Reflection On Personhood

To be able to participate in one 's own life, to do the things we want to do, and to competently perform the activities that form part of our daily, weekly or monthly routines, is a common goal for most people.  This not only includes taking part in the basic activities of self-care, such as grooming and dressing, but also extends to our work and leisure activities.  It is through doing things that we learn and develop as human beings.  The occupational therapy profession believes that being prevented or hindered in some way from participating in the activities that are important to us could adversely affect our health and wellbeing.

In this influential lecture, Yerxa shaped the views of the entire profession by advocating for authentic occupational therapy. Yerxa intended for occupational therapists to be involved with clients, to recognize their responsibility of being life-long learners and to model personal authenticity in practice (1967). Many practitioners follow the concept of authentic occupational therapy today, as they desire to learn more about a client’s ideas and feelings throughout the treatment process. Additionally, Yerxa addressed the need for a return to

Byl, she said, “40 for me was just another number, but we did have to celebrate and have a big party.” Turning 40 did not impact her that much because it is just another stage of life. Mrs. Byl disagrees with the statement that “life begins at 40,” because it just doesn’t, life starts when you are born. “Life is a gift every day, if you wait for your life to begin at 40 you have already missed out on a lot of enjoyment.” When Mrs. Byl thinks about turning 60 it doesn’t concern her, it is just another number. It excites her, “who know what is going to be going on then, I might be close to retirement! But every season of life has its’ advantages and

The occupational therapy field is frequently being left behind in the health care field because most of the public is uneducated or unaware of the Occupational Therapy practice and the research that is involved. The public also has a few concerns of OT which include the time commitment to the program, the availability of services, the impact of the therapy on other family members, and the cost involved in continued care. While there are drawbacks to Occupational Therapy, the benefits of the practice outweigh them. The value and purpose of occupational therapy is to support the health and participation of clients by engaging them in their desired occupations. Occupations are activities that reflect cultural values, provide structure to living and meaning to individuals. These activities meet human needs for self-care, enjoyment, and participation in society. There are many different types of therapy used for people with disabilities such as autism, people with limitations from strokes, sicknesses such as cancer, and they can even help prevent childhood obesity. The different types of therapy can range from interventions all the way to dolphin assisted therapy, whatever the therapist finds appropriate. The similarity is that the Occupational Therapist will research and pick the most beneficial type of therapy to proceed with for that certain type of disability or problem that person is having. I believe

What is occupational therapy? How does one define the profession and validate its worth in the medical field? Since its conception as an established health care profession, occupational therapy’s philosophy has been defined, redefined, and refined. In their writings esteemed Occupational Therapists Mary Reilly and Susan Peloquin offer their own critical and revisionary ideas of occupational therapy’s worth, the basic need it fulfills, and its service to the healthcare profession. Both women ask their peers to refine what is

Late Adulthood can be a time of distress or fulfillment. It will likely include deep feelings of loss and grief, and may also include a sense of hope and joy. Despair can come from the experience of loss, missed opportunities in the past, declining health, losing friends and family, and an ever-approaching unknown future. Hope and positivity are derived from a sense of purpose and meaningfulness (Berger, 2014, p. 733). How does someone in Late Adulthood successfully navigate this time of life? I discovered one perspective by talking with Mrs. Bonnie Yost.

I am applying the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: domain and process to my life to produce an occupational profile. Objective of this paper is to synthesize therapeutic potentials and transactional relationships between my occupations and contexts. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process, 3rd edition is an official document of American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA, 2014). It is intended for occupational therapy practitioners and students, other health care professionals, educators, researchers, payers, and consumers. The Framework presents a summary of interrelated constructs that describe occupational therapy practice. The Framework does not serve as a taxonomy, theory, or model of occupational therapy.

