Reflection #1 Jon Glenn, Jordan Campus Librarian
On Wed. Jan 11, 2012, we had a guest speaker in our Modalities II class. Jon Glenn, who is the Jordan Campus Librarian and Director of Campus and Liaison Services at Salt Lake Community College, came and spoke to us for about 75 minutes.
Jon was so knowledgeable. I had no idea how much could be found in the library. I knew that you could access all of the books that were in their system and on the other campus’ of SLCC, but I had no idea that you could access most anything around the whole country! It was actually pretty cool and comforting to know that we can go there anytime and get any information that we want. They have a texting service where you can “ask a librarian” by texting any question that you have to them, and they will text you back the answer! The only reason that I have gone to the library on this campus was to watch some videos, and use the computers, but I do feel more comfortable now, knowing how much they have to offer.
The night after Jon came, I did get on the library website and followed the steps that he taught us in order to find a journal article. I also plan to go up there in the near future to ask for some help with my e-‐portfolio. They offer help with this by appointment or on a walk in basis.
Jon did a really good job of showing us some interactive websites that were very interesting. I especially like the anatomy site that was 3 dimensional and would have been very helpful last semester! They have many textbooks, magazines and books dedicated to Occupational Therapy and access to anything else that has to do with our study, that we could possibly want. I know I will be spending a lot of time there when I am studying to take the national exam, as they have all of the practice exam books there.
All in all I learned a lot about what the library has to offer me as a student and opened my eyes to what is available, considering up until this point I only used the library for checking out novels... back when I had time to read!
Jon was so knowledgeable. I had no idea how much could be found in the library. I knew that you could access all of the books that were in their system and on the other campus’ of SLCC, but I had no idea that you could access most anything around the whole country! It was actually pretty cool and comforting to know that we can go there anytime and get any information that we want. They have a texting service where you can “ask a librarian” by texting any question that you have to them, and they will text you back the answer! The only reason that I have gone to the library on this campus was to watch some videos, and use the computers, but I do feel more comfortable now, knowing how much they have to offer.
The night after Jon came, I did get on the library website and followed the steps that he taught us in order to find a journal article. I also plan to go up there in the near future to ask for some help with my e-‐portfolio. They offer help with this by appointment or on a walk in basis.
Jon did a really good job of showing us some interactive websites that were very interesting. I especially like the anatomy site that was 3 dimensional and would have been very helpful last semester! They have many textbooks, magazines and books dedicated to Occupational Therapy and access to anything else that has to do with our study, that we could possibly want. I know I will be spending a lot of time there when I am studying to take the national exam, as they have all of the practice exam books there.
All in all I learned a lot about what the library has to offer me as a student and opened my eyes to what is available, considering up until this point I only used the library for checking out novels... back when I had time to read!
Reflection #2 Dr. Wang
On January 25, we listened to a guest speaker in our Modalities II class. His name was Dr. Wang and he was from Beijing China. He spoke to us for just over an hour about the way that they treat patients who have strokes with Chinese medicine. It was interesting to hear and learn from him.
He started out my likening the stroke to the “wind”. They call a stroke the “Wind Syndrome”. He said that a stroke comes on fast, like the wind; it causes your limbs to swing and be limp, like the wind; and gives one side of your body trouble; like the wind can cause a tree to lean to one side. I thought it was an interesting analogy. Dr. Wang listed some things that may cause a stroke.
The inside causes of a stroke are:
o Age–after50
o Character – irritability, quick to anger
o Diet-‐ greasy fatty foods, too much wine
o Tired – in bed too much and too much sex
The outside causes are: o Anger
o Weather
o Temperature
He explained about how there are 2 different syndromes of strokes. The first is the Block Syndrome, that is characterized by a tight closed mouth, eyes open, hands closed, no stool or urine, no sweat, hot skin, and strong.
The next type is the Exhaustion Syndrome. This is the opposite, with the mouth open, hands open, incontinence, excessive sweat, cold and weak.
When he started talking about the treatments it really got interesting. They use acupuncture on specific pressure points, to “wake up” the body, and let go of some of the energy. Moxibustion is used when the patient has too little energy and needs to “collect” energy, with a technique that uses salt and ginger. They also drink tea with herbs to help prevent a stroke. The most interesting part was when he described how they will sometimes bleed the patients from their fingertips and the tip of the ear and push the blood out.
I’m not sure what I was expecting to hear before he came, but some of this seamed archaic, and surprised me. After discussing it with the class, we discussed the culture of China and I understood a lot more. I think it would be interesting to learn more about this and the Chinese people in general. All in all, I enjoyed learning about how they treat patients and found it all very interesting. He was a very nice man, sometimes difficult to understand, but you could tell that he believed in the Chinese Philosophy, and I enjoyed the lecture.
