2
Round Table Report
I had the opportunity to see things that were beneficial to groups of people. They had a
yoga group session that was for people with Parkinsons disease. I never imagined yoga being
beneficial for people that had tremors and spasms. They have found that those people that have
been coming to this group have been able to help keep better control and reducing their episodes.
The relaxation, meditation, and concentration of control has helped these people with
Parkinsons Disease to be more functional with their daily activities.
There were people that needed help to be independent with activities of daily living
again. Whether they had lost range of motion, had a surgery that caused them to not be able to
do things the way they used to, or pain that was limiting their movement ADLs have become a
difficult task to complete. The area of ADLs is very broad. It is important for the practitioner to
be in-tune to the needs of the client they are working with and the struggles that they are having
in accomplishing their daily tasks. Tasha was able to come up with a great sock aide to help a
specific need of a client because the sock aides they had were not helping to accomplish the task.
Adapting to the needs of your patients is a great skill to learn and obtain.
In this particular facility there is a population that is not able to leave their beds. Finding
ways to help them keep muscle tone and flexibility is essential. Making sure that passive range
of motion is done until they gain back the ability to move on their own is vital. Watching Tasha
adapt exercises to fit the need of each person to benefit them was helpful. It certainly helped me
to know the importance of knowing the client and knowing what precautions they have, such as
subluxation of the shoulder, so that we as practitioners do not cause any further damage to
clients.
I was able to see a wide range of intervention being practiced. There were things that
were purposeful activities for clients to be independent in daily activities they need to
accomplish. I also observed preparatory activities that were needed to help clients to have the
motion they need to do those daily tasks.
The things that I was able to observe gave me an understanding of what I have been
learning in class. I was able to see different models and methods being used that we have been
taught and for the purpose that the therapist was using them. Seeing PNF in use and dynamics
being added to it gave dimension to what we do in the therapy process. This process showed me
the client progressing, gaining strength, and gaining greater range of motion. Doing fieldwork
gave me the opportunity to put the pieces together to keep improving upon treatment sessions to
benefit the clients I will work with.
This was a new and interesting experience for me to see things in a different perspective.
Being in a long-term acute care facility gave me some added insight into occupational therapy to
know that sometimes you can only work with a client in their bed. There will be people in the
future that I will work with that will not be able to move on their own. Being able to adapt and
be creative will be one of the best tools I can obtain.
The opportunity to do my fieldwork here was a great experience. It has helped me to see
that I want to mix things up with how I do things with clients instead of doing the same thing
over and over again. Occupational therapy practitioners have many tools and options to use for
clients that they are helping. Being able to utilize those tools and give clients a sense of wellbeing is something that I am looking forward to use as an occupational therapy assistant.