Today, we talked about a twenty-three year old friend of one of my classmates who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in July of 2015. Not only did this diagnosis come a week before her twenty-second birthday, but her MS joined a number of other medical diagnosis already present. Thankfully, the MS she contracted is the mildest form of MS with intermittent bouts of the symptoms occurring. Currently, she is living alone and in law school. She also volunteers weekly doing equine therapy. Her goals throughout OT are to keep pursuing her interests in horseback riding and continuing law school. Helping the client to find adaptive ways to write, horseback ride, and conserve energy are all ways OT can help the client to pursue her goals.
The beautiful thing about occupational therapy as a profession is its adaptability. It thrives in an environment that is multi-dimensional where the profession morphs according to the client. "Client-centered" and "top-down approach" are all key terms when describing OT. Instead of being a rigid process with little adaptation, the profession molds into the best fit for each specific client. Occupational therapists are more than just practitioners. In a way, OTs are detectives, teachers, and companions. One theory that capitalizes on the adaptability of OT is Frame of Reference (FoR). FoR implements the strengths of OT by allowing the practitioner's roles to adapt to each individual client. Using the client's FoR aids the therapist to develop an intervention that best suites his specific needs. This is where solving mysteries and applying reasoning to the situation is useful. Deducing the client's motivations and context are key in the deve...
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