sOcial buTterfly

For my second Neuro Note assignment, I chose to listen to a podcast titled, Unilateral Neglect , by occupational therapists, Jessica Kersey and Natalie Barnes. The podcast gave insight into what unilateral neglect is, how it affects occupations, and how occupational therapists can help clients overcome the difficulties associated with unilateral neglect after stroke. I decided to dive deeper into this topic for a few reasons: (1) I recently participated in my first simulation experience via Telehealth with a patient who suffered from unilateral neglect post-stroke, (2) a family friend (of a friend) in his early 50's was impacted by a massive stroke 2 weeks ago, so I am currently following along with his journey on social media, and (3) stroke and unilateral neglect are topics covered on my upcoming Neuro-Aspects exam. Below is my take-away from the podcast, as well as the reference for others to listen and learn along with me, if interested.  Jess and Natalie defined unilateral n...

For my first Neuro Note assignment, I chose to watch "What you can do to prevent Alzheimer's," a TED Talk by Lisa Genova. I chose to learn more about this topic because the incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer's seems to be steadily climbing. In high school, I frequently visited by great-grandmother who suffered from a stroke, and later, an Alzheimer's diagnosis. In college, I read a book called,  Sum It Up , by famous basketball coach, Pat Summit. In the book, Summit painted a beautiful picture of her life and her battle with early-onset Alzheimer's. Both my grandmother and Pat  lost some memories and information that their brain had once had readily on hand, but neither lost their emotion-- their ability to feel love, joy, and excitement. Lisa Genova acknowledges this phenomenon by saying, "You are more than what you can remember." I recommend her TED Talk to others who want to learn more about the etiology of Alzheimer's and practical ways to...

Social determinants of health – a big term with an even bigger impact on the well-being of our communities – encapsulate all of the external factors that affect health and health outcomes. For example, the conditions in which a person is born, lives, and works all influence health. The education, economic stability, and the accessibility of healthcare experienced by an individual all play a role in the type of lifestyle a person will live, the type of care they will receive, and the amount that he or she will adhere to interventions when given them.  Social determinants of health can affect one’s susceptibility to neurodegenerative conditions. For example, people with a lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk for having epilepsy, a neurodegenerative disorder involving seizures. External factors such as extreme early adversity, exposure to lead, and low birth weight can predispose people to developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Highly stressful work ...

When helping a client select an adaptive device, it is important to find the best “fit” for them in order to promote comfort and function. Comfort is achieved by ordering adaptive devices, such as crutches or canes, that are measured to accurately suit the client. If axillary crutches are too tall, the patient could experience uncomfortable scapular elevation and pressure beneath the axilla. If a cane is too short, the client will have to hunch over with poor posture to grip its handle. Discomfort would discourage the use of each of these improperly fitted devices, ultimately defeating the purpose of the mobility aid. Another important reason to correctly match clients with their adaptive device is to promote functional mobility and activity. If a client is paired with a standard walker, but they do not have the upper extremity strength necessary for lifting the device, then functional mobility is not possible. We also would not want to limit the mobility of a client by fitting them f...

After an illness or injury, it important to take the proper steps of restoring mobility and function with a client. The sequence of mobility with increasing confidence and activity demands is bed mobility, mat transfer, wheelchair transfer, bed transfer, functional ambulation for ADL, toilet and tub transfer, car transfer, functional ambulation for community mobility, and community mobility and driving. Rather than quickly throwing him (or her) into "the ring,” a therapist starts small to help the client restore strength and confidence before providing them with greater challenges. In addition to promoting safety of the client, this method helps prevent further injury and disappointment.  Before starting OT school, I had not seen every step of this sequence because many of the clients I encountered were highly mobile. However, it makes sense to work from the most basic to the most complex skill in a sequential manner. We don’t try to teach our babies how to walk before they c...

Poor body posture is one of the leading causes of low back pain, a problem experienced by 80% of adults at some point in their lives. It is important to teach clients about proper posture and body mechanics in order to help prevent injury, dysfunction, and pain. When the spine is shifted from its proper alignment, discs between vertebrae can become stressed, leading to bulging, herniation, rupture, or fragmentation. Furthermore, disc displacement can cause spinal nerves to become compressed and surrounding areas to experience pain. Using poor body mechanics while performing tasks that involve lifting, reaching, pulling, pushing, bending, and turning (especially in a repetitive manner) can also cause injury to discs, muscles, ligaments, and tissues. Such injuries can interfere with one’s ability to participate in daily activities such as, working, resting, performing self-care tasks, cooking, cleaning, driving, and enjoying hobbies. This can become a costly issue (both spiritually and ...

One advertisement that always affects me is the ASPCA commercial that advocates for animals living (and left to die) in shelters. Before even looking at the television screen, I hear the music that plays during the advertisement and am compelled to look away. The faces of the innocent animals who have been abused, abandoned, starved, and neglected makes me depressed! Even more so, it makes me want to adopt all of them, or give all my money to helping them—both of which are not possible for me. I must use my frontal lobe, especially the executive functions of my prefrontal cortex, to refrain from dialing the ASPCA number each time the commercial airs. The emotional response that I feel can be attributed to my limbic system. Specifically, my amygdala causes me to empathize with the suffering animals. The attachment I feel to animals in general can be traced back to my hippocampus, storing my long-term memories of growing up with dogs, cats, ponies, ducks, squirrels—you name it! Both...