Sleepover wid da big gals

SO FUN

Linking to Blogs of interest and engaging in comments

From using google reader and searching through blogs of interest I have found many blogs of relevance to the occuaptional therpay practise including,  Assistive technology, Smitten Kitchen, Making a house a home, according to me and moving culture.

One blog I took particular interest in was a blog related to assisstive technology. It discussed how assisstive technology is used within occuaptional therapy and its uses amoungst clincal practise.

I posted a comment asking "Hi Madison ,whats one way the photo album would assist people with physical and intellectual disabilites? You seem to have a really informative and indepth understanding of this technology?" and she replied with "Well Jennifer. Thanks for following my blogs. One way it can assist the users that you mentioned is it allows those who are non verbal to commuinicate in a new way"

Online Communities - Depression

For this tutorial I will discuss three online communities which are related to Depression. Therapists are able to encourage and recommend clients to seek these online communities to help guide the client if they want to find out more ways of coping, and knowledge on Depression aswell as ways to manage depression.  Social networking can benefit people in finding supports in online communities; this is especially true for youth who have unique interests or feel isolated. Online communities can encourage youth to find others who are may be dealing with similar issues. The following online communities can enable the good mental health of young people who are vulnerable or marginalised and can facilitate good mental health for young people experiencing mental health problems. (The Benefits of Social Networking, 2012).

Three online communities which I have found in relation to depression are; depression helpline, The low down and SAVE; Youth Depression.

Depression Helpline

The depression helpline is ran by the face of John Kirwan, a well-known ex All Black. He discusses the methods of getting through ways of depression and asks you questions on your current state of mind, once you answer a questionnaire he gives you ways of getting help and walks you through some coping mechanisms. One of the main purposes of this site is to help people with depression understand that it is okay to get help, and that help is available. It provides education on depression awareness, information and support. This community discusses the causes, provides an 0800 helpline and contacts which could help you if you ever need someone to talk too.

This community can be found at http://www.depression.org.nz

The Low down.

The purpose of the low down online community is to help young kiwis understand and deal with depression. This site is run by “Navigators” which navigate you and take you through the website. The navigators are Sonia Grey - TV Presenter, Dave Gibson - Singer, Jane Yee - TV Presenter and Awa – Singer . Navigators can tell you of their stories and you are able to listen to others. The site is very interactive in that you are able to chat, listen to music, and participate in polls.

This website can be found at http://www.thelowdown.co.nz

SAVE; Youth Depression

SAVE is an awareness website which addresses youth with depression which may be having other mental health problems. It addresses that suicidal children and adolescents have clinical depression alone or in conjunction with another mental illness like anxiety disorder, attention deficit disorder, bipolar illness (manic depression), or child-onset schizophrenia. It recognizes that through treating children they can improve the chances a young person with depression can live a longer, healthier, more quality life. This website has many of the symptoms to look out for under the sub headings of verbal cues, behavioural cues, high risk children, childs attempt at suicide behaviour and treatment, what to do, and how to get help. It has a tool bar down the side which has many options from how to cope with loss, new and events and a “lets talk about it program”. It also provides a depression checklist, a newsletter sign up and a helpline.

This community can be found at http://www.save.org

People have the options of contributing to each of the online communities. This is evident through chat rooms, music, quizzes, polls, and donations to the organisations. People may want to contribute for many reasons. Sharing their own stories, to be a part of a community, seek help for themselves or a peer, discover ways of coping and supporting these networks. Information is shared both ways, as the communities provide information as well as allowing the user to participate through chat rooms or story entries. All three of these communities address and can relate to the concept of occupational justice which refers “to that aspect of social justice that pertains to human occupation or the lack of opportunity thereof”. The sites provide for users’ needs and allow users to fully occupy within the webpage to express there, feelings, needs and queries through discussion, online chat forums and helplines. Another concpet these communities relate to is that of Occupational transition. Occupational transition is 'the changes to occupational engagement as a result of changes in daily life' (Christiansen & Townsend, 2010). Through these online communities each community aims to provide the user with ways to cope, manage and get through depression. The sites aim to help provide tips and mechanisms as an effective tool to encourage positive participation in occupations to ultimately improve mental health.

References

Christiansen, C.H., & Townsend, E.A. (2010). Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. (2^nd Eds.). New Jersey: Pearson.

