Norway

I am in Northern Norway right now....midnight sun! It's midnight right now and still sunny out. We are having a little crisis here as the family's baby bunny just got eaten! :( Sad. We are having a great time - I will be in Norway until July 13th - so blog posts will be sparse - they may increase some after June 30th but for now while my friend is here we will be together!! 

Check out Bill's second post about becoming an OT, below.

Part Two, Bill's Journey of becoming an OT with Asperger's

Part 2-

 

After I got out of undergrad, I was confident that I could get a job.  I had a decent GPA.  I believe that I have a good attitude once I land a job, since I am hoping to move on the career ladder once I gather more experiences.  Unfortunately, it was also the beginning of the economic recession that we are still in right now.  After a year of unsuccessful job hunt, my mom started talking to me about the possibility of going to school again.

 

Business school was the first thing my family considered.  It is close to home in regards to what my strengths and weaknesses were.  So, I took the GMAT.  However, like what I have done on standardized tests, my so-so verbal skills caused me to only get a 560 on it.  With a 560, I know I couldn't get into a decent business school.  Considering the economy situation, not getting into a great business school could mean a bad return on my family's investment.  So, there went the idea of going to business school.

 

Seminary was next on the list.  I had been involved in church events for the past few years prior to that point.  I also had come and know some people who have since become clergies today.  Lastly, I have a knack of writing Christian things.  However, everything came to a screeching halt when it comes to job prospects.  Because of my language skills, I most likely will be working in an Episcopal Church with a lot of Chinese Christians in the US.  As I remembered the insider information about the prospective Chinese churches I might be working at, what they might be able to offer me would definitely not be a great return for my family's investment.  Also, it was very likely I have to move out on my own, which would mean an extra set of expenses in just to make a living as a clergy.

 

Then, my mom repeatedly mentioned health care to me.  Unfortunately, because of the C's I had in Anatomy and Physiology in high school, I was very hesitant to try anything health care related, as I was in this state for a couple months or so.  But as I continued to fail to land a job, I knew I had to suck up and try even in the midst of doubts.  So, my mom talked to me about occupational therapy, as she learned about it through her interactions with a school-based OT through her job as an office administrator at an elementary school nearby where we live now.  In October 2008, that was when I took the leap of faith to get my pre-requisites done in hopes of getting into an occupational therapy program some point in the 2009-2010 school year.

 

Most of my pre-requisite classes went smoothly.  I also got a decent GRE score, largely thanks to a perfect score on the GRE Math section.  Because of that, I got the good news of being accepted to USC's Occupational Therapy program.  Then, I was down to my least favorite pre-requisites, Anatomy and Physiology.  My mom and I thought that 5-week intensive course for each of the subjects would be a quick and relatively not as painful way to get them done in early 2009.  Physiology turned out to be OK, as I got a B despite I stumbled late.  My first attempt at Anatomy, however, was a struggle.  Despite doing decently on one test, I was facing a tough dilemma.  On top of the fact that I was sick, I was in grave danger of not passing the course by the add/drop deadline.  After weighing the odds, I decided a restart was probably the best move- even though the restart will be 4 weeks before the start of occupational therapy school for the 2009-2010 school year in summer 2009.   After all, it was a now or never time then.  Fortunately, because of the preparation work I did (through UC Berkeley Anatomy podcasts I was able to watch repeatedly online), I was able to get through the course.

 

When I first started occupational therapy school in summer 2009, I anticipated a tough transition.  I knew nothing about the field.  Having never seen what an OT does in any setting made matters worse.  I didn't have the type of background or experiences like my classmates had.  Lastly, because I was coming from a department that curved a lot of its students' grades, I had lost the relative sense of knowing how I well I would be really doing grades wise.  Little did I know, it was a lot tougher than I anticipated!

 

First, there were a lot of women as my classmates, as they represented over 90% of the entire class.  So, I knew I have to make friends with at least some of my female classmates.  Second, I constantly got C's or D's in my Kinesiology and Neuroscience exams in the first semester.  Making matters worse, I was among the bottom dwellers despite studying at the library into the evening almost every weekday.  Fortunately, I was able to save myself from repeating both of these classes (as that would have cost me another year in my occupational therapy journey).  Also, I was able to come out of my shell to develop friendships with my classmates.

