2
Oct
2012
The Blue Ghost or Starfish :)
Me and one of my little OT guys having a “proprioception” break – I was encouraging the starfish look so he could get some resistance into his hands before we started writing. Most of my kids LOVE this thing! 🙂 It’s essentially a Lycra body sock, you climb in (the slit is in the back in this case on this day – for safety it’s ideal if the slit is in the front and that they don’t cover their head, although they can breathe/see pretty well through this one). I prefer my kids be super-covered in their occupational therapy sessions and I monitor them closely but as always, safety comes first so use at your own discretion and with safety awareness. Anyway. Blue ghosts or blue starfishes, awesome. Also, a lot of kids lose some of their inhibitions with this on. Some of my shy, quiet kids get super giggly and extroverted while wearing this thing. The “mask” phenomenon I guess. 🙂 Nice to see.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
1
Oct
2012
Centipede shoes
I got these cool giant centipede creepy crawlers from the dollar store, and I potentially want my kids to put on his shoes. But what can be his shoes? I tried “sip stick straws” but they were too wide so they fell off too easily. I need something even smaller. I need to see if I can get my hands on those very tiny stirrer straws. Any other ideas for good small shoes? I guess I should find my beads.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
1
Oct
2012
Cat Yoga by Rick Tillotson: Fitness and Flexibility for the Modern Feline – aka OT yoga ;)
I love this cat yoga book, it cracks me up. My kids like it too. If I have a group of say, 6 kids, each kid got about 30 seconds to pick a pose from this book and then we would all copy it. This lead to some hilarious poses, great for OT because they had to copy the pose with the added challenge of understanding a cat’s body pose rather than a human. Great motor planning for my kids in occupational therapy!
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
1
Oct
2012
Chicken butt!
I posted this status on Facebook the other day and I swear it is unfortunately 100% true….
Of all the things I've done working with my OT children, BY FAR the fact I am proudest of is that whenever a kid says “Guess what?” I don't respond “Chicken butt” the way I desperately want to.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
29
Sep
2012
OT 24/7
I'm going to briefly blog about today and remind myself of a few things I want to write about ASAP and then I'm going to bed. It's about 10pm now so hopefully I can do all this in 15 mins. My cat is hogging all the covers. 🙁
5amish: Up to work on triennial report due.
630am: Get ready for work
7:20am at work, run frantically around getting stuff ready
815 to 1015am: IEP meeting, triennial so lots of evaluations.
Then I frantically: 1) leave a bunch of sensory items for IEP team to try for another child who is really struggling, 2) Copy, hole punch, and binderize (new word?) some handwriting stuff for a child, and leave 6 die-cut circle “cookies” to be laminated (Details to follow another time on why). Oh, and the speech therapist showed me die cutting today and I was dumbfounded. I had no idea such chicanery existed and I am in awe 🙂 I've heard the term but never knew what it meant.
Then drove quickly to next school for a lesson on Verbalizations and Visualizations by Linda Mood Bell. An educational specialist gave me the lesson, which was actually an action item in an IEP that I would be shown the basics so I am familiar with the terminology/concepts and can incorporate into the child's treatment. Very cool stuff, again details to follow soon I hope. Then I drove quickly to next school to do observations, check ins, consult, etc. Then I did two inservices (the same one, just repeated) – once for a few first grade teachers, once for a few K teachers (schedule didnt allow them to all be there at same time). Then I did paperwork at that final 3rd school of the day until 6pm. Then I went to Michael's to look for more “monster cheese” (that cheese and mouse toy that I turned evil) that somebody said you could get there but I didn't find it there but it's one of my most popular toys. Then I went to the 99 cent store cuz a mom told me they had styluses there. But alas. None to be found. However, 81 other items were there to be found. I got home at 8:45pm from all that.
I wanted to do a blog post on all that stuff I got, but first sleep. I'm trying to figure out a way to still feel like a good OT while working less than 12 hour+ days right now. If I only worked 8 hours a day I'd be screwed, lol. Even at 12+ I'm behind. Some of it is truly the job's fault but a lot of it is mine – I'm still figuring out ways to be more efficient and get more done and also there's a lot of research to be done involving iPad stuff for the many of my kids who have access and can really benefit. I feel technologically obsolete and I'm only 29 🙂 I TURN THIRTY IN OCTOBER!!!!!!
I'm trying to figure out my Saturday – I've been invited to some super fun stuff but I am so freaking exhausted that a big part of me wants to stay home, sleep in, then go work the day away at the library or a coffee shop or both. I guess I'll decide in the morning. Wow already 1015pm but I spent part of that time on the phone. I really want to write a few more things down to remind myself and clear it out of my brain so I don't have to remember it so I guess my new goal is 10:30pm.
This following list may not make sense but it's to jog my memory for tomorrow and/or soon. No particular order.
