For the sake of this assignment I will have to use the term “client” very loosely for this population. One interaction I can think of is with D.B. an 8 year-old girl who has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). ODD as described in our text, is characterized by a pattern of defiant, hostile, and negativistic behaviors (Lambert, 2005; AACAP, 2009). For D.B, she would often display behaviors towards others that were vindictive and spiteful in nature, she would through temper tantrums at a drop of a dime, frequently act out inappropriately by deliberately doing things that annoy others and persistently test limits, as well as be hypersensitive or touchy in regards to others feedback to her. Her behaviors have disrupted her performance day-to-day functioning in various contexts, specifically in her home environment, interacting socially with peers when playing, and in an educational setting.
If I were an OT working with D.B there would be intervention strategies I would focus on due to her unique needs, along with noted strengths and interests. One strategy I would use would use for D.B. would be incorporate a therapeutic board game as the one discussed in our text “ The Talking, Feeling, and Doing Game” (Lambert, 2005). This game would focus on a skills development format that would include structure though predetermined set rules, have an outlet for unexpressed feeling, begin to establish a sense of trust in regards to sharing information with others, and promotes discussion of appropriate problem solving. Another strategy would include observation and interactions in her home environment, where a play would be more parent- child focused, observation would be made regarding their dynamic and interactions with the environment. As an OT working with D.B. in her home environment suggestions on adaptive strategies can be recommended in efforts to improve D.B.’s maladaptive behaviors and to increase parental interactions by providing suggestions for setting limits, modeling, and structure and routine.
2. Based on your readings identify 2 "play activities" that provide age appropriate outlets for feelings and thoughts in children. Reflect on your experiences to date working with pediatric clients. Have you seen those types of "play activities" being used in therapy? Did you feel that the goal was for the child to express feelings/thoughts? Write a long-term goal of your own for what you might work on with children who demonstrate behavioral issues.
Mental health is an important part of the overall health well-being for children. Childhood mental health disorder can affect children and their families causing a long-term impact on the parents and other family members as well as the child themselves. Mental disorders are described as chronic health conditions. These are disorders that can go on for a long period of time, that may continue throughout the lifespan. Without early diagnosis and treatment, children with mental disorders can have problems at home and in school. These problems can continue into adulthood for the child and cause other healthy development and delays.
According to Guideline 1.06 (a) In many communities and situations, it may not be feasible or reasonable for behavior analysts to avoid social or other non-professional contacts with persons such as clients, students, supervisees, or research participants. Behavior analysts must always be sensitive to the potential harmful effects of other contacts on their work and on those persons with whom they deal (Bailey & Burch, 2011, p. 65) A situation in which a behavior analyst faced the possible development of a dual relationship will be presented, as well as the steps that were taken in an attempt to avoid it. Guideline 1.0 Responsible Conduct of A Behavior Analyst states that the behavior analyst maintains the high standards of professional behavior of the professional organization. In our assigned text, Bailey and Burch specify that you should strive to avoid social contacts with your clients because it might interfere with your objectivity as a behavior analyst (2011) in regard to Guideline 1.06 Dual Relationships and Conflicts of
Wehrman, J. D., & Field, J. E. (2013). Play-Based Activities in Family Counseling. American Journal of Family Therapy, 41(4), 341-352. doi:10.1080/01926187.2012.704838
Rye N. Child-Centred Play Therapy. In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. 2010.
My desire for children in my care is that their learning journey would be meaningful as they explore the ideas and activities they are interested in. This means that I believe that children are naturally motivated learners and should have the opportunity to learn through their own explorations and through collaboration with other children and educators. I believe this can be done through both teacher-initiated and child-initiated activities and supported through play. I also believe that play is a natural and enjoyable means through which children learn. In my practice I aim to encourage children’s natural ...
The mental health assessment is a crucial part in everyday nursing care as it evaluates an individual’s mental condition to assess for risk factors of mental illnesses and provide optimal care and treatment. Mental health is described as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (CDC) If the patient not mentally healthy, they can develop mentally illnesses, which can affect treatment and the disease process of physical ailments because without mental health a person cannot be completely healthy. “Suicide Risk Assessment in High Risk Adolescents” is a nursing article that outlines suicide risk factors and prevention strategies for assist nurses in performing mental health assessments. Suicide, the act of
According to the 2010 AOTA Workforce Trend, twenty-two percent of occupational therapy takes place in schools of which the majorities are young children (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2010).This being said, Reilly and other late 20th century scholars, reclaimed play and leisure as a scientific and technical method of implementing therapy to clients, specifically young children and pediatrics (Boyt Schell, Gillen, & Scaffa, 2014). Reilly suggested that there are three hierarchical levels and stages of play in order for a child to achieve feelings of mastery: exploration, competency, and achievement. Ultimately, therapy introduced through play that a child had interest in, would achieve a high level of productivity (Askins, Diasio, Szewerniak, & Cahill,
Troubled Youth Despite many obstacles in my life, my experience performing community service stands out as the most memorable. I was sixteen at the time, and just beginning my first job at a fast food restaurant. I had to learn how to balance community service in the morning with my employment at the local Wendy’s. It was very stressful and influential at the same time.