 

The fall and semester were better for me, as I was able to get into the swing of things a little better.  I began to know the key theories that are vital to the occupational therapy profession and for each of the specific disciplines.  But since I still felt like I didn't know as much about occupational therapy as I would have liked, I decided to go to the OTAC Annual Conference in 2009, as well as the AOTA conference in 2010.  Through these experiences, I felt I have closed the knowledge gap between my classmates and I.  Little did I know, my fieldwork eventually let me know something that I didn't know- my diagnosis of Asperger's.

 

Fieldwork was a struggle for me.  I anticipated some of it because I never really had seen what each OT setting was like before.  Moreover, I knew I was still trying to grasp what I was observing.  But, all my CI's from level 1 and my CI from my first level 2 all noticed one thing that I previously was not aware of- my difficulty of picking up people's social cues.  When I read that on my evaluations, I was like, "Huh?  I was really that bad at this?"

 

After my first 2 level 1 CI's gave me such comments, I came across a section about children with autism where I had to read for my pediatrics class.  When I finished the reading, my jaws dropped because my mind kept on recalling what I experienced in my elementary school days in Hong Kong.  To satisfy my curiosity, I took a few autism quotient tests online, which I was scored in the autistic range.  With all these "evidence" in hand, I began to wonder if I have autism.  But, my parents talked me out of it at the time because they thought that if I can be in the occupational therapy profession, I shouldn't have autism.

 

In summer 2010, I was excited to go to level 2 fieldwork like the rest of my classmates.  I thought I was doing well when I received a decent 4 week review (which is something all USC OT students will get at the 4-week mark for their fieldwork assignments).  However, the midterm review left me stunned.  Sure, I fell behind in documentations.  I also accidentally made a client angry.  Lastly, one of my CI's surprised me by role playing as a client in one of the groups I was supposed to lead, which caught me off guard.  Yet, when I saw my midterm score, I was shocked to see I was miles away from where I needed to be at the midway point.  On top of that, I saw the very same comment as my level 1's- poor ability to read clients' social cues.

 

Upon reading that midterm evaluation in early July 2010, I knew my chances of passing weren't good.  So, I made a painful decision to withdraw from my level 2 fieldwork, even though I know the consequences of doing so in this manner was considered a fail.  I sobbed as I told my parents of my decision.  Then, I continued saying, "I have seen comments like this way too many times despite trying very hard.  I need to know what is going on.  Now I have nothing to lose in trying to see if my hunches of having autism was right."

 

A few days after that discussion, I arranged to see the clinical psychologist for a screening.  30 minutes later, she followed through by giving me a referral for a neuropsychological testing, which I was able to arrange for one a week later.  Then, I awaited for the results, which I eventually learned the results on August 19, 2010.

I-balls and guard bugs...

I always forget to dot my i's. I realized today, the dot of an i is really an I-BALL! like an eyeball! Get it? So now I'm always like "don't forget your i-ball"....also, if the kid forgets their period, it's usually part of my attack game. I tell them don't forget your guard bug or the worms will eat your ENTIRE SENTENCE!!! etc etc. lol

I'm quite possibly the weirdest OT in the world :)

OTs Planning in Bed....

 

Oh my this picture is risque! While my social media group was preparing for Indiana conference, one time we all signed onto Google + for our meeting and three of us were in bed! (Me, Anita, and Erik). I think Cheryl would have been in bed if she wasn't so old school with her technology. :) LOVE it!!  This is why Virtual OT is awesome.

Googley eye...Eye bombing...OT style!

Eye bombing! The other day I finally found some adhesive sticker googley eyes. I was thrilled. I had been wanting to try "eye bombing" for a while! Where you go around adding googley eyes to things that look like faces. So I took some of my very concrete kids with autism who have perceptual difficulties and we walked around the elementary school campus looking for "faces" ie things that were not REALLY faces but had face-like features and once a child identified them (I did a lot of prompting) we would add eyes. We had principal's permission and they come off super easy. We did quite a few door locks and the kids LOVED it! :) Plus with each subsequent child, I guided them through showing them what the previous child had done, on a little "eye" tour, lol.....

