Personal Narrative-Occupationally Blind

As I was laying on the cushioned couch on a Saturday afternoon, my phone began buzzing in my dark black Nike basketball shorts. As I read the caller ID I noticed that it was my mom. As soon as I picked up the phone I knew something was wrong. My mom's voice was scratchy, and depressed. As I picked up the phone she immediately told me the horrifying news. For a few seconds I had to comprehend what I was hearing. After I analyzed what she had said I screeched my lungs out, bawling hysterically, as if I had heard that the world was ending. For a moment I couldn't breathe, hearing that our healthy Chihuahua had passed away. After that tragic day, about a few months later, even though I was still awestruck by that wretched day the question finally

There are approximately 8.5 million known species in the world. Each one sees differently. A few species’ vision is more advanced than others; as humans we are very limited to what we can see compared to other animals. Birds of prey have the ability to see extreme detail at far distances. A bee has hundreds of six-sided lens and together the lenses form a single image. And an octopus’s eye has no blind spot. Each of these species’ eyesight has evolved overtime to adapt to survival needs.

My occupational therapy story begins about two years ago. I was 20 years old and beyond excited to be

I have personally witnessed the established, unprecedented and warmhearted culture, of Winston Salem State Universities Occupational Therapy program. I visited this program over the summer and experienced the mission state of the university and the occupational therapy program firsthand. I am genuinely a good fit for this program because my reason for becoming an occupational therapist is to offer patients to maintain and retrieve their quality of life. It is of supreme importance to me that every patient, no matter his or her race, background, or gender receives personal, professional, and effective treatment. The patient rehabilitation process reminds me of the universities history and foundation. Starting out as a one-room structure, the

I was concerned about what kind of help I could offer without offending anyone, and she enlightened me with a blunt reminder that people who are blind or living with vision loss are just like anybody else, and therefore should be treated as I would treat anybody else. Despite having read Campbell’s article twice by that point and having distinguished and memorized the definitions of ‘disablism’ and ‘ableism’, I was unable to truly conceptualize and figure out that my intentions, although good, applied to Campbell’s definition of disablism. The realization had been jarring and embarrassing at first, but it was the biggest turning point for me. It pushed me to unearth my prejudices from the layers of pride and socialization that allowed me to think my anxieties surrounding ‘being too helpful’ existed outside of the paternalistic roots that disablist attitudes stem from (Campbell, 2008).

The degree of ability or disability may vary over time and across different life domains. Furthermore, continued disability has been linked to institutionalization, discrimination and social exclusion as well as to the inherent effects of disorders. Alternatively, functioning may be affected by the stress of having to hide a condition in work or school etc., by adverse effects of medications or other substances, or by mismatches between illness-related variations and demands for

For my second deaf event, I visited the AMC theater in Deptford and saw a movie with closed captions. I had few expectations about what my experience would be like, as my knowledge of closed captioning devices prior to that day was very minimal. The device itself came as a surprise to me, and there were several issues with it during the film, but overall the problems were negligible. It was inarguably a learning experience, and I am thankful for it.

Not to mention, they don’t work very well. As a kid, I read everywhere I could. “Everywhere” included the dim backseat of a moving car, by the glow of passing streetlights—a location not exactly conducive to the healthy usage of one’s corneas. This led to painful years of pink-rimmed glasses I despised and refused to wear.

He was “disheveled with compromised hygiene.” He had anxiety and was “more paranoid than usual.” He was “not able to focus long enough to create any meaningful time line.” In early 2010, the claimant wanted mental health treatment; however, sometime later he refused to take psychotropic medications and counseling. He had extreme difficulty with attention and concentration. His full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) score was 84, which placed him in the borderline or lower range of intellectual functioning. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s disorder, cognitive disorder, social anxiety, personality disorder, back injury, poverty, and social isolation. He could not “work in any position, even an entry level one, because of his serious cognitive and social skills

My journey to Occupational Therapy has been like playing in a championship basketball game. Going into the game there is a game plan that is strategic, but overtime changes and adjustments must be made to ensure success. I started out my college career game plan with the goal of helping others through Athletic Training. However, through my various classes, interactions with individuals, and personal injuries I came to realize that Occupational Therapy was where my adjusted game winning plan was.

Justene Smith, Disability Specialist at Progression unpacked some of the less ‘visible’ disabilities as she explored both the symptoms and barriers experienced by people living with cognitive, psychiatric and/or neurological disabilities, incorporating reasonable accommodations solutions. A full breakdown of mental disabilities is available within TFM Magazine Issue 5 www.tfmmagazine.co.za

When I attended the Terrace Child Development Centre, I witnessed one therapy session with a 7.5 month old who was born 5 weeks earlier. This child had two prior sessions with the occupational therapist to work on independent sitting, and rolling over. The therapy session for that day was about getting the infant to roll over properly and trying to get the infant to start crawl. The infant would roll over with a wide stance of legs and arms, using the arms and head to roll over, and not using the hips or legs. The occupational therapist showed the parents how to properly help the infant to roll over by getting the infant to roll with the leg and hip first with the use of the parent’s finger to guide the hip to roll over. The occupational therapist

The second part of the definition, “has a record of such impairment,” covers people who have been disabled but are now recovered, such as someone who has had cancer, or mental illness, but is now back at work. (“Questions and Answers,” PG). Discrimination against such persons on the basis of their past medical condition is prohibited.

The small town, Chiapa Corzo in the south of Mexico definitely qualifies as such a place, the nearest eye doctor is miles away. What makes it even more tragic is the majority of townspeople work jobs that depend heavily on sight. From the farming men to the seamstress women, their eyes are their livelihood. Going in to such a dire situation as a 16-year old boy with no expertise in the field, I was overwhelmed to say the least. Walking in to the make-shift clinic reaffirmed my negative sentiments, it was a empty room with a bathroom in the back. How in the world could such a place serve the needs of so many? I was able to keep my head up long enough to follow the instructions I was given and soon the area began to take shape: a waiting area here, testing there, triage, disease, and my station, glasses distribution. This was the final step for many of the patients, after their potential prescription had been determined they tried out glasses. The first patient was always going to be rough- I was speaking the tongue of optometry jargon through a filter of Spanish. I will never forget that look though, and the hundreds that followed. The smiles, the shocked faces, and the occasional tear, all occurred as the lenses went over their eyes. I might take sight for

Eventually, humans begin to feel and show the effects of nature on the body. Frustrated by the effects of failing vision, medieval monks had the bright idea of putting two lenses together and resting in on the nose. These spectacles