1. Discuss V&V by LMB
2. Laminated cookies/budget
3. ipad gloves/styluses
4. dry erase/painters tape
5. Bey blades
6. Phone number/times/questions
7. Products/branding
8. Shelby's Quest on iPad review and give-away
9. Morphology Jr Quest review and give-away
9.5 Magic weighted blanket review and follow up with winner Lesley
10. Dycem and Pen Again reviews, give-away on PenAgain perhaps
11. Easy button/hacks
12. Quantum learning/WBT
13. Golf tee/grip thing, McClumsky
14. Newest pics including body sock pics, body sock actions/language/movements, blue ghost and/or starfish
15. Pages/Typ-O/DD
16. Math and test strategies
17. Cutting strategies
18. Roller coaster height, hats, boots, giants, babies, slides, tents
19. Color overlays, reading vertical, Dys & spacing
20. Dollar store purchases
To do in general beyond what's written down
Computer and paper Log catch up
LEA catch up
MAA catch up
Parent catch up
Ipad catch up /app list/research (check in with OT Apps blog)
MATCH for DCD
Pinterest checks
Eval checklist including FM box
Ocular motor homework
Things in semi-motion:
Children's book rough draft complete
Other children's book rough draft complete
Other children's book in thought process but need it written out
Product inventions, currently TR, CBP, MT, LWB, PPS
Branding
Uh oh its 1027. Time for bed. We'll see what tomorrow brings!
Just for the record, even though I am currently working way too much, many of my OT children and/or coworkers and/or parents etc make me laugh, smile, or feel awesome, on a daily basis. I love doing what I do and I love the feeling after a good session where I know I really helped nail an academic strategy for a child that will make their life easier!
Blah blah blah. The End.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
28
Sep
2012
good night
Today was perhaps a 3.5 star out of 5 OT day in terms of helping kids. I had some really great sessions and a few that didn't go as easily as planned. I want to write and talk all about it. But after work I went to walk on the beach with some coworkers, then we went to dinner, and now it's 845pm, I am so tired, and I am going to bed. I have a triennial IEP meeting in the morning so I will be getting up at 4:30am to make sure everything is done before I have to get ready to go to work (I have to leave my house before 7am). Fun times…
Tomorrow I also need to do a mini inservice so I need to remember to bring that stuff as well. Blah blah, tired, blah blah, going to bed. I am hoping tomorrow afternoon that, minus the inservice, I can mostly work until around 430 before I have to go for my Pilates/TRX class. I have SO MUCH to catch up on, I am working about 60 + hours a week right now. Good thing i love being an OT and love what I do. 🙂 Well that concludes my short therapeutic thoughts for the night.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
27
Sep
2012
OT rambles :) Again.
Today is another ramble day. I'd like to start by saying “You know you're Miss Awesome when…..you cry for an hour and your tissues continue to get glitter on them….” AHAHAHAA. Last night was rough, I missed my grandma sooo much and was stressed with work, etc. Today was a better day. I stayed at work until around 4, then picked up my fixed car while in my mother's car, so I parked both, went to my Pilates/TRX class, drove mom's car home, jogged back down the hill (I jogged from my front door to my car's front door, it took me 13 minutes and as SAD as this is to admit it's the longest I've ever jogged without stopping!!), then drove MY car back….Then came back to yells. Turns out I had parked my mom's car in the garage a little too forward, and our deaf/low vision roomie had walked into it and was really upset/in pain. I felt super bad, he has SOME sight and I guess while I am super careful about trying not to leave stuff out, it didn't occur to me that it included my mom's car not going too far into the garage. I felt bad from the OT viewpoint too, like duh I should know better. Anyway. Yikes. So sorry.
At one of my schools during lunch recess there is often a “music station” and a bunch of kids were dancing gangnam style (imaginary horse thing) and it was super cute to see a bunch of elementary school boys doing it. 🙂
A MILLION TIMES A FREAKING DAY I have things I wish I could share with the blog and of course as you all see, it often doesn't happen. I wish I could like, carry a blogophone with me and instantly update with my thoughts. I guess I could do vlogs (like blogs but video) but I'm not that kind of person really, I need to have it typed out. BUT however, that being said, I'm working on a fine motor video to share with some teachers and I'll likely share it here too if so.
I'm tired. Last night I fell asleep around 830pm, got up at 5am to finish working. Been on the go ever since until a few minutes ago.
Today:
5am-6ish: Finish triennial report
6ish to 640ish: Get ready for work
640 to 720: Commute
720ish to 815ish: Make copies, finalize goals, etc, for IEP meeting
815 to 1015: IEP meeting (intense, definitely was necessary to stay for entire thing)
10:15 finish up, drive to next school, get ready/set up for rest of day
Then I saw a bunch of kids, one at a time, plus observed a few kids, plus evaluated a kid, then we had a fire alarm go off as someone had burnt popcorn (we had a fire drill last week too), one of my little guys was observed in his classroom line doing meditative poses, lolol. Spoke to teachers, learning specialists, etc. Paperwork. Ate lunch after 2:20pm when kids had gone.