Depression. (2012). Get through it. Retrieved from http://www.depression.org.nz/?gclid=CMLFq5_JhLACFfBSpgodvEFtjQ

New Zealand Government. (2012). The low down. Retrieved from           http://www.thelowdown.co.nz/#/home/

Save. (2012). Youth Depression. Retrieved from http://www.save.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=7059F90B-018E-  8AE4-   A6C45D036A17D4F4

The Benefits of social Networking. (2012). Services. Retrieved from http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved

Web definitions. (2012). Occupational Justice. Retrieved from  https://www.google.co.nz/#hl=en&q=occupational+justice&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=

Cooking as a part of my experience in feildwork one.

The following five youtube videos are relative to my placement in that cooking was a tool used to help the clients interact. My placement was in a commuinity adult intellectual disability day program, which emphasised the importance of group actvity. This was done in a weekly timetable of various activites in which the service users were able to choose which occupations they participated in. This was my longitudinal placement meaning I came 1 day a week for 13 weeks, for 3-4 hours at a time. One of the activites I often took part in and sometimes ran was cooking. The following videos I have chosen are representative of the many aspects important in cooking. Involving healthy food choices, social interaction, teamwork, and extreme food prepration!







APA Refrencing
Youtube. (2012). Cake Boss. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/embed/uzDxEw3owz4
Youtube. (2012). Cooking with kids. Retreived from. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qtCjs4RNoM
Youtube. (2012). New Zealands Fastest Master Chef. Retreieved from http://www.youtube.com/embed/1ztqR2ohaF8
Youtube. (2012). Smart Kitchen - Supporting Persons with special needs. Retreieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3nm4xM1CIo
Youtube. (2012). Top 5 Brain Health Foods. Retreived from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDeLf93JXoY

Video Production; Occupational Transition

Our group was assigned the task to create a film which represented the theme of "Occupatioanl transition". We began with assigning the group allocated tasks including story borders, directors, actors and a camera man. The group consisted of six occupational therapy students , Victoria, Sarah, Rachel, Madison, Charlotte and I.

The concept of occupational transition we thought would be appropriatly represented through an individual growing up and going through all the transitions of life stages. Starting from kindergarten - the common occupation of a young child to an elderly person, drinking tea and knitting. We began planning our film through a story board. We had no script to capture the essence of the film and also lead the film to be interpreted by the viewer. The film had to be one minute long which aided us in only filming relevant footage which would really capture the essence of occupational transition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9iyPFY7DIc&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMLV409Sbdw

Assistive Technology blog

Assistive or Adaptive Technology commonly refers to "...products, devices or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities..."( Rehab tool, 2012). To me, assistive technology are products which help enable people with disabilities to accomplish communication,  education, daily living tasks. Assistive technology can enhance independence and enhance their quality of life. They can help improve anything form physical or mental functioning to help improve a persons capacity to learn. (Rehab tool, 2012).

One piece of assistive technology introduced to me in a tutorial was A “Talking photo album”.  This photo album was primarily used in a school for youth with physical and mental disabilities. The size of the photo album was A5, but opens up to about A4 size. It costs around $50.00 from Jaycar but can be ordered offline from overseas for over $100.00. The function of the photo album was to document and communication between school and home. The service user would speak into a small voice recorder on each page of the album and would have a photo as visual evidence of what they did that day. They would then take it home and give it to their parents as a way of keeping a diary of significant things they did that day, and that week. The photo album had up to 100 minutes of recording had 20 double sided pages with built in speakers, and a removable SD card which transfers recordings to a PC.  

The videos I have posted describe ways people can use a video diary and how it can benefit the user. This equipment relates to occupational justice. Occupational Justice is a “term credited to Wilcock referring to that aspect of social justice that pertains to human occupation or the lack of opportunity thereof.”(Pearson Eduction, 2006.)  This photo diary is occupational justice in that it is allowing opportunities for the user to have social interaction with others, and document activities meaningful to them.

References

Pearson Education, (2006). Occupational Justice Retrieved from www. [11]wps.prenhall.com/chet_christiansen_introoccup_1/7/2018/5167

Rehab tool. (2012). What is assistive technology. Retrieved from http://www.rehabtool.com/forum/discussions/1.html

YouTube. (2012). Talking photo album. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWWHpINM-AI

Youtube. (2012). Talking Albums for Education by Talking Products . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9iyPFY7DIc&feature=relmfu