Another thing I want to do is .... the PTA often ties ribbons for various events to the chain link fences...I want to have my kids do the same....like if we see red ribbons are up, we can add our own to work on tying, and they know they helped decorate the school! Again principal confirmed this would be okay. :)

I think both of these could be used with older kids or even in rehab settings....teaching what "eye bombing" meant to a creative/adventurous grown-up then walking around getting festive with googley eyes! :)

PS: When I told one of my favorite moms about the eye bombing, she was like, "so you're teaching my child how to grafitti? AWESOME!" and gave me a high five. AHAHAHAHA

To be fair, I did warn the kids they could only do this with an adult, with permission... ;)

Joyful Noise - Duet Poems

This is one of my FAVORITE things....unfortunately these are high level so really would only work for the hyper linguistic kids who read super advanced. But it's duet poems (sorry, picture is obviously sideways). One person reads one side, other person reads the other....sometimes one person is alone, other times other, other times both, etc. GREAT for autistic kids to have to kind of work together. LOVE it. Keep thinking in my spare time I'll work on making some easier duet poems.

Vision Therapy for an OT kid

I got to observe a child receiving vision therapy from a vision therapist....the child had to erase parts of the letters or add parts to make their name. I enjoyed watching the vision therapy.  A LOT of overlap with OT....

OT Ninjas

I saw this at PaperSource and want to do something similar one of these days with my OT kids.

Makeshift dungeon for OT kids

A makeshift jail/dungeon...kids were into it.  Good OT idea to have the kids try to put the rubber bands on themselves....hard to do.

OT monsters...

One of my awesome monsters in my OT collection that I buy at various toy stores:) Good one to try to draw/copy.

Meet Bill :) A soon to be OTD student with Asperger's

I had the pleasure of meeting Bill at the AOTA conference in Indiana. What a great guy. He agreed to do a three-part blog post on getting through OT school as a person with Asperger's :)

Part 1-

I am going to be a licensed occupational therapist in a few months.  I also have Asperger's almost two years ago.  From some people outside our profession, this might not make too much sense to them.  Occupational therapy (OT) is arguably considered as one of the most socially demanding professions.  Being an occupational therapist not only requires great social skills, but also ability to read his/her clients' social cues.  Yet, here I am as a person on the autism spectrum beating the odds and flourishing in this profession.  Not only am I close to getting my license, but I am also on top of the social scene in OT. 

After careful considerations, I decided to break this into a 3-part blog.  For this current part, it will talk about me up to the point I started OT school.

Per my mom's account, I met most of my developmental milestones during the infant/toddler stage in Hong Kong, my birthplace.  The only noticeable area of deficit was that I wasn't able to speak until I was around two and a half to three year old range.  Yet, through my mom's help, I was able to get into a decent kindergarten less than a 5-minute walk away from the first placed I lived in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.  (In Hong Kong, children typically spend 3 years in kindergarten from age 3-5.)

I didn't truly know about my fine motor skills because I was switched from a lefty to a righty in my early kindergarten days.  Meanwhile, I did enjoy playing with a kid who lived nearby during that time for play dates at a nearby field that has now become a practice field for local soccer teams.  We enjoyed playing with each other.  My social skills then were considered adequate.

However, I have a mild obsession with Hot Wheels like cars.  I can play with them for an hour or two at a time.  I also another obsession- keeping track of the numbers on the top of the trams passing by the porch near the place we live in Happy Valley.  My mom thought it was a little weird, as she took me to a pediatrician.  But, the pediatrician said that I wasn't on the autism spectrum.

After my kindergarten years, my academic development and social development seemed to have gone their separate ways.  Academically, I have performed at least average in academic subjects.  Math had become my standout subject after I started 3^rd grade.  Sure, I had to spend 3 years to play catch up in regards to mastering English when my family and I immigrated to the states when I was in 6^th grade.  But, after I was mainstreamed in 9^th grade for English, I continued to be a good, but not great academically in high school. 

Undergrad was my first experiences of struggle academically.  It was tough for me for several reasons.  First, I was completely on my own with my studies, particularly in Statistics, as my parents no longer could help me in trying to help me understand what I was studying when I was unable to solve some problems.  Second, I didn't know that I would be in for theoretical and abstract math when I picked Math (and later switched to Statistics) as my undergrad major, which I struggled mightily because I couldn't get a grasp of the concepts I was learning.  Lastly, seeing everyone else also struggled (albeit to a little lesser degree) made it a very unpleasant experience even though my undergrad GPA might have suggested a different story.