He started out my likening the stroke to the “wind”. They call a stroke the “Wind Syndrome”. He said that a stroke comes on fast, like the wind; it causes your limbs to swing and be limp, like the wind; and gives one side of your body trouble; like the wind can cause a tree to lean to one side. I thought it was an interesting analogy. Dr. Wang listed some things that may cause a stroke.
The inside causes of a stroke are:
o Age–after50
o Character – irritability, quick to anger
o Diet-‐ greasy fatty foods, too much wine
o Tired – in bed too much and too much sex
The outside causes are: o Anger
o Weather
o Temperature
He explained about how there are 2 different syndromes of strokes. The first is the Block Syndrome, that is characterized by a tight closed mouth, eyes open, hands closed, no stool or urine, no sweat, hot skin, and strong.
The next type is the Exhaustion Syndrome. This is the opposite, with the mouth open, hands open, incontinence, excessive sweat, cold and weak.
When he started talking about the treatments it really got interesting. They use acupuncture on specific pressure points, to “wake up” the body, and let go of some of the energy. Moxibustion is used when the patient has too little energy and needs to “collect” energy, with a technique that uses salt and ginger. They also drink tea with herbs to help prevent a stroke. The most interesting part was when he described how they will sometimes bleed the patients from their fingertips and the tip of the ear and push the blood out.
I’m not sure what I was expecting to hear before he came, but some of this seamed archaic, and surprised me. After discussing it with the class, we discussed the culture of China and I understood a lot more. I think it would be interesting to learn more about this and the Chinese people in general. All in all, I enjoyed learning about how they treat patients and found it all very interesting. He was a very nice man, sometimes difficult to understand, but you could tell that he believed in the Chinese Philosophy, and I enjoyed the lecture.
Reflection #3 UCAT
On Feb 1st our Modalities class went to the Utah Center for Assistive Technology (UCAT) on 1595 w 500 s, in Salt Lake City. We listened to Craig Boogaard for about 1 ½ hours as he talked about the different services that they offer. UCAT is state funded, and the services are available for free with “no hoops to jump through.” If you have a disability, you are eligible. They will help you select, be fitted for, design or even adapt a commercially bought device. Craig talked about the conjoined twins that are here in Utah, that he fabricated a car seat for. UCAT is not affiliated with any company, so they do not try to sell you any specific product, they just have the knowledge and let you decide yourself, and try them out. They even have a library of different assistive technology devices, that you can check out and take home to try for 30 days, since your consultation is only 1 ½ hours long.
Steve Townsend is one of their employees that is the only authorized man in Utah to certify you to drive an adapted vehicle. Another specialist, Bryan Carroll, works with Environmental control. He himself is in a wheelchair with no use of his arms or legs. He uses a Sip and Puff to control lights, the TV, the phone, and even controls the doors at UCAT.
He demonstrated different assistive technology devices and passed them around for us to touch and try. There were headbands that we used to control a computer mouse, different switches you can use to control lights, radio, toys or whatever you needed. I really enjoyed this fieldtrip. I had no idea there was so much available and know that I will use them in my future profession. This was very informative.
Steve Townsend is one of their employees that is the only authorized man in Utah to certify you to drive an adapted vehicle. Another specialist, Bryan Carroll, works with Environmental control. He himself is in a wheelchair with no use of his arms or legs. He uses a Sip and Puff to control lights, the TV, the phone, and even controls the doors at UCAT.
He demonstrated different assistive technology devices and passed them around for us to touch and try. There were headbands that we used to control a computer mouse, different switches you can use to control lights, radio, toys or whatever you needed. I really enjoyed this fieldtrip. I had no idea there was so much available and know that I will use them in my future profession. This was very informative.
Reflection #4 TLP: The Listening Program
On February 8 in our Modalities II class, we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about “The Listening Program” for about an hour. Her name was Susan Snee M.Ed, and she is the Education Program Manager from Advanced Brain Technologies. The program that she was explaining helped with auditory processing. She explained that auditory processing has to do with the way that our brains process incoming data. We should be able to separate something from the background noise, process outside stimuli, and understand different timings and patterns. If we cannot do any of these things, than the listening program could help. When she first started explaining this, I was a little skeptical. It seemed a little far out there, that putting on headphones and listening to classical music, could make such a difference to someone. It is all based on a Dr. named Alfred Tomatis, a researcher, who believed that learning was everything. He was the pioneer of sound therapy. He believed that the building blocks of auditory processing are frequency, volume and timing. Our bodies also respond to tempo and rhythm. The Listening Program uses classical music, but modifies it by removing and adding different frequencies.
The most interesting part was when she read the story of RinderCella, which was the story of Cinderella with some of the beginnings of words switched around. It was an example of what people who have auditory problems might hear. They would not be able to comprehend the subject matter of what they were hearing.
