Graduation of 2008

Here are pictures from the graduation of MOT 2008 that was held at George R. Brown Convention Center on December 14, 2008.
Congratulations to you all!!!

This Year, Make Resolutions Research Shows You Can Keep

This is a link to a social media release from the American Occupational Therapy Association for new year's resolution. To read, please click the logo above.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party 2008

On December 11th, we gathered to celebrate the last day of final exam in some ugly/funny/stylish/great/green(as in environmentally friendly)/wonderful sweaters.
Leslie and Jeremy, her fiancee, were winners of the night, and Caroline and Lindsy took the second place. Have a great winter break!!!

Training for the half marathon in January

Several of our classmates continue to train for the Houston half marathon, to be held Sunday, January 18, 2009 (two days before spring classes begin). The picture is from their Sunday training at Memorial Park on December 7th. Good luck to all our runners as they keep up the good work & hard training through the holiday season! Make plans to support your classmates on race day! Amy, Katie, Kristen E., Kristen B, Kendra, Edie, Christine H., Sergio, Caroline, Veronica, Theresa, Andrea, Lacey, & Dr. Rydin.

Nutcracker Ballet

Here are pictures from the Nutcracker Ballet On December 6th.
It looks like they all had a great time.

Muilenburg Prosthetics and Orthotics Visit

On December 5th, we visited Muilenburg Prosthetics and Orthotics to learn the manufacturing process. We thank Mr. Muilenburg, the staff, and the clients for sharing their valuable time and knowledge with us.

Canned Food Drive

As you all know by now, we've won the canned food drive. Thank you all for your generous donations.
SGA will sponsor a breakfast for ALL of the occupational therapy students on Wednesday, December 10th, from 8:00-9:00am in the Legacy Room on the 8th floor.

Bake Sale

There was a bake sale on December 3rd. Many thanks to everyone for participating.
We raised more than $100.00. Way to go, everybody!!!

Last SOTA General Meeting of the Semester

Here are pictures from the last general meeting of the semester.
During the meeting, hot chocolate was offered, and we made a gingerbread tree to donate to the student life office. Deb was almost in tears as she received it.
Thank you, Veronica, for taking all the pictures.

Dr. Bowman's Party

On December 1st, Dr. Bowman invited us to her house for a delicious chili dinner.
We were greeted with lavish Christmas decorations, and we all enjoyed her hospitality.
We appreciate Dr. Bowman's generosity.

Last SOTA Officer Meeting of the Semester

The last officer meeting of the semester was held on Nov. 25th. We looked back at what we have accomplished and discussed what's ahead of us in the coming semester.
Great job, officers!!!

TOTA Conference 2008

Here are pictures from the TOTA Conference in Austin.
Thank you, Veronica, for taking all the pictures.

Assistive Technology Guest Speaker

Suzanne Andrews from TIRR spoke to us about prosthetic options and rehabilitation.

Game for myoelectric site testing

Oh Betsy, that's not how you do it. Be cool.

Look how cool I am.

NOT!!!

PNF

Rhythmic Initiation


Slow Reversal


Rhythmic Stablization


Contract/Relax


Hold/Relax


Slow Reversal - hold/relax


Rhythmic Rotation

Social after Midterm

After midterm, we needed some "chillax" time, and we got it.
Thank you, Devin, for sharing the wonderful pictures with us.

NDT

Scapular Mobilization


Weight Bearing


Trunk Rotation


Trunk Rotation


Scapular Protraction


Scapular Protraction


Scooting Forward in Sitting


Scooting Forward in Sitting


Scooting Backward in Sitting


Scooting Forward and Backward in Sitting


Position Pelvis Forward 1


Position Pelvis Forward 2


Position Pelvis Forward


Facilitate Thoracic Extension


Facilitation of Anterior Pelvic Tilt


Facilitation of Anterior Pelvic Tilt


Facilitation of Sit to Stand from Side


Facilitation of Sit to Stand from Side


Facilitation of Sit to Stand from the Front


Facilitation of Lateral Weight Shift


Facilitation of Lateral Weight Shift


Metacarpal Mobilization


Carpal Mobilization and Wrist Mobilization

Brunnstorm Lab - Movement Therapy (Thursday Section)

"Rowing"


Releasing Spastic Finger Flexors


Facilitate Grasp with Wrist Extension

BODY WORLDS 2 & The Brain

Nine of us and Dr. Smith went to the Body Worlds 2 exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on November 7th. It was an awesome experience, and we missed you all who couldn't make it, but you can catch it until February 22, 2009.

Chipotle Fundraiser

On November 4th, Chipotle burrito and chips & salsa sale took place to raise money for the SOTA, which was a big success. We would like to thank Chipotle for their generous donations.

Brunnstorm Lab - Movement Therapy

Forward Flexion and Forward Flexion in Oblique Movement


Resisted Lateral Neck Flexion
Bilateral Shoulder Elevation and Associated Reaction


"Rowing" Elbow Extension and Wrist Extention


Grasp with Wrist Extension


Releasing Spastic Finger Flexors

Facilitory Techniques - Proprioceptive

Heavy Joint Compression


Quick Light Stretch


Tapping


Pressure on Muscle Belly

Facilitory Techniques - Cutaneous

"A" Icing


"C" Icing


Light Stroking

SOTA Guest Speaker: Dr. Jackie Low

On October 14th, Dr. Low spoke to us about the AOTA National Conference and Expo that will be held in Houston next April. She talked about the importance of attending the conference and the need for volunteers and how to become one.

People Power Committee Co-Chairs:

Margarette Shelton, PhD, OTR

Teri Powers, MA, OTR

Sophie Rydin, PhD, OTR

Occupational Therapy: helping clients get back to life

This is an article that gives a good overview of occupational therapy.
To read, please click the picture above.

Art therapy: Lance's story

Teresa Law, an occupational therapist, helped Mr. Tucker to find joy through art.
To read this article, please click the picture above.

Tai chi movement gains traction in Juneau

This is a story of an occupational therapist who introduces OT's slogan, "living life to its fullest," and teaches Tai Chi class to help people achieve that. To read, please click on the picture above.

Splint Class

The first splinting section of the class was concluded today. 

Now, we are proud splint makers.

OT/PT Social

OT and PT students had a social lunch. We have seen each other in the hall ways often but never had a chance to get to know each other. As you can see in the pictures, everyone seemed to have a great time. We thank Veronica (the SOTA) for initiating and organizing the event, PTs for preparing the fun games, and the SGA for providing lunch for us. We hope this is the beginning of a lasting camaraderie between OTs and PTs.

Finished Quilts and the World's Teacher's Day

The Quilts that we started in PTO during the first semester have been finished by Mr. Davidson. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson presented them to us on Monday. They are to be donated to a place of our choice, but it has not been decided yet. We really appreciate Mr. and Mrs. Davidson's hard work on the great looking quilts.

October 5th was the World's Teacher's Day, and presenting flowers to the faculty was decided during the SOTA officer meeting. Veronica took care of getting the flowers and delivering them. Mrs. Davidson is wearing the flower in the picture. Thank you Veronica for your beautiful work.

National Custodial Worker's Day

As Lacey mentioned during the SOTA general meeting, officers sent a thank you card to the custodians in TWU for the National Custodial Worker's Day. Deb told Lacey the custodians are exited that we took note of what they do and that we appreciate them. The pictures above are the card that we sent posted on the board of their break room. Let's keep up the good work.

Komen Race for the Cure

Here are pictures from the Komen Race for the Cure. There were 30,000 participants this year, and 80 of them were from TWU, which made us win the Largest Collegiate Team Award.
Thank you everyone for participating.

OTs make valuable contribution to treatment of osteoarthritis

The title says it all. To read this article, please click the picture above.

MOT1: 1st wellness presentation

Here's a lovely picture of MOT Is after their first wellness presentation.
Thank you, Kristina, for sharing the picture with us.

Low Vision Conference

Wearing macular degeneration glasses

With students from Denton

With our mentor, Dr. Smith

Here are some pictures from the Low Vision Conference in San Antonio.

Top 10 Reasons to Attend the 2008 Student Conclave!

Some students have talked about attending the 2008 National Student Conclave that will be held in Chicago this November. It's something to think about and act soon.
To find out more, please click here.

Latest Tools to Bring Out Optimal Abilities

This article introduces new devices used by occupational therapists for children with developmental disabilities. To read, please click the picture above.

First SOTA General Meeting of the Semester

The first SOTA general meeting was held on September 9, 2008. We voted on the new color for our polo shirts and approved the new budget for the current academic year. A lot of information was given, so if you have any questions, please contact the officer for the subject appropriate to your question.

High Technology for Low Vision

This article introduces high tech assistive devices for low vision.  

Occupational therapy is mentioned as a medical package.

To read, please click the picture above.

Scapular Mobilizations

This is a demonstration of scapular mobilizations to help us with a practical exam.

Student Organization Fair

The SOTA thanks all who came by our booth.

AOTA 2008 Presidential Address

This is the AOTA 2008 Presidential Address at the annual conference in Long Beach, California. Ms. Penelope Moyers Cleveland pronounced that occupational therapy is a brand of “living life to its fullest,” which was not as well received as they hoped. Nevertheless, it does reflect occupational therapy as an inspiring profession that helps people achieve their goals in various ways.

