Nature-Based Therapy
In an episode of the Glass Half Full podcast, Amy Seymore discusses her practice of nature-based therapy . Amy uses this therapy in her pediatric private practice with children of all diagnoses. She explains that many of the therapeutic techniques that are used in occupational therapy clinics are an "echo" of activities that children would be doing if they were just playing outdoors. For example, swinging from a trapeze vs. swinging from a tree or jumping across stepping stones vs. actual stones in a river. However, practicing these exercises indoors excludes certain elements such as wind, bright sunlight, and other noises. Amy gives an example of working with a child who has sensory processing challenges. In this case, she would use nature-based interventions such as playing in the mud, hanging upside from a tree, or playing in water which provides extra feedback against their skin. These interventions can be graded, for example, by changing the consistency of a medium suc...
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI too have not had a lot of experience working with the geriatric population so I am so glad you got to have this opportunity. Building relationships with clients is definitely something I've missed since being in OT school and I'm so jealous you had that opportunity. I can't wait to get to our Level II rotations and have that extra time to build relationships with clients and coworkers. Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you had such a positive FW experience! I was in a SNF as well, so I had many similar experiences. Building relationships is such a special and unique opportunity in this setting, that you cannot always find in other settings. I found that to be a rose of my experiences as well, although I did not mention it in my debrief video. Also, we focused on splinting a lot in order to reduce contractures. It made me realize how equally as important it is to support maintenance and slowed progression as opposed to just focusing on progression. Thanks for sharing!