Left at 3:45 with knowledge I still had to spend several hours on a report tonight. Drove home with a quick stop at Best Buy to buy a stylus until I have time to try making my own. Changed. Took my important stuff out of my mom's car before driving it down the hill to pick up my car. Pilates. Drove mom's car home. Jogged down hill. Drove my car home. Dealt with fall out of parking my car too far in garage. Protein drink. Showered. Fed my evil cats. Now lying in bed playing online and resting a while before writing up yet another triennial report (an approximately 7 page re-evaluation) due today.
So I know that was in absolutely mind-numbing detail. You're welcome. AHAAHAHAHA kidding. Sorry. It's therapeutic for me. And some very insane people actually like reading it. I know. Weird. But I am glad.
Trying to think of anything new and exciting…..Nope, not really. About to get Morphology Junior to try out and review and ANOTHER GIVE AWAY! My second! My first was the magic weighted blanket which was won by Lesley P in Memphis. 🙂 But I still need to review Dycem and PenAgain! I guess the secret to get me to do a review on time is to allow me to do a give-away with it! You know what, I think I'll do my own give-away with PenAgain, hmm, because it hasn't worked out with my particular population but it has potential with other ones! But y'all can't have my Dycem, I like it too much for my kids!!
Someone asked me about my “editorial calendar” ….I was like….I don't even know what that is!! AHAHAAH but I guess I need to figure it out cuz I am starting to get a little overwhelmed.
So let's talk logistics. If I do an online chat, I am guessing most interest would come from perspective students. But you guys are all over the world which makes it tricky from a time zone perspective. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, please comment on this with good times, ie weekdays versus weekends, and possible times you could handle in relationship to being aware of your time zone difference from the Pacific time zone (California etc).
If any non-prospective students are interested in a school-based OT chat for current school based OTs, or a random “OT is awesome” chat, let me know that as well please 🙂 Or if OT students want to chat…um, I think you guys get the point.
Sorry guys. Brevity. I'm working on it. Actually I'm not.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 1
23
Sep
2012
Whole Brain Teaching – very applicable to OTs
I LOOVE the ideas in Whole Brain Teaching. Seems very “OT” to me 🙂 I somehow stumbled across this on YouTube, I forget why or how or who showed me, but super impressed. 🙂 This is like a 5 minute video of that teaching in action and it was very neat. I think the ideas of WBT are often ones that OTs could suggest to classroom teachers to help promote more interactive lessons and/or movement, etc.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 1
23
Sep
2012
A homemade stylus for the iPad?
My OT co-worker Sarah showed this to me. One of her parents made it. It’s a touch screen or Ipad style using twist ties, electrical tape, and a little purple sponge tip thing. I don’t know how to make it but I plan to learn. I bought some stuff yesterday. We’re trying to figure out more good styluses for people with special needs and/or at least cheap/easy ones since they can be so easily ruined. My lovely OT friend Libby or as I prefer, Libblets, called me today to lament this issue. I need to go back and look over at OT with Apps (a blog, google it), to see what all she has done so we don’t reinvent any wheels….
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 1
23
Sep
2012
Balance of Occupations, Random Thoughts of an OT ;)
So the “balance of occupations” is of course super important in occupational therapy world. 🙂 I almost never just post stuff I did, but I feel like it this weekend!
Friday: Went to work, we had an all special education (SPED) meeting at 1pm to 3pm, then I met with two other OTs right after for a quick meeting, then all of SPED had a Happy Hour afterward, some of us were there till 6ish and then four of us went to dinner (the SPED director, me the OT, an autism behavior specialist, and a learning resource center educational specialist). Then I went for a second dinner (yes I was careful about calories knowing I had two dinner dates in a row, lol), before getting home at 10pm and having to finish writing up my OT triennial report due Friday (it was a rough draft but parents wanted it early, a week before the meeting). I ended up sending it in at 12:20am…whoops. Slightly into Saturday. I was so tired, it sucked, but that’s what I get for going to Happy Hour and Dinners. It was worth it to have fun with friends and coworkers.
Today Saturday, I slept in, went to Pilates, went to an animal hospital to get new flea stuff as the Frontline from Costco apparently stopped working, went to the grocery store for senior cat food, went to get gas, set up my mom for contrast baths, took my mother to her first PT evaluation for her ankle (went well – remind me to tell you about my mom’s take on contrast baths), took her to Costco (walker, electric scooter, the works), took her to Trader Joe’s, and did a thorough de-fleaing with the vacuuming, washing of bedding, carpet sprays, Capstar pills, and Zetra treatments (similar to Advantage). Long day. I’m super tired. But I also have a lot of OT work I want to do. It’s 7:35pm and part of me wants to nap for a while and then get up and work. I don’t work well when I am tired. But I also know that’s bad sleep hygiene. Decisions, decisions….
Tomorrow: Pilates and holding babies at the hospital 🙂 Also seeing a friend for dinner. The pictures above were taken from my backyard tonight at sunset. We had a beautiful pink/purple sunset!
So….I like to do a combination of work and play each day of the week rather than work hard, play hard. I like it mixed.
I definitely HAVE to catch up on my logs for work, but also really want to do some more organizing of stuff and blog work as well….
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none