"MS Barb"

After receiving a case study for a lady who was diagnosed with MS, I thought it would be hard to come up with something useful that she could do with a pickle jar that could be implemented into a therapy treatment session or intervention. I quickly realized that wasn't the case! The most meaningful thing that I learned from this project is creativity. In the field of occupational therapy, the whole idea is to be client-centered and have everything you do be occupation based (in this case it was sewing). Sometimes you may not have access to these perfectly perfected or innovated therapy materials, and you might have to improvise, and in my case I improvised with a pickle jar.

Something I have changed since completing this project is the way I think about how to implement interventions and come up with goals. No matter what material is used in a therapy treatment session, it has to be implemented in a way that is tailored to the client. It has to be meaningful, occupation based, and client-centered. Whenever writing goals, anyone can just jot something down, but an OT can really hone in on why it's important to the client and how a material can be used and implemented to their benefit and liking to ensure client-centeredness.

This project will have a big impact on my future practice as an OT. Again, it doesn't matter what you are presented with when you have creativity on your side. This project will allow me to reflect back on this time when I was given a pickle jar and had to make something therapeutic out of it. It will facilitate my thinking in ways I could use an ordinary everyday object and implement it into my treatment sessions. This has made me realize that OT's truly can't have a "one track mind" when it comes to therapy and treating your clients. Every person will have different barriers, different occupations, different interest, and we will be presented with some crazy ways of being able to implement what is important to each and every one of them. This project will always remind me to look at the big issue at hand, break it down into small pieces, use what is available to my advantage, and most importantly make sure I can get my client back to doing the things they love to do in their everyday life. Client-centeredness, meaningful, and creative are all terms and concepts I'll never forget, or know how to implement, because of this project!