Adaptive Equipment Videos

During my first year of studying Occupational Therapy, I was allocated a placement in Hastings in a Community Health setting. This placement focused on adaptive equipment ranging from basic raised toilet seats to hospital grade palliative beds. My supervisor was qualified in wheelchair seating, which meant we worked on all the wheelchair modifications for the region. This placement gave me great insight into the range of physical needs, some more common than others. One very common group of clients we saw were days away from receiving hip and knee replacements. These clients were given very standard equipment that were generally loaned to them for a maximum of six months, the average time period being six weeks. The complex clients required more intervention time and more OT and other therapists’ input. These complex clients included amputees, palliative care and housing modifications. This placement gave me a great interest in equipment and an area to consider when graduated. For this reason I am going to show you five different you-tube videos that feature this wonderful equipment, some basic, others not so much.

The next video was created by an OT demonstrating a range of adaptive equipment that can be used in the kitchen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI37keGdA0Y

This clip shows Scarlet in her new powered wheelchair, which has a central control adaption. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKyx8xGZyOg&feature=related

This clip below is quite long (20mins), but is very detailed. I suggest to watch it if you have the time (you will be an expert afterward). It’s a representative for AEL (Adaptive Engineering Limited) on wheelchair adaptive equipment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JImfAMxiZTI

This video shows us how Michael Grave, an American architect, has adapted to his disability, which includes re-designing his own home to promote wheelchair accessibility as well as creating a new perspective at his workplace. A few things to look out for is the set up of his door entering the elevator, his shower, the control stick of his wheelchair and the splints he wears during his therapy session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x6D19T9X1k&feature=related

This clip shows the future of transportation fro ‘getting around Tokyo’. This could just as easily become the future of wheelchairs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbtOJKSXhMA&feature=related

Art and Craft slideshow

Po1 slideshow - gabi

View more PowerPoint from gabiseator

Video Production Sessions

For this weeks project, we were asked to work in small groups to create a video surrounding the theme ‘occupational deprivation’ and ‘occupational disruption’. Occupational deprivation is said by Christainsen & Townsend (2010) to be an environmental, geographical or economic circumstance that prevents a person engaging in occupations. Occupational disruption is linked to occupational deprivation as the individual cannot partake in a chosen occupation, but disruption is a much shorter time period in which the individual has some form of control over (Christainsen & Townsend, 2010).

In our video we have identified occupational deprivation as well as occupational disruption within the student life. This was a common theme in our group as we have all left our home environments and occupations to become students. Student life has not only deprived us from our prior occupations but has also disrupted our occupations as we immerse ourselves in our studies and ‘student life activities’.

Although our storyboard is very different from our final product, we kept the same theme and with time running out we sent members of our group out with a camera taking footage of a few Dunedin student (scarfy) moments (the well behaved study orientated ones of course).  Enjoy! 

Christainsen, C., & Townsen, E. (2010). Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living (2^nd ed.). USA: Pearson Education, Inc. 

Occupational Transition

The Art in Craft

This post goes back to an occupation that existed before the time of electricity and interactive games; this is art and craft!

“Crafting is an ancient practice that is perhaps as old as the human civilization itself . . . crafting reflects the culture, tradition and history of a place and lives long after the culture has undergone modern transformations” (Bizymoms, 2012).

Art is said to be “the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium” (The Free Dictionary, 2012).

During my second fieldwork placement I was allocated to a day programme involving the elderly. I really enjoyed this placement and I became an enthusiastic member of their craft table. Later into my placement I built up the courage to run a few craft activities. I had the opportunity to introduce new ideas and different crafts, two of these included jewellery making and fabric box making. During other sessions I helped members of the group with their craft projects while still allowing them to independently express themselves. I was shown great gratitude for this from both the group members and from the assisting staff.

Craft and art allows a great deal of expression of our selves as humans through occupation. Four words which we were given to think about in one of our classes (the same class this blog is for) were ‘do’, ‘be’, ‘become’ and ‘belong’. These words can have many meanings today.

Do: “To perform or execute, fulfill the requirements, carry out; commit, produce, especially by creative effort, play the part or role of in a creative production, mimic, bring about” (The Free Dictionary, 2012).

Be: “To exist or live, take place; happen; occur, to occupy a place or position, to continue or remain as before, to belong” (Dictionary.com, 2012).

Become: “To come, change, or grow to be, come into being” (Dictionary.com).

Belong: “To be proper, appropriate or suitable, to be in an appropriate situation or environment, to be a member of a group, fit into a group naturally, to have in one’s possession, to be part of something else” (The Free Dictionary, 2012).

At first these words seem to be all very different, but they are actually all very alike. These words are the resultant of occupation, in this case, participating in the craft table. To partake in the craft we must “do”, we then “be” part of the craft process, “become” craftsmen, and then “belong” to that craft group. These four words contribute to our existence as humans and the place in society in which we occupy. 

Under the title "Art and Craft slideshow" you are able to view my slideshow on different arts and crafts.

In order so show you the images within my slideshow I had to take in to account a number of ethical considerations. This is important as any image that is released onto the Internet can become used by anyone for any purpose and may cause offense to the original owner of the image. To prevent this any image I have used from the Internet has been taken from a public site and referenced. Photos that I have taken were taken with the consent and full knowledge of the participants. No names were used in my slideshow for the privacy and protection of the participants.

Bizymoms (2012). History of crafting: History craft. Retrieved 8^th March 2012 from http://www.bizymoms.com/hobbies/history-craft.html

Dictionary.com (2012). Be. Retrieved 22^nd April 2012 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/be

Dictionary.com (2012). Become. Retrieved 22^nd April 2012 from

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/become?s=t

The Free Dictionary (2012). Art. Retrieved 8^th March 2012 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/art

The Free Dictionary (2012). Belong. Retrieved 22^nd April 2012 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/belong