Socially, however, was a major struggle during most of these times.  I was constantly picked on for my arts and crafts projects when I was in elementary school in Hong Kong, and the D's and F's I received for them made matters a lot worse.  Then, when I started middle school in the states, girls were freaked out when they had to touch my hands that can get sweaty without warning (which they had to during a dance elective in 6^th grade).  These two traumas significantly affected my social confidence, especially when I got to know someone for the first time.  I also became extra cautious in making friends because I didn't want to get hurt again emotionally.

In terms of autistic traits, my play skills were subpar during my elementary school and middle school days in Hong Kong.  But, the fact that my social confidence was shattered can be considered as an "interaction factor".  Meanwhile, my eye contact only became an issue when I had to do assignments that require public speaking.  However, because of my academic success, none of the teachers I had until I started college made much of an issue about the possibility of me having autism.

In my college days, I had become content of my own company.  I never minded getting around school by myself.  I also generally preferred engaging in solitary occupations, as practicing piano has become my go-to occupation when I wasn't studying for school.

Another seemingly autistic trait is that I rarely make telephone calls with anyone.  When email became a popular mode of communication, I used email to communicate in situations I would have called personally.  My "rationale" for this was that I could make sure I said what I wanted to say in emails, where I might have left things out if I spoke on the phone.

Lastly, I was known as a competitor and my nickname since high school was the "human calculator".  In college, I found no limit texas hold'em.  As soon as my dorm mates introduced the game to me, I have become obsessed of that poker game.  After all, I know I can have an unfair advantage when I play the game with my math skills.  Moreover, because of my love to compete, I always tried to learn the latest strategies.  At a high point, I can be seen honing my poker skills via playing play money poker tournaments 3-4 hours a day on top of the home games with my dorm mates for at least another 6 hours (if there is a poker tournament that day).

Yet, unbeknownst to my family, the people around me, and myself, autism was still the last thing on anyone's mind.  In fact, I just perceived myself as an introvert who was capable of holding a decent conversation.  After all, the occupations I primarily engage in seemed to be normal in society.  In fact, Chris Moneymaker's win at the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003 actually "normalized" my obsession for poker.

To be continued....

Tower Bunnies disguised in finger puppets....OT wackiness

We were "disguising' the bunnies in the finger puppets.... "Hey TIGER! Why are you eating a carrot?! Are you a vegetarian now? This seems awfully fishy....HEY! You aren't a tiger!! You're a BUNNY disguised as a tiger!! You're going to jail, Mister!!!" etc

my icky face :)

Kids like me because I end up with faces like this a lot! In this case I was trying dried seaweed....

Fine Motor Coordination Ideas for Children in OT for the Summer

This is like a 3 page word document but I don't know how to link it as a document, so alas, you have to deal with it in copy/pasted form. I shared a version of this a few months ago, but now it's been updated. So far the teachers I have presented this to (with all the activities in front of them to try) have loved this. I recommend sharing a version of this next fall with your K, 1, and 2 teachers....at the very least, to build awareness.

Occupational Therapy: Ideas for Fine Motor Centers and More!

http://pinterest.com/funkist/ot-ideas    < -- start here for tons of fine motor craft ideas I have found that are great for young children and easy to implement

The following are things to work on to help children improve their fine motor coordination and strength, which can help their handwriting, and please note many of these activities could fall under MANY categories.

·      Precision (carefully manipulating tiny objects)

o   Cut up straws, then bead onto pipe cleaners

o   Beading onto pipe cleaners or tiny strings, or through colanders

o   Placing marbles on top of golf tees that the child has stuck into Styrofoam

o   Place beads/items on skewers placed in Styrofoam in various directions

o   Stack very small blocks

o   Match a bead pattern on a skewer to another skewer (on Styrofoam)

o   "Tight rope" – have them place small items on thick taut band that has been wrapped around a box, and/or have them hold a popsicle stick in the air in one hand, and place tiny objects

o   Folding paper, ie very basic origami

·      Tripod grasp (holding items with 3 fingers, not all five)

o   Clothespins [wolves] and cotton balls [sheep] game

o   Any type of tweezers or tongs, picking up objects and transferring them [I use ice cube trays]. Ensure only using 3 fingers by giving them something to hold curled up in their last two fingers if necessary.

o   Push pins and corkboard – with supervision

·      Open web space  ("OK" sign) – look at thumb to index finger

o   Making the OK sign, pulling the OK sign apart, finger exercises

o   Picking up tiny objects using small eraser ends (those little rubber erasers you can put on the end of pencils – using those as tiny tongs!)