MOHO is an occupation-focused model which “provide an overarching context of occupation that emphasizes the occupational therapists unique perspective on a client’s ability to engage in activities and participate in life” and “attempt to explain the relationship of occupation, person and environment” (Cole & Tufano, 2008, p. 61). MOHO focus on the concept of volition, habituation and performance capacity is the key to understanding human occupation (Kielhofner, 2002). The volition includes person’s values, which an individual finds meaningful to do and important, and interests and personal causation which refers to a sense of competence and effectiveness. The habituation is the given context of physical, temporal and social which influence an individual to develop a certain behavioral pattern or make new actions and decisions. And Performance capacity is a mental and physical attribution and life experiences. As these three factors that influencing an individual to engage in the occupation, MOHO aims to explain how disability and illness hinder occupational performance and it focuses on supporting the individuals to successfully perform the occupation (Kielhofner,

For my career exploration assignment I have chosen the field of occupational therapy. Not only am I a certified occupational therapists assistant, but I also have a passion for this field. Occupational therapy wasn’t something that I have always wanted to pursue, but once I got into college and observed an occupational therapist I fell in love with the occupation. Occupational therapy is the unique focus on occupation and daily life activities and the application of an intervention process that facilitates engagement in occupation to support participation in everyday life (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 1994). As therapists we are here to help our patients return to the highest level of independent physical function. Patients come to us in their lowest time, and it is our job to help build them up, and teach them how to be more independent, and to live their life to the fullest. Occupational therapists assistants do everything from increasing a patient’s standing/sitting tolerance and balance, safety with transfer training, dressing, bathing, grooming, and bed mobility. A lot of people always ask, “Physical therapy and occupational therapy are the same thing right?” That is not true. Physical therapy helps with the bigger movements, such as walking and lower extremity muscles, where as occupational therapy focuses on smaller, more fine motor movements, such as clothing manipulation, and grooming tasks. Occupational therapy helps to regain independence

The American Occupational Therapy Association has used several themes and/or mottos in their promotional efforts. One of them which has a major impact in the field of Occupation Therapy is “building skills for a better life”. Seeing as simple as it is, this motto has helped and nourished the development of building new strategies and ideas in people’s lives.

The professional terminology reflects only the terms that are being used in the field, therefore it is unique to the field. Professional terminology is designed to join the professionals. However, based on the conceptions and mindsets of the professionals, it can eventually lead to separation of the professionals. A good illustration to that will be the “cheese” story illustrated by Jacobs (2002) on her farewell. The moral of the story is for health care professional to be like Mary and Bob who were able to adapt to changes and learn from them. The story also discouraged the future therapists to act like Larry who refused to realize the need for a new cheese station (Jacobs, 2002). Therefore, the impact of professional terminology depends on the perspective of the professionals and their desire to apply these changes in their practice. As future occupational therapists, it is an imperative to realize that in the health care field change is inevitable; and also change is needed to provide the best care to the

Occupational therapy is a client-centered practice; therefore, the person is the first central tenet addressed in this paper. The person-environment-occupation (PEO) model views the person throughout their lifespan because a person’s roles are consistently changing. The person is made up of characteristics that affect the person, environment, and

Occupational therapists use multiple frames of reference, theories, and models to guide their practice. The Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) Model was developed to be used as a framework for guiding clinical reasoning in the analysis and understanding of the interaction between a client and their environment (Law et al., 1996). Occupational therapists are interested in the transactional relationship between the person, environment, and occupation, and pay particular attention to the interplay between these elements (Law et al., 1996). The person assumes dynamic roles in everyday life, which can vary across the lifespan as the person ages, acquires disability, or moves in and out of different contexts (Law et al., 1996). The skills or attributes of a person can influence the type of occupations that individual may participate in. For example, a blind person may choose to listen to an audiobook about nature instead of going for a walk in the woods. The environment also influences the way in

Beginning the writing process, I established for myself a mental roadmap. I asked myself what I was trying to say, and what the goal or intent of the writing would be. Was I attempting to persuade my readers, or to be didactic instead? I considered the "how" part of the equation later, and honed each sentence word for word. The how part of the writing process was relatively simple compared to the question of what to say, and why. I had to imbue the paper with social commentary, for there was much to say about these readings.

One's dream and aspirations to supersede in life must be stronger and greater than limitations set forth by others. The experience that were bestowed to me during my short life has elevated me to the woman I am today. Please walk with me as I give you the opportunity to see the world from my eyes: