Introduction To Occupational Therapy

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The biggest goal that I’ve achieved in my life was earning my college degree, despite having sustained a massive stroke at 17, during a varsity basketball game. My first introduction to occupational therapy helped me regain function from left-sided hemiparesis, which was also in conjunction with PT and Speech. Overtime, I learned compensatory strategies to help me complete my ADL’s. I originally placed greater emphasis on my physical recovery compared to the cognitive impairments that I sustained. The reason being, I was still trying to reach my goal of obtaining a division 1 basketball scholarship. Unfortunately, my left side lacked enough function to actualize that goal. Moreover, I was told by my doctors that due to the amount of damage that my brain sustained, I wouldn’t be able to pursue a college education. At this point, I had no direction because
I had to reassess my life’s purpose while I tested the limitations imposed upon me. …show more content…

I experienced how OT influenced far-ranging benefits in many areas of my life. Hence, I want to be of service to other people and inspire them. Having sustained such a trauma allows me to bring a unique perspective to OT because I will have gone through many of the same experiences as my potential patients.
One of the interesting facets of OT is that it takes a comprehensive, holistic approach to helping patients. In other words, I enjoy that OT is not limited to only the physical aspects of the rehabilitation process, but is extended to the cultural, social, and emotional aspects as well. This type of framework allows a therapist to be creative by using divergent thinking to borrow ideas from other disciplines in order to benefit the