·      Strengthening of hands, upper arms/extremities  (strong core/arms helps with fine motor coordination)

o   Arms: Do a lot of "crawling" or "animal walks", weight-bearing into arms, while moving from center to center or during physical education

o   Arms: Wheelbarrow walks

o   Squeeze stress balls

o   Use play-doh to roll out logs, circles, squish thin on table, etc. Also remember they love "adult" tools – cheap 50 cent putty "knives" [make sure they aren't sharp!] at hardware store, etc

o   Stamping – make it harder by having them repeat a pattern of some sort, and or stamping into a small area for precision

o   Turkey basters/eye droppers for water to "wash" things or to melt colors etc on coffee filters

o   Tear out of a piece of an old phone book, crumble up the paper in ONE HAND with the hand in the air, then throw to "hungry shark" aka recycle bin

o   Rip paper into wading pool or tray

o   Use "tennis ball heads" (tennis balls that you put a "mouth" aka a gash on – (be REALLY careful when cutting it! I use a clamp!) Then squeeze their sides to open their mouth to feed them, then – the popular part - make them throw up. Small sizes from pet stores best for smaller hands.

o   Wrap rubber bands, or hair bands, around boxes or containers

o   Geoforms – pegboards where you stretch rubber bands to make shapes or letters

o   Place golf tees into left-over Styrofoam

·      Manipulating a pencil   (Twirling it in dominant hand, "walking" fingers from tip to eraser and back, and turning it over to erase using only one hand.)

o   Practice ERASING. Kids struggle with the act of turning over the pencil with one hand to erase (they either put it down and pick it back up, or use their chest, or other hand, etc) – Practice this move but also practice the act of erasure itself. IE draw a line, flip over pencil, erase. TEACH how to erase. A lot of kids don't do it very well and need guidance.

·      Shifting items within hands  (picking up tiny items, placing into hand, then picking up the next item, etc, with 1 hand only) – I call it "squirreling", ie storing nuts in a cheek – storing items in part of the palm)

o   Coins for piggy bank or tiny items into ice cube trays

·      Isolating fingers on command (ie show me your index finger, show me your ring finger, etc)

o   Make each finger "bow" or place fingers flat on desk, lift one at a time

o   Put a smiley face or drawing in a laundry detergent cap or on a tennis ball, then have the child use just the fingers of one hand to rotate the "face" around.

·      Directionality (up, down above, beside, etc) and lefts/rights

o   Incorporate "I Spy" and scanning games where child has to look for items by directions, ie "Look below the X"

o   Consider placing a small L and R on the children's desks or on their hands each day with water-soluble nontoxic markers.

o   When walking places around campus, stop at turns and ask them which way to turn.

o   Great game called Left, Center, Right, for about 7 dollars you can buy at many toy stores or Target/Wal-Mart etc

·      Visual motor (using their eyes with their hands more so than in some other tasks)

o   Bendaroos/WikiStix – they can work on copying a design or writing own name or spelling words

o   Stacking up cubes of different colors/sizes then have child copy design

o   Marble/cup game, rolling across a table

o   Lacing & buttoning – big buttons are easier. Big laces too.

o   Sign language alphabet

o   Sort cards by suite

o   Balloon tapping – blow a few up, have the children keep in the air without touching ground as long as possible

·      Proprioception/tactile – knowing what their hands are doing/feeling without looking

o   Hiding objects in a bag or box game, figuring out what it is/manipulating it without looking. Start with easy discrimination such as long skinny cylinder versus fat round ball, then make more difficult as child has success

o   Moving or isolating their fingers with eyes closed

·      Cutting

o   Consider different types of scissors for struggling kids (scissors requiring less fine motor skills – ask an OT)

o   Start with snipping, cutting straws, and business cards and manila envelopes

·      Notes for older kids, ie 2^nd grade:

o   Make sure – don't assume – they can manipulate their pencil accurately and erase accurately as well. Watch them.

o   Shoe tying: If they still haven't gotten this down – try having their laces in a single shoe be two different colors, ie neon blue on left side of one shoe, yellow on other side, so that when tying they can clearly see distinction between the two laces, ie "put the blue lace over the yellow", etc.

o   Desk Organization: TEACH this skill, ie "hard" books on one side, "soft" books on the other, small items in a basket, etc. No assumptions they know how to organize.

o   Office Supplies: Expose them to rubber bands, paper clips, hole punching, staples, tape, placing numbered or categorized papers into certain folders (ie papers with MATH on top go in Math folder – make sure they know how to actually put the piece of paper in properly).

o   Fidgets: A pipe cleaner on their pencil, a piece of yarn or two, can make a good fidget for a child who needs to play with their hands while listening.

Some pieces of advice?

1.     LOTS of gross motor time – play outside, dig for worms, run around screaming, swing, go to the playground, whatever.

2.     Limit screen time and pull out lots of crafts. I guarantee you they will ultimately benefit more from interaction in the 3-D world than ANY educational screen time. See pinterest account up top for tons of fun ideas. Maybe let the kid pick from the pictures!

3.     Don't assume a child knows how to do anything (most especially when working with children with special needs). TEACH the skill – erasures, pencil manipulation, desk organization, folder organization, cutting tricks, etc.

4.     Oh yeah. Safety comes first. Don't let kids swallow stuff, or stab themselves or each other, blah blah blah – supervise your children and ensure the activities are safe for their age and/or developmental level.

Contact me at otstudents.blogspot.com or karen.dobyns *** at *** gmail.com  with questions. Thanks!

Final note: Yes, many of these activities would be great for people working on their fine motor skills for ANY reason, including adults after a stroke!

 

 

 

 

 

An intriguing OT oddity

This is one of those weird things that has been oddly popular. It started out as a child making a swing by threading the pipe cleaner through one of my pencil grips. Then a cocktail sword got added in but got half-bent off. But my kids LOVE this thing??? They ask for it. They consider it one of my monsters. I have tons of finger monsters the kids always want to use, but they will seek this one out, and some of my kids like to hold it in their non-dominant hand while they write with their other hand. It's one of those things that is super bizarre. I am intrigued.

Wrapping up

I just finished my final day of my first full school year as a school OT, since I started in April 2011. I have all sorts of ideas/plans/thoughts on how to do things differently next year, seeing as how hindsight is 20/20, right? Technically there is one week left of school, but I have to go early for a special event in Scandinavia! I have been working many, many, many hours at night trying to catch up on all the documentation. I got behind and never caught up on the redundant system. IE I have it in one area, but never spent time to do it in the redundant area (grrr) so now I am paying for that.

Some of the things I want to do differently I TALKED about last summer but never implemented, either because of time or fatigue or blah blah blah. I did learn SO much this year, a phenomenal amount, but of course I have so much more to know/learn. I have so many resources I want to examine closely this summer! It's all scaffolding - it's like I look at things and can't memorize them yet because too much scaffolding isn't there, but eventually can go back and it makes more sense/is easier to memorize because the data has gotten filled in with experience/time etc.

Some of my goals for next year....
1. Try not to schedule kids during times of day that I know I am typically dragging, if at all possible, lol. Save that for paperwork/other things.
2. Try to be better about tabulating minutes I'm spending on e-mails or in quick convos, as they add up...
3. Provide more homework.
4. Do all my documentation DAILY in ALL redundant spots.
5. Put together my "go to" items, print or copy a bunch of them, and save them all in one organized spot, rather than constantly re-searching for stuff.
6. Start the year with every single one of my kids, based on their cognitive level, knowing exactly my name, my title, what OT is, why they are coming to OT, and what their goals are, and making sure I have phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all parents.
7. Printing out all goals in a format that lets me write directly on that piece of paper on their progress, and trying to divide up my sessions into always specifically addressing a goal for part of it, and then another part of it working on skills that address that goal. IE if the goal is board copying....specifically spend a few mins COPYING from the board, but then another few minutes doing visual motor tasks, near/far tasks, etc, that are foundational.
8. Work on rewards that are more sticker based or "time" based rather than candy....and ideally try to use my psych background to figure out ways to fade extrinsic rewards into more intrinsic rewards....
9. Have children who are working on handwriting repeat an identical 1-2 sentences every month and keep it carefully filed so each month we can compare progress.
10. Continue trying to incorporate more academics into each session,and not be a "clinic" OT in a school. I've come a long way in that arena, but can keep going.
11. Collaborate more with teachers to ensure more carryover and allow the teacher to feel more vested in OT time.
12. Try to push into the classroom rather than pull out as often as possible
13. Do workshops for K, 1, 2, for each of my four schools...have done one school and got great feedback...we also did instructional assistants for the district....
14.....uhhh
I have been working SO much on this paperwork......I really wanted to be done by tonight but alas, I have one more school to go, paperwork wise. Tomorrow I am doing a hike with some speech coworkers and lunch, then nails done for the trip, then some shopping for the trip, and then back to work!! I also need to organize all my toys!! I am a toy monster. Today I was sitting in a conference room and thank goodness we have a lazy janitor, as I spotted one of my mini figurines on the floor in front of me!! Yay!  (Sometimes I work in there with kids if all other rooms are taken)
I am um, obviously, just rambling. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I am super glad to go on this trip, although part of me wishes I had more time before I left to work on getting affairs in order, but when I get back I hope to get on the OT bandwagon and get lots of work done to help start off the school year better. And hey robbers, other people live here, so me going on a trip means nothing. Just sayin'.