Can you picture the student voted “most likely to succeed” in your graduating class? This individual must have had everything going for them. They probably had good grades, popular, never in trouble, no health issues and socially and emotionally stable. However, twenty years later, after graduating college, a successful business owner, had a beautiful wife and three kids, he decides emotionally he is done and takes his own life. Mental health issues can manifest at anytime with varying degrees of significance on the emotional stability of a person. Factors such as socioeconomic status, biological and environmental issues all dictate mental health needs. Obviously, a variety of circumstances can evoke these mental health issues. Now imagine coping with these mental health issues and being expected to still be a normal student and conform to your peers around you. This is what we expect of our students dealing with a variety of mental health issues. The policies and procedures are established to meet the needs of all students. The mental health issues are recognized and evaluated based on the best placement for the student to receive an education. The public school system has the responsibility to provide a free and appropriate education. The school does the best they can to provide a whole school approach to deal with the increasing number of mental health concerns. However, the mental health concerns carry on beyond high school.
The primary goals of childhood are to grow, learn, and play. It is often through play that children learn to make sense of the world around them. It is a child’s "job" or "occupation" to play to develop physical coordination, emotional maturity, social skills to interact with other children, and self-confidence to try new experiences and explore new environments”. Thus, is why children rehab facility look like a playhouse, as it is a way to engage these younger clients to do their individualized intervention. There were several interventions conducted during my observation at the Pediatric rehabilitation center.
The children are put through different learning experiences and tasks, for the professionals to evaluate and observe their different development stages. All this helps to understand the children’s adult characteristics for future life as every child’s play experiences are crucial to their adult life.
This week’s reading focused on infant mental illness and the problems with trying to classify these illnesses in young children. We also looked deeper into sensory processing disorder, autism and the different forms of autism. In Handbook of Infant Mental Health we learned that psychopathology in early childhood involves the study of mental illness in children such as Autism and Attention deficiency hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Mental Illness in children cannot be easily classify. Because toddlers are still developing it makes it hard to classify their behaviors as a mental problem and not a developmental issue.
This theory suggests that play plays a vital role of treating children’s disorders, children are able to gain some sense of control and alleviate their negative emotions including anxieties, fears and traumas through playing (Heidman & Hewitt, 2010; Freud, 1961). From the psychoanalytic perspective, play has a cathartic effect for children as it can assist children to cope with adverse feelings (Wolfberg, 2009, p. 32). Therefore, play is regarded as a therapeutic method to deal with the emotional problems (Wolfberg, 2009, p. 32). Moreover, this theory is of the view that play is an avenue to connect children’s past, current and future inner life (Willians, 2009, p. 575). Sigmund Freud was the pioneer who made a considerable contribution to this theory and he called “play” as the “royal road” to the child’s conscious and unconscious world (Willians, 2009, p. 575). He believed that play allows a combination of fantasy with reality, children should spend time playing every day as it is very healthy and necessarily (Willians, 2009, p. 575). Children are able to resolve psychological dilemmas, soften their worries and develop their understanding of life experiences (Wolfberg, 2009, p. 32). Erikson had further developed this theory, he recognized that the particular events are critical to shape the nature of
There are many health issues and concerns for teenagers. Many health issues are related to illegal substances but everyday food is just as big of a danger. Obesity is sweeping the nation and its due to all of the amount of junk food, fast food, and sweets that are promoted and sold every day. In the United States the number of teenagers that are obese is increasing rapidly. 18% of teen from ages 12 to 19 are obese. That is tripling teen obesity in 1980. 30% of kids from ages 6 to 19 years old are obese. These statistics show a huge problem and it is growing faster than ever.
Holistic development of young children is the key determination and through play they are able to survive and become physically healthy, able to learn, and emotionally secure and into where they progress into responsible and productive adults with positive reinforcements in the future. When there are societal issues that are barriers such as “technology, childhood obesity, culture, etc.” (Gaston, A, Module 1, Unit 1, 2016), children are then unable to revel in freedom of movement in where play is adventurous and brings out positive behavior. “Play supports the holistic development through the development of intellectual, emotions, socially, physical, creative and spiritual” (Gaston, A, Module 1, Unit 2, 2016), signifying that holistic development is an important factor to be aware of as the child grows. An example would be when in Workshop 1 of Social and Cognitive Styles of Play, we had to play in the given activity for the time being and observe our members and distinguish what kind of cognitive play it was. And one of the assigned question to