Amy OT

Hello again! So my old 12 week placement is over, I had a week off in between, and a new placement has begun! I am not longer working with young children. Currently working in a transitional program for young adults who require mental health support. They are learning life skills, social skills, and job skills in hopes to prepare them for greater independence when their time ends in this program.  It's taboo, but it's all around us. I'm not just talking about the "major" disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar, PTSD, personality disorders. What about anxiety? Depression. A miscarriage can bring a time of grief and depression from dashed hopes of a new life. A birth can bring postpartum depression. Many people have phobias - fears of spiders, crowed spaces, fear of heights or flying - but have found ways to cope and function pretty normally in their daily lives. Others, for whatever reason, may not be able to cope, and their fear of crowded places may ke...

One Week Left This is crazy! Time has flown by! Like it was just the other day I was meeting my supervisor for the first time and showed up too early, so I waited in my car nervously and texted my mom "Why don't first days ever get any easier?? Anxious!"  And now I drive to people's homes I sometimes have never been to, knock on their doors, go on in, and play with their baby. Like what?  It's been such a privilege doing this internship. I'm super grateful to God for this placement and for my supervisors and the other staff. They are amazing - hearts of gold. Day in and day out, dealing with some pretty heavy situations, seeing progress in some, slow as molasses for others, and they come in fresh with new ideas, with energy, with hope, dedication. It's really something.  I'm sad to say goodbye to these families, and to no longer be a part of their lives. Wow, am I going to miss some of them! Hoping we cross paths again sometime down the ...

So my intent for this blog was to help other students or OTs thinking of going into early intervention to have a window into what it's like. And then somewhere along the way it became more about my personal reflections... whoops! So here's to getting back to the meat and potatoes of EI! I'll also post soon about toys we like to use - cheap ones you can make from the dollar store and nice ones you can buy and do lots with. :) A "Typical" Day To keep things confidential here, I have to muddy the details. Which gives you a chance to use your imagination :) So kids will only be described as a baby or toddler and some genders have been swapped. I cannot paint the real picture for you about each family situation. So just allow your imagination to explore. You walk into some of these homes and are taken back by the smokey smell or your eyes water from the strong cooking spices. You start sweating because the heat is something like 80 degrees because they don't p...