Media Project: Remembering the RouTEEn

In my Neurological Aspects of Occupational Performance course we were assigned one household object and a client scenario for a Media Project. I was assigned "golf tees" and a woman named Barbara who is experiencing an exasperation of her Multiple Sclerosis. Barbara is 64, retired, volunteers as the co-leader at her local MS support group, enjoys sewing and doing crafts. Due to a significant decline in her function, Barbara is being seen by an occupational therapist with plans of going home in 4-5 days. Barbara has assistance from her husband and son when it comes to activities of daily living that are too challenging for her. She hopes to increase her independence and safety in her activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, and she has expressed concern about her memory and fatigue interfering with her "getting back to what she was doing."

Making the product

Materials used: golf tees, paint, printer paper & tape for labels, foam door hangers

 

The Product

This intervention includes 2 door hangers

and golf tees that are labeled

with ADLs & iADLs.

The golf tees are color coded to

keep an order for the tasks:

Yellow= morning tasks

Green= day time tasks

Blue= evening tasks

•  Barbara will move the golf tees from the “To do” door hanger to the “Done” door hanger as she completes the tasks throughout the day
• The hangers can be placed side by side on a closet door or kitchen cabinet, anywhere that is visible & accessible
• As Barbara’s independence increases, she can incorporate new tees such as cooking meals, grocery shopping, or more elaborate crafting

Reflection

When I was first assigned “golf tees” as my material, all I could picture was a simple peg board. However, I knew that was not an option because it was much too simple, my client was an adult who got bored with exercises, and she was not struggling with fine motor skills or coordination. After reading Barbara’s case scenario a couple of times, I realized that I wanted to focus on something that would aid her memory because she stated that she was worried about her memory and fatigue interfering with her “getting back to what she was doing.”

I was excited that my product had a craft aspect to it because that is one of Barbara’s interests. She could definitely be involved in the process of creating the hangers. This innovation product is a means and an end in that she would have the therapeutic experience of creating the hangers and then she would enjoy the benefit of using them to remember tasks she needs to get done.

As I went along with my product idea, I kept thinking of more ways to make it even more practical and useful. For example, I initially just imagined the pegs going into some sort of cup or foam that would hold them up, but then I found foam door hangers that I thought were very practical, less clutter, and more convenient. In addition, I realized that Barbara may be motivated to add new pegs as she accomplishes and regains new skills.

Problem solving was also important throughout the process of making my “Remembering the RouTEEn” product. When painting the top of the golf tees I realized that if I laid them down on a paper towel or newspaper they would just get stuck and messed up. First, I tried to stick the pointy ends of the tee into a colander to stand up. When the wholes in my colander were too small, I realized I had a card board box that I could just poke the tees into so that they could stand and dry properly. I also had to problem solve when it came to the foam door hangers. Simply sticking the tees into a hanger was not sturdy enough, the tees would fall out. So I glued together two hangers and it worked perfectly.

I found this assignment to be helpful as a learner and future OT because I surprised myself with the creative aspects I was able to incorporate. It was exciting to use simple materials to create something very useful. I think it is the thought process that was the most important aspect of this project. Without putting too much pressure on myself, I took some time to sort through the information I was provided and to brainstorm what I could make of it. After this project I feel more confident in my ability to make a relevant therapeutic product.  I will keep in mind the process of creating this product and the ways in which I was able to make it convenient and useful. Knowing that an idea or intervention will come together is a great feeling as I move forward in other assignments and clinical work.