My sixth grade science teacher sat me at a table with children in my class who had special needs. At the time, I perceived it as a punishment, but she later showed me her intentions. One day, she pulled me aside and thanked me for sitting there and working with those kids. She told me that my patience and kindness allowed those students to excel in ways that they never had before in that class. She listed instances where she watched over us from her desk and saw me including all of them in the work we were assigned and making sure they knew they had a voice in what was going on. She even gave me a gift and presented me with an award at the end of the year. I didn’t know it then, but that experience is ultimately what led me to the field of occupational therapy. …show more content…
This interest combined with the events in sixth grade led me in the direction of working with special needs children. I looked into becoming a special education teacher or even a biomedical engineer, but these careers only encompassed a few of my interests, and there were several aspects I disliked about them.
I mistakenly stumbled upon occupational therapy after seeing a commercial on TV about a rehabilitation center. I had no idea what occupational therapy was nor was I aware of all of the different paths one could take upon choosing that career. I curiously searched the internet for more information and it revealed to me that occupational therapy was the field I wanted to pursue. Ever since that point, I have dedicated myself to becoming an OT.
I have observed and volunteered alongside occupational therapists in both the pediatric and the geriatric setting, I attended the three-day career exploration camp held at Misericordia University, and I centered my senior project on my experiences in the field and my interest in pursuing this
The first question many people will ask you when it comes to choosing a career is “why did you choose that career?” Debbie explained that she knew she wanted to pursue this career when she was younger she grew up in the same household of her grandmother after she had a stroke. Being an Occupational Therapist is about wanting to help someone gain back their independence and you have to want it as much as they do!
Becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant has been an ambition of mine for several years now. After researching, job shadowing, and talking to professionals, I have decided to make Occupation Therapy my career. My passion is to help patients by participating and assisting them in their recovery from injuries and disabilities. My compassionate and caring attitude will be vital assets in pursuing this career. After training in Occupational Therapy, it is motivating for me to know that I will be a part of assisting patients to gain back their independence. Helping others is something that I am passionate about in my career and in my spare time. I have been on several mission trips to Haiti and other places which I have provided care for others in a medical setting.
It can be given to anyone who wants to learn about occupational therapy in the psychosocial aspect. When I am working in the field and someone wants to learn more about what I do and what my career includes, I can give them this article to get a basic understanding of what I do. After a person reads this article, I can highlight some of the main points in the article to give them a better understanding of what is occupational therapy is in the psychosocial aspect. It is important for me to keep this article on hand because if someone wants to look up what I do and they do not know where to begin, I can give them this article to read to get a basic understanding of what I do and they can get an idea of what to research. This article is not only for clients and client’s friends and family, but it can be used for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistances. This article can be used as a refresher for a therapist if they are having a hard time remembering something about this
My work experience helped me confirm my interest when I got to see the roles of Occupational Therapists first hand. I was able to spend time shadowing an individual from a special needs school, which moved onto being able to run sessions with minimal help in gross and fine motor skills with the children who have a wide range of disabilities. It was a great experience to observe how everyday objects could be used to help build up these skills and how much the children enjoyed the activities. I was also able to shadow an OT within the Early Intervention in Psychosis team, this
Occupational therapy was a career choice I fell into. When I first arrived to Keiser University back in 2009 I was going to apply for the physical therapy assistant program. Physical and speech therapy where the only therapeutic disciplines I had any knowledge of at that time. When I met with the admissions counselor she informed me the waiting list for the PTA program was about two years, I was floored I wasn’t going to wait that long I needed to start school ASAP. The counselor then asked me “ what is your goal?” and my response was “to work with children in the medical field without being too medically involved”. She then handed me an occupational therapy pamphlet and I just signed the paper work to start that month. I honestly
Occupational therapy is the career that I chose as my major and to do my research
I find occupational therapy to pique my drive to teach people valuable life skills as well as learn from those people and their experiences. Being an occupational therapist would allow me to have one-on-one interactions with patients and establish meaningful relationships over the course of time. It would also give me the dutiful privilege and responsibility of instilling confidence in others and helping them realize their full potential in self-suffiency. All of my personal experiences, challenges, educational backgrounds, and professional interactions have guided me toward pursuing my goals of gaining experience working in all populations, enabling patients to thrive in their daily lifestyle, and spread public awareness of what OT has
People across the world participate in recovery programs every day. Dedicated people in professions, such as occupational therapy, work to help each person regain his or her ability to engage in everyday activities. One wishing to pursue a career in occupational therapy would first need to evaluate the career and the significant effects on themselves and the clients.
field of occupational therapy and how this fit my aspiration to make a difference in peoples lives. At this
Occupational therapy has a multifaceted nature providing endless opportunities to serve a wide range of people within many environments, which is just one of the reasons I love this occupation. My long term goals enlist the desire to maximize my knowledge and abilities to care and supplement the lives of anyone that may cross my path in this career. I have seen occupational therapy positively impact the lives of people around me, and I strive to be a bigger role on the team helping make that happen.
My journey to pursue an education in physical therapy actually originates from my early childhood. I endured a very impoverished upbringing and my family’s socioeconomic status was below the poverty line. At a very young age, money became the central issue of my life. I found myself worrying about mortgages, health bills, and grocery money. As I grew older, I vowed to myself that I would not endure my family’s financial burdens into my adulthood. I knew the best way to accomplish this was by obtaining a college degree and having a professional career. However, I was unsure what career I wanted to pursue. I experimented with many different career ideas, but during my sophomore, I discovered my passion and skill for physical medicine. For my
In conclusion, it is necessary to plan effective interventions in order to support the participation of our elders in our community. Occupational therapists can get involved in our community and help this age group in improving their lifestyle. The main target always being to promote involvement in activities that not only promotes physical activity but also activities that encourages them to use their ideas and knowledge to attend their needs. This will make is easier for our elders to leap into retirement as is the case of my father. This is a good starting point to focus my interest in the area of geriatrics in the field of occupational therapy.
I started working for the school district and really enjoyed working with the kids, but they were only mild special education, kids who had reading problems or language barriers, some with more severe problems. I knew that I wanted something more challenging.
Currently, my plan upon graduation would be to return home to the states to prepare and take the board exam, which would allow me to practice in my home country. Though I enjoy working with people of all ages, I envision myself as a pediatric occupational therapist. I believe that working with children of all abilities in a private practice or clinical setting would be the perfect fit for me. I would also be interested in learning more about travel therapy. Working in this type of setting would let me be creative with different modalities. For example, I want to incorporate activities I am passionate about, including aerial silks, trapeze, and yoga, into future therapy sessions. Occupational therapy has a variety of specialties, which makes
I spent most of my time in a first grade classroom. In this classroom I observed the children as well as the teacher and paraprofessional. This classroom had children with special needs and that is why there was a paraprofessional in the classroom for half the day. What I observed in this classroom was how children with special need should be handle and taught. The teachers in this room loves her job and each student in her class. While in the classroom the teacher allowed me to help with children with their work, read to them and help them with anything else that they needed. During this field experience I got to give back to not only a school, but to a community that is very near and dear to my heart. I hope that I touched each student in a special way, because the students that I got the opportunity to help learn touched my