Ok my battery is dying. Good night....

Visual perceptual and/or motor challenges...

This is a kid with pretty significant difficulties in the sense that when I asked him to draw a banana, this is what he drew, and thought it looked great. The wiggles aren't due to lack of coordination, just how he chose to do that.....

A great "spider " game for OT

Can't remember if I posted this. You start at one side and have to get through to other side by wiggling or moving, without touching anything. The referee is the spider who calls you out if you touch anything. Another great game for encouraging each other (be careful! watch out!) etc ....and of course the motor planning aspect.

Angry Birds on Thin Ice

Angry Birds on Thin Ice...having to build the structure just like it does on the card. Can be a little challenging. Worst part was we kept jiggling the table...so guess it's a good exercise for the visual system AND the frustration system ;)

Eye bombing for OT

I recently did this with my kids around campus.
http://eyebombing.com/

Insert meaning here.

I recently had a kid who needs to work on strengthening in extensor positions, ie if he holds his arms out straight in front of him like a zombie and I push gently, gently down on his arms, they fold up immediately. No strength. When I just had him do it over air....nothing. But when I told him my co-worker who happened to be near me, was an evil monster with burning skin that would burn him if he touched it, and then had her put her arms out, he had to put his arms over hers (about a foot higher)  and i tried to press down....THEN he could resist against me so he wouldn't touch the evil monster burny skin :) (Obviously he knew it was a game, I didn't traumatize him for life).... It's all about the story!!! It has to have a meaning....and for little ones, the meaning is usually in the form of a game. :)

PS - There is no rhyme or reason to the next few weeks of scheduled postings....totally miscellaneous. Whatever i felt like. Just finished writing up some big reports - the possum in my bedroom kinda distracted me a while so now it's past 1am and I have to be up at 6am for another busy, busy day. Better try to get some sleep.

PS2 - I just discovered Draw Something (app on iphone) and I loooooooooove it. I'm a little slow to join the crowd sometimes but hey I get there eventually.

PS3: I think I mentioned this but I plan to get through emails/comments while I have a day or so in Alabama alone.

PS4: AOTA CONFERENCE IS IN SAN DIEGO NEXT YEAR WHICH MEANS PARTY AT MY HOUSE WHICH MEANS IF YOU READ THIS BLOG (and uh, you are an OT or OT student), YOU BETTER COME TO SAN DIEGO NEXT APRIL OR I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU AND I MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAD A LOT OF COFFEE EARLIER TODAY

This possum is in my bedroom and now hiding under my dresser. I have meetings in morning. Must focus on work 

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

DTVP-2 work :)

One of my little guys working on the DTVP-2 for an initial OT evaluation....he can't lift his hand up once he starts and can start either way. We need to work on his grip! At least he is stabilizing!

The Developmental Test of Visual Perception-2 has 8 parts to it. Four of them are visual motor, and four of them are visual perceptual. You alternate, so Test 1, 3, 5, and 7 involve a pencil and a paper booklet while 2, 4, 6, and 8 are from a book and the child just points. It includes staying within lines, copying forms, copying grids, and one timed test for the visual motor parts. For the visual perceptual parts the child is usually pointing to an answer and each test has roughly 20 questions (it varies slightly). Each test has a point where you can stop if the child is consistently missing. I know my kids almost always do worst on the visual closure subtest, and frankly, I find it challenging as well. There is ONE subtest that I really hate scoring, a visual perceptual one, because sometimes there is like five answers for a single question, and you have to keep track of it all.  Other than that particular subtest, I feel it's relatively easy to give/score. 

