Media Project- Virtual

 

Dementia Case Study

Pat Summitt was diagnosed with early onset dementia at age 59. Her symptoms included becoming very forgetful, losing car keys, calling out the wrong terms in basketball games, and wearing inappropriate outwear (ex. shorts when it was snowing). Pat's functioning level soon decreased resulting in her referral to occupational therapy. OT goals include increasing the client's ability to function independently and caregiver education. Pat's occupations include coaching, writing, and playing basketball. Her roles include being a mother, coach, author, spokeswoman. Pat Summitt passed away just 5 years after being diagnosed.  She is most known for coaching the University of Tennessee Lady Vols for 38 seasons with 1,098 wins.

Neuro Note 4

Today, I decided to write my neuro note on a TedTalk called, “Tourette Does the Talking: Thomas White”. This is a talk given by a senior at the University of Notre Dame, Thomas White, whom has Tourette’s syndrome. He speaks about his daily challenges with fighting this neurological battle. This syndrome plays a major role in his daily routines and encounters with other people.  I chose to watch this video because of the little I know about this neurological disorder. Before watching this video, my knowledge of Tourette’s syndrome was very limited. However, now I know that it is a syndrome that is a result from a chemical imbalance in the brain that inhibits involuntary motor or vocal tics. Although the majority of the talk is about Thomas White’s daily struggles, one of the main points he states is that we should all celebrate the beauty of life, not matter what our troubles are. He goes on to talk about that we all have problems, but we’re all in the same boat and can triumph our own “plagues” together. At the point that we all realize this, we can focus on hope and action of who we are and what we can become. He ends his talk with, “We should all embrace the life we live and each word is a celebration and has hope.” To me, this video was so inspiring and really got me thinking about how can occupational therapy be used to help people with Tourette’s syndrome manage their occupations and daily routines. After further research, I have learned that the OT service would vary depending on the individual’s severity and kind of TS. Many OTs work with individuals that are diagnosed with TS using a sensory approach. Some OTs go into further training to learn techniques in CBIT, or Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0szLOMIt9SQ

https://www.tourette.org/blogs/research-medical/benefits-occupational-therapy-tourette/

MD Case Study

Jonah Marlin was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy when he was 5 years old when his symptoms became more apparent. DMD is a hereditary disease caused by a defective protein making gene. This is the most common type of MD and occurs primarily is males. Because his parents knew  what to look for, his brother was diagnosed at age 2. Jonah is now 13 and lives with his parents. He is in a wheelchair all day and relies on his parents for all of his ADLs. Jonah has seen OT previously that gave him goals to help with ADLs and social interaction.

Case Study: Trey Gray

Trey Gray was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease in 2003 when he was 32 years old. He became a national spokesperson for Huntington's disease in 2008 and created the Trey Gray fund at Vanderbilt. Since HD is a degenerative disease, OT would focus on his muscle cognition and muscle memory skills to prolong his occupation of drumming. He has symptoms of fatigue, weakness, memory, and mood swings in his early stages. A long term goal for Trey would be to make a daily schedule to better organize his day and keep track of his daily tasks that need to be completed.

Neuro Note 3: Muhammad Ali

When I was looking at some of the options to do my neuro note on, I saw a People Magazine article, "Muhammad Ali's Eldest Daughter Shares Memories of Her Dad and Hope for Those with Parkinson's: 'Attitude Is Everything'". After already learning about Parkinson's Disease, I was excited to read more into the legendary Muhammad Ali's case specifically. I knew that he had PD, but had no idea about his type of care or factors that played into his health status, which is why I chose to write a blog on this topic specifically. This article about Muhammad was given from the perspective of his oldest daughter, Maryum Ali. 

Mayryum, or May May, gave an insightful view of caring for a loved one with Parkinson's. She speaks about how much being engaged in activities that make you happy is important for someone with this disease. She also talks about how attitude strongly affects the patient along with the patient's knowledge of his or her disease.

 After reading her article, I thought to myself, "Patients with PD could really benefit from OT!" OT's could provide this meaningful activities to their clients that in return help give them give positive attitudes. I also thought about the OT's role in educating the client, as well as the caregiver about the disease and what to expect through the different stages of PD. May May stated, "Once my father began to understand the disease and the family did as well, everyone was happier." To me, this just solidifies everything we talked about in class as far needing to inform the caregiver and client. I went to the National Parkinsons Foundation's page and read an article, "Special Challenges of Caring for Someone with PD" to further my curiosity. This site talked about being realistic with the client and caregiver, and I think that is exactly what May Mary and the rest of the Ali family would have appreciated knowing early on.

 http://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/caring-for-someone-with-parkinsons/special-challenges-of-caring-for-someone-with-parkinsons

http://people.com/celebrity/muhammad-alis-eldest-daughter-maryum-shares-memories/

Foundations Debrief

As our Foundation course comes to an end, we spent our last class reflecting on what we liked and things we would change in this course. I appreciate that because as a student, it is nice to know that the faculty takes our opinions into consideration when looking at next year's coursework. As a personal reflection of this course, I would say my biggest take away was having a better understanding of the profession of occupational therapy as a whole. I know that no matter what setting I am in that I will use a client-centered, occupation-centered, EBP, and cultural practice approach. I think I sometimes even say the definition in my sleep.  I also have a better perception of the different populations, environments, and setting that involve OTs. My parents are constantly asking me where and who I want to work with in upon graduation, but I can never give them an answer because I am always learning about new and different settings for OTs! Furthermore, I have a better understanding of the basics of OT from learning and studying the OTPF, OT Process, and the Code of Ethics, which I know will help me daily in the 'real world'. I have enjoyed this class and look forward to learning more about OT in other classes and upcoming fieldworks.