The 1st Meet and Greet

The first "Meet and Greet" was held at the Legacy Room on August 28, 2008.
Big sisters/brothers and little sisters/brothers had a chance to really meet and get to know each other. All faculty members were present to welcome new students as well.
As you can see in the pictures, everyone seemed to enjoy the hour.

Faces of MOT 2010

Here are pictures of the class of 2010.
Welcome everyone!  We are excited to have you in our program.

Peds Class Activity

Here are some pictures from Peds class during the summer.
What a challenging class it must have been!!??

Class of 2010 Orientation

Here are pictures from the class of 2010 orientation.
Welcome new MOTS!!!

Senses Challenge

It was a great summer semester everybody!!!

Here's a website that can help you fill your void from school work.

It's a game that challenges your senses. To Play, click here.

Thank you, Lacey, for sharing this website.

Therapy Dogs for Autism

Autistic child and therapy dog

Follow the link below for an article that presents an OT researcher exploring the use of  a therapy dog for an autistic client.
To read, please click here.

New Version of the OT Song

It's the same OT song, but the sound is much better. Enjoy!

Program is driven to assist seniors

This article introduces a business that an occupational therapist started to help seniors with driving difficulties. It was interesting to see the concerns of people who commented on this article. To read, click the picture above.

How new Medicare legislation can help you

This article tells us how new Medicare legislation affects medical billings including occupational therapy. To read, click the logo above.

Safe driving after 50 in focus

This is an article about occupational therapists helping elderly with safe driving.
To read this article, click here.

OT RAP

Enjoy!!!

Supporting a Fundraiser for PT Banquet

Some of us went to a Hip Hop class held as a fundraiser for PT banquet. It was a great opportunity to support our fellow PT students and show our smooth OT moves.
Great job, team!!!

Animal Assisted Therapy in Occupational Contexts

During occupational contexts class on July 15th, Dr. Rydin came to the class with her therapy dog (Boxer) to demonstrate how animal assisted therapy is done and to introduce the Faithful Paws Pet Therapy Program. Boxer lit up the classroom and put smile on everyone's face.
Thank you, Dr. Rydin.

The SOTA officers retreat/meeting

The SOTA officers met for a meeting/retreat on July 11th.
We accomplished everything that we needed to cover for the year. Great Job, Officers!!!!

New Lift System by Baylor

This is an article about a new lift system for hippotherapy built by Baylor.
To view the article, click the picture above.

A Man Gets Bionic Arms

Man gets bionic arms after fireworks mishap

This is a news video that shows a man who got bionic arms, and he is practicing ADLs.

The first SOTA General Meeting of MOT 09.

Here are the pictures from our first SOTA general meeting in July 1st.

TV show: 30 Days

This is a TV show called 30 days, and it did an episode where an able-bodied NFL player uses a wheelchair for 30 days to see what it is like. They talk about rehab and sports. There is one little section where an occupational therapist fitted him with the wheelchair. Thank you Violeta for sharing the link with us.

Dr. Rydin's Farewell Party

We put together a potluck dinner for Dr. Rydin. All of us are great cooks with big hearts.
We will miss you, Dr. Rydin!!!

More Pictures from the Newsom Lecture

Here are some more pictures from the Newsom Lecture in April. Enjoy!!

Soulja boy in PTO

Hope you guys are enjoying summer!!

Newsom Lecture 2008

Newsom Lecture

It's a bit late, but here are the pictures from the Newsom lecture (April 23, 2008)

Recognition Night Slide Show

Here's the slideshow video that was presented during Recognition Night. Enjoy! -Violeta

Recognition Night 2008

Occupational therapists help get patients back on track

Occupational Therapists Beth Curtis, left, (Outpatient Livewell), Beth Hensarling (Inpatient Acute), Marie Willoughby (Inpatient Acute) and Christie Pierce (Inpatient Acute) celebrate OT Month at Forrest General.

Check the article Here ->Occupational therapists help get patients back on track

AOTA Conference & CAReS Conference

CAReS Conference

Thank for all that volunteered to help at the CAReS Conference. Stroke survivors come together to learn about stroke and surviving it.

AOTA Conference

OT Month

Occupational Therapy Month 2008 Highlights Profession as Career Choice by Forbes magazine. Click HERE.

Here are some excerts from the article:

"employment for occupational therapy practitioners is expected to increase 23 percent between 2006 and 2016. "

"Demand for occupational therapy services is on the rise and new practitioners are needed to fill that demand."

