and keep in mind that you may be the one needing an OT in the near future.