OT books to read

I got an OT blog question about some books to read before starting a master's program in the fall….things to get started. I don't think y'all should start reading textbooks before you ever start, so here are some random ideas me and my OT friend Kerri came up with for for this student…I am in Gainesville, FL visiting her. She is a hand therapist and she rocks. 🙂

Hi “OT Student X”

Do you mean like OT textbooks, or do you mean more normal books? For example, one of my favorite books is The Healing Heart about one of the first OTs, Ora Ruggles……I also like the Out of Sync Child…….and the Out of Sync Child Has Fun is the activity book that goes along with it.

See if this website works for you!
http://myaota.aota.org/shop_aota/

I browsed it and didn't actually see much of interest. There is a Chicken-Soup like book that came out that i want to read but I couldn't find it…if I do I'll post on my blog.

My OT friend Kerri next to me recommends any book by Temple Grandin – especially her older ones, her autobiographies – which I recommend as well.  She also recommends Oliver Sacks books.  Phantoms in the Brain by Ramachandran….

I personally like first-hand accounts….so autobiographies…of people with various disabilities like cerebral palsy. I go to the library to the health section and browse for what look like autobiographies. 🙂

It depends on how much you like to read and what kind of things interest you. There are certainly textbooks you could start with, but I am sure your school will provide you with a necessary list soon. I'd focus more on the fun stuff to get you excited. The first semester is actually kind of boring with a lot of focus on what occupation IS theoretically (at least it was to me…)….anatomy/neuro is fun according to Kerri 😉 I disagree. ahahaha.

Hope that is a good start…
Karen
PS: Don't be surprised if in some of those first-hand books you get little mention of OT and/or it's somewhat disparaged! We have to keep working to get OT more respected. 🙂

Jul 02, 2011 | Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none