My BIGGEST professional issue....

Every time one of my OT kids says "Guess what?" I DESPERATELY want to say "Chicken Butt!!"

:)

Random OT update

 
This picture is of me holding a beloved sloth in Peru or Brazil or Colombia on an island off the Amazon River in the Amazon Jungle, the fall before I started this job. I am about to finish my first full school year! :)

I changed the title of my blog because I honestly could never remember the title of it, plus the parentheses were a pain. Anybody have any thoughts on the matter? Because we know it's as important as world peace....No? Okay moving on....this is going to be my random update.

I have five days of work left (would be 10 more, but I'm leaving early for a special trip). In that five days, I have about 10 days of work left, including SIX IEP meetings, one of which is an initial, two are triennials, and four are annuals. Two of those meetings promise to be quite....invigorating, shall I say. I'm also going to try to see ALL my kids one last time, if at all possible, even if just for a few minutes, to check on their goals for final progress reports and to say good bye to my little ones!! ANYWAY besides basic work I have to catch up on all documentation/logs for the year, close up everything, blah blah blah - busy busy busy week. And prep for the trip! Luckily I have next weekend to pack, finish shopping, etc.

So since I do have SO MUCH WORK TO DO, I've decided to blog. AHAHAHAA. My classic procrastination tool. But I also feel like this blog is part of my professional identity, even if it is quirky, so I feel like in a way, it is my job, but in a good way. But since I'm going to be abroad for a month, I am scheduling posts for while I am away. Most of them are short, one picture, one caption posts - all my serious ones will have to wait! I may bring the serious stuff with me to Alabama for before/after the trip, to try and do while my friends are at work.

Hey Cookie boy - you will get your cookies soon, I haven't forgotten.

Miss Awesomeness - OT branding

 

I don't know if all y'all have noticed that the blog now links to missawesomeness.com....not sure if that affects your RSS feeds or not. I eventually want to try to build up missawesomeness with products etc as I have lots of inventions....just haven't gotten them all the way to production yet. It's part of my future though, LOL. My talented friend Kellie of fuelhaus.com (branding company) designed this logo for me....she was showing me its rough draft hence the little eyedropper tool in there....I love it. :) I want to maybe have Abilitations sell my inventions, but I'm concerned about the future as eventually I'd love to host my own products and perhaps those of TherapyFunZone.com! Tonya of that site is my online OT website mentor as she gets tons more page views than I do....although I'm getting up there. I think last month I had almost 10,000 page views! :)  And I'm finally over the 300,000 mark! Of course it took me 5 years to get there, haha. Oops off on the tangent. Back to Miss A....

I have a lot of kids who either call me Miss Awesome or Miss Awesomeness...they remember it way better than Miss Karen...and a lot of their parents and/or teachers call me that too. The other day though I was frantically loading stuff into my car because I was acidentally blocking end of day traffic (long story, I would NEVER do that normally, I think it's evil) anyway - I finally realized a kid was saying "Miss Awesome" to me repeatedly and turned around and he was just wanting to say hi. I was like awww lol. And when I walk into this one classroom for my kid all the other kids say in a chorus "Good morning Miss Awesome" AHAHAHAHA....

Of course plenty more call me Miss Karen and there are many many times in which I am NOT miss awesome. Like on Thursday morning when I was on day 2 of a juice cleanse that I was doing with a few co-workers. Man, I'm a pretty nice person, but it's a good thing I didn't have access to weapons that morning!! Sugar withdrawal = headache = not a nice person. Just kidding, kind of. I was still appropriate but internally, whooie.

Typingweb.com for OT - free accounts

Typingweb.com - thanks Cheryl for the tip :) Can be a little perceptually c

Crazy eye make up...help kids with autism look you in the eye :)

I'm a fan of crazy eye make up! Lately I've been tired/stressed so not so much, but I do try to wear wacky eye makeup, my kids love it and will look me in the eye :) One time one of my kids hated the ugly yellow I was wearing that day (a mistake I didn't have time to remove) and it was hysterical. A good way to get children with autism to look you in the eye. If I don't wear sparkles, sometimes my kids (typically little boys!) will ask forlornly, "no sparkles?" awww