Aging in Place: Gadgets for the elderly

10 Gadgets That Could Help Keep Your Parents Living at Home
By Lisa Trottier, Caring.com senior contributing editor


1. E-Neighbor System

2. Magnetic Induction Cooktop

3. Fall Monitoring System

4. VideoEye

5. Smart Bed

6. Automatic Pill Dispenser

7. BioSensor Wrist Watch

8. Temperature-Activated Flow Reducer

9. Personal Emergency Response System

10. Doorbell/telephone flashing-light signaler

for more info click here: Gadgets for the Elderly

'Virtual massage' for phantom limb pain

AFP/File Photo: Two Palestinian men with their legs amputated lie in their hospital beds in Tel Aviv,...

Virtual massage

More on Wii therapy

It includes Wii cooking, although I'm wondering are the PTs doing it in this video? I thought cooking was an OT domain?

Teacher layoffs, food safety, and wii therapy
fast forward to wii therapy, it discuss about all PTs using Wii-hab to distract patients and also use games such as golf to get them motivated. Again, isn't this an OT domain? Purposeful and meaningful acitivity? Dr. Cheryl Flinn, PT discuss about the therapy. No where in the news broadcast it talks about occupational therapy

Wii craze
Finally, an OT discusses about Wii therapy helping with brain injury and stroke patients with cognition, gross motor and fine motor skills.

Caring for a parent with Alzheimer's

A caregiver's story how she made the difficult decision to place her mom in hospice care

AOTA conference hightlights of 2007

Therapy Times: American Occupational Therapy Associations 2007 Conference
4 min 42 sec - Aug 18, 2006

Therapy Times brings you highlights from last year’s American Occupational Therapy (AOTA) Annual Conference 2007, as well as an exclusive interview with Maureen Freda Peterson, MS, OT/L, FAOTA, AOTA’s chief professional affairs officer. Learn more on http:www.therapytimes.com

Please take a look to see what's to expect this April! Encourage those that have not signed up.

In the news

Click the links below for news articles:

Helping the Severely Wounded Learn How to Dream Again

Everett Recalls Recovery, Signs Books Thursday


Courtesy: Sports Illustrated

Video of Everette with John and Susan of WBEN
Exclusive WBEN Windows Media Audio

Mortality rates lower for stroke patients with post-care therapy

Anger of war hero over shower


Epilepsy sufferer Marc Hewett, who is planning to withhold his rent from Havebury until his shower is fixed. H0802-51-003 Picture by Ben Carmichael www.photostoday.co.uk

Local TOTA Meeting: Kinesiotaping

The meeting when great last night. The topic was about Introduction to Kinesiotaping. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a consent to record, so I was unable to record the lecture. However, I did manage to take pictures of students that attended. I'll post those a little bit later.

Here's the summary of the lecture by Beth from The Cares Group::

Sponsored by Patterson Medical (merged with Sammon's Preston)

• New prefabricated finger splints for mallet finger and swan neck deformity
• 
• 3pointproducts website

Introduction to Kinesiotaping

History

• Developed by Dr. Kenzo, a chiropractor, from Japan about 30 years ago
• Originally used only for atheletics

Reasons for Kinesiotaping

• Endogenous analgesic effects: to increase ROM, decrease pain, decrease inflammation
• *Muscular support: to support muscle movement, increase ROM
• Lymphatic: to remove congestion, avoid injury, increase circulation, decrease inflammation, and decrease pain
• Joint function: to support alignment of joint

*Lecture's focus was on muscular support

Muscle Function

• Improve contraction of weaker muscles
• Decrease fatigue
• Decrease over extension and over contraction
• Increase AROM
• Relieve pain

Basic Application Concept

Origin to Insertion (muscle) : to support weak muscle; for chronic conditions

Insertion to Origin (muscle): to relax and rehabilitate over used muscle; for acute conditions (i.e. muscle spasms, edema, or injury)

Application

• Test area of skin with kinesiotape for a least 1 day before using
• Cut the tape lengthwise, since the stretch only works in one direction, not cross sectionally
• Apply on dry, clean, oil-free, and hair-free skin (clean with rubbing alcohol)
• If patient has sensitive skin, especially with young or old patients, use milk of magnesia
• Apply anchor end by rubbing it to active through heat
• Upon remove of tape, it has a 10% stretch, but can be stretched to 140%
• You can use Tegaderm to help keep the ends from fraying
• Can be worn for 6-7 days, but will loose elasticity at 3-4 days (recommended)

Removal

• Remove at 3-4th day
• Start at upper portion of tape and go down with the direction of the hair growth
• You can use baby oil or soak tape with water to help remove

Shapes

• I - most commonly used
• Y - most commonly used
• X
• Fan cut - normally used for lymphoedema, only effective for 3-4 months at a time
• Button hole (long strip with a row of diamond holes) - fingers go through the holes

Here's a website to show you some instructions with Kinesiotaping pics

The official website: Kinesiotaping

Pics from the meeting!