ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog

Although I have a lot to say about health insurance and occupational therapy I will save it for another day. That is a topic that deserves several entries. Instead, since people email me and tell me that they may be interested in starting their own private practices I thought that this 'other insurance' information would be interesting for people to read about. In the last month I have had interesting interactions with my professional liability insurance provider, my general liability insurance provider, and now the NY State Department of Labor who administers the FUTA tax, also known as ‘unemployment insurance.’ I dutifully pay our professional liability (malpractice, etc.) each year and have never had a claim thank goodness. It is common for large contracts to require listing on the policy as an ‘additional insured.’ This is fine, but the underwriting department of the professional liability insurance company has strict rules about the technical wording of who is listed as th...

OTs are trying to better understand the neurophysiological basis of sensory processing disorders. Several sites are conducting research using the Sensory Challenge Protocol . Preliminary studies (McIntosh, Miller, Shyu, & Hagerman, 1999) support the presence of a physiological basis of sensory modulation disorder (SMD), finding that electrodermal responses were larger in children with SMD, excepting those who were non-responders. Additionally, Schaaf, Miller, Sewell, & O'Keefe (2003) found that cardiac vagal tone index was significantly decreased for children who had identified sensory processing difficulties. These studies provide preliminary evidence that there is a physiological basis for SMD. Another method of researching the nature of sensory processing is to look at sensory processing in people with known neurophysiological problems. Lesion studies are a classic method for understanding function and dysfunction of the human nervous system. Of course precautions must ...

Today a colleague pointed out to me that there was