Occupational Therapy Student Looking for Insight

CourtC16

Hello everyone!

I am a Master's of Occupational Therapy Student at the University of Kansas Medical Center. During my education this semester, I have been assigned to work with a family in the community and find an online forum to gain more insight into the lives of the people I will be working with. I would love to hear about your experiences as a parent or caregiver of a person living with a disability. The family I am working with has a child with Cerebral Palsy, and I would love to hear from you if you can relate to this individual family, and even if you can relate in different ways! What have been your experiences with Occupational Therapy and what advice do you have for me in my future career?

I appreciate the acceptance into this community and may be asking a series of questions throughout the next few weeks to gain a better understanding from your real-life experiences. 

Thank you for your time!

April2018mom

My number one tip is to be positive and professional. Make a list of goals for your client and their family. 

chiarieds

 Hi @CourtC16 & welcome to this forum, which I'm sure you'll find helpful.

I hope you're enjoying your studies & certainly learn more about Cerebral Palsy during your assignment.

I'm writing as a qualified physiotherapist, altho' working as such was along time ago. As a student I became interested in neurology, & knew I wanted to work with children with Cerebral Palsy, which I did, also seeing children with developmental delay due to many & varied disorders.

As both a student, & when qualified, I very much appreciated the help of other therapists, in particular Occupational & Speech & Language Therapists. You need to be willing to be part of a team when needed, &, if working with children, remember the parents are the most important part of that team.

The physio in me has never left.....our youngest daughter had a tracheotomy at one week old, so my training helped me look after her. Several years later our eldest daughter asked me to look into her sister's problems, which led me to find that myself & children had the hypermobile type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) & most likely Chiari 1 Malformation. My medical understanding helped me research.....altho' it was a very steep learning curve! I raised awareness of Chiari 1 Malformation in those with hEDS  here in the UK with the help of a New York neurosurgeon....... & I now do the exercises I used to teach my patients!

Importantly, when working with this assigned family, be open, be receptive; listen to the parents, & learn from the child.

Chloe_Alumni

I wish you the best of luck with your research!

Ails

Hi @CourtC16 and welcome to the Community.  Good luck in your new role.  I hope you enjoy it. 

CourtC16

Thank you all your helpful information and warm welcome! I have learned so much working with our consumer family and still have so much more to learn.