By the end, I could see how this would be helpful. I definitely would love to learn more about it, and see if it really did make a difference to people. I would love to use this in future therapy with patients. All in all I enjoyed this presentation and I learned a lot.
The most interesting part was when she read the story of RinderCella, which was the story of Cinderella with some of the beginnings of words switched around. It was an example of what people who have auditory problems might hear. They would not be able to comprehend the subject matter of what they were hearing.
By the end, I could see how this would be helpful. I definitely would love to learn more about it, and see if it really did make a difference to people. I would love to use this in future therapy with patients. All in all I enjoyed this presentation and I learned a lot.
Reflection #5 Emery Blanchard from "TRAIL"
Emery Blanchard came to our Modalities II class on February 8, and spoke to us for about an hour. She is a COTA/L, and spoke to us on the topic of Spinal Cord Injuries. She graduated from the OTA Program at SLCC in 2009, and now is volunteering for an organization called “TRAIL”, Therapeutic Recreation and Active Individual Lifestyles. TRAIL is a totally free program that caters to those with a spinal cord injury. They offer numerous recreational activities such as handcycling, skiing, swimming, kayaking, scuba diving, and many more. Emery also mentioned that some people just want to rent the equipment and do the activity of their own and now with the group, and the University of Utah rents out all of the equipment for free. That was awesome I thought. She showed us a movie that was absolutely amazing! Before she came, I really didn’t know much about SCI’s. I had absolutely no idea they were able to do so much. The movie was so inspiring to watch. I came away with a whole new perspective. I loved learning about this!
Emery also talked on the subject of intimacy with a person who has suffered a spinal cord injury. It was one of those things that I have wondered about, but never had an opportunity to learn. It was very interesting and I was glad that she was open and honest and mature about the subject. The one thing that struck me, was when she mentioned “body image”. Sometimes, she said, that people with a SCI think that they cant be sexy anymore, with all of their scars, and that they are not attractive. If they cant have sex the way they used to, then they don’t want it at all. I have never thought about this before.
I will definitely feel more comfortable now if I am ever in the position to work with a client to has suffered a SCI. It actually made me want to learn more about it, and to think about my future profession, and where I want to focus my attention. I am so glad we got to listen to Emery. I learned so much, and went away so inspired by the movie and have a new respect. Loved it!
Emery also talked on the subject of intimacy with a person who has suffered a spinal cord injury. It was one of those things that I have wondered about, but never had an opportunity to learn. It was very interesting and I was glad that she was open and honest and mature about the subject. The one thing that struck me, was when she mentioned “body image”. Sometimes, she said, that people with a SCI think that they cant be sexy anymore, with all of their scars, and that they are not attractive. If they cant have sex the way they used to, then they don’t want it at all. I have never thought about this before.
I will definitely feel more comfortable now if I am ever in the position to work with a client to has suffered a SCI. It actually made me want to learn more about it, and to think about my future profession, and where I want to focus my attention. I am so glad we got to listen to Emery. I learned so much, and went away so inspired by the movie and have a new respect. Loved it!
Reflection #6 Talina Daniels from the DRC
On February 9th in our Modalities II class, we had a guest speaker come in and speak to us for about an hour. Her name was Talina Daniels and she was from the Disabilities Resource Center at Salt Lake Community College at the Redwood Campus. She is the advisor to, and oversees adaptive equipment. She has been totally blind for 13 years and was totally amazing. She has 2 Masters Degrees, and completely uses adaptive equipment for her computer. She some of the adaptive programs that are out there for people who have a disability, and said that the Redwood Campus has 12 computers that are full of assistive technology. Talina also brought a man named Mike with her who is the Support Specialist to trainer and the DRC, and taught at the South Campus for 9 years.
Together they showed some programs, and let us try some out for ourselves, so we would know exactly how they work. One of the programs was Dragon Dictation. With this program you can completely dictate with your voice and tell it to send it wherever you want. It takes about 20 minutes to train Dragon to your voice, and it gets better and better the longer you use it. It is a very cool program that you can set to read your document back to you and any speed you want. I just got this on my phone and Ipad, but I haven’t really used it yet.
Kurzweil 3000 is another program that was really cool. This program will read the internet for you. The only thing it cant do was math. Evidently this is something that will take some time before computer programs can master that. There are so many features that Kurzweil has, but one amazing one was the fact that you could set the language and it could read a book to you that was in Spanish!
The most in interesting part was when she talked about the program JAWS, and came over to my computer to show me an example of what it would be like if I were blind. She had me turn off my computer monitor and run the program by just listening through the headphones and with the keyboard. It was very frustrating, but I learned so much.
Before Talina spoke, I had no idea that all this technology was out there! It is amazing, and I feel now like I could actually help people in my future profession, and explain what is available for them. I am excited for the opportunity.
Together they showed some programs, and let us try some out for ourselves, so we would know exactly how they work. One of the programs was Dragon Dictation. With this program you can completely dictate with your voice and tell it to send it wherever you want. It takes about 20 minutes to train Dragon to your voice, and it gets better and better the longer you use it. It is a very cool program that you can set to read your document back to you and any speed you want. I just got this on my phone and Ipad, but I haven’t really used it yet.
Kurzweil 3000 is another program that was really cool. This program will read the internet for you. The only thing it cant do was math. Evidently this is something that will take some time before computer programs can master that. There are so many features that Kurzweil has, but one amazing one was the fact that you could set the language and it could read a book to you that was in Spanish!
The most in interesting part was when she talked about the program JAWS, and came over to my computer to show me an example of what it would be like if I were blind. She had me turn off my computer monitor and run the program by just listening through the headphones and with the keyboard. It was very frustrating, but I learned so much.
Before Talina spoke, I had no idea that all this technology was out there! It is amazing, and I feel now like I could actually help people in my future profession, and explain what is available for them. I am excited for the opportunity.
Reflection #7 Janine Donald from "SPLORE"
In Modalities class today, February 15, we listened to a guest speaker from “Splore”. Her name was Janine Donald and she was the Associate Director and spoke for about 45 min. Splore is a company that provides outdoor recreation and education opportunities to people with all kinds of abilities and disabilities. It started in the late 1970’s as a non-‐profit organization in Moab, Utah. In the 80’s they opened up in Salt Lake City, and are no longer non-‐profit, but have a successful company, one of a handful along the Wasatch front, that provides professional adventures, and empowers people and helps them with future endeavors. She talked about “Dignity of Risk”, which explains how some disabled people have been sheltered all of their lives, and haven’t been offered too much independence. Splore believes that living a full and robust life involves risk, and that is so powerful.
They are open year round, and offer rafting, canoeing, rock climbing, skiing, camping, snowshoeing and more. They work with people with autism, schizophrenia, AIDS, chronic fatigue, MD, MS, Vets, and many more. They don’t turn anyone away. They employ about 16 guides, but rely on many volunteers to make the experience successful. Janine said that the magic of Splore is that if you are volunteering, you may come not knowing a soul, but leave with a best friend.
Before I heard this, I assumed it would be a cool company, but after hearing her speak, I would be very excited to volunteer and experience it first hand. I think it would be a great resource for people and will definitely tell future clients about it.
They are open year round, and offer rafting, canoeing, rock climbing, skiing, camping, snowshoeing and more. They work with people with autism, schizophrenia, AIDS, chronic fatigue, MD, MS, Vets, and many more. They don’t turn anyone away. They employ about 16 guides, but rely on many volunteers to make the experience successful. Janine said that the magic of Splore is that if you are volunteering, you may come not knowing a soul, but leave with a best friend.
Before I heard this, I assumed it would be a cool company, but after hearing her speak, I would be very excited to volunteer and experience it first hand. I think it would be a great resource for people and will definitely tell future clients about it.
Reflection #8 Intermountain Therapy Animals
In Modalities on February 15, we had a guest speaker come Intermountain
Therapy Animals. Her name was Kathy Klotz, and she spoke for about 45 min. It
was very interesting and inspiring to learn about, especially since I have been
researching this for an article I am writing. I love hearing all of the different stories
and am such a believer in this type of therapy. I love dogs and have felt first hand
the love and acceptance they have to offer. We had a small experience with this last
year, when my daughter ended up in the hospital for a week.
I loved how she described the animals as ‘catalysts’. They motivate and
inspire the patients to want to get going and work on their therapy. Patients want
to engage the animals, and their focus turns outward instead of on their own
problems or pain. They end up being more alert and aware, and their quality of life
is enhanced through the human-‐animal bond.
Kathy told a story of the supervisor at the burn unit ICU in SLC. She said that he allows the dogs to come in because they ‘slow down’ even the staff. It is a very high stress job, and the dogs are very therapeutic for the nurses as well as the patients. She explained that there is nothing normal about the hospital environment, and that when the dogs are there, the children especially, focus on play instead of therapy.
I loved this and fully agree with all that was shared today. There is no doubt I will use this at some point in my future profession if I have any say in the matter!
Kathy told a story of the supervisor at the burn unit ICU in SLC. She said that he allows the dogs to come in because they ‘slow down’ even the staff. It is a very high stress job, and the dogs are very therapeutic for the nurses as well as the patients. She explained that there is nothing normal about the hospital environment, and that when the dogs are there, the children especially, focus on play instead of therapy.
I loved this and fully agree with all that was shared today. There is no doubt I will use this at some point in my future profession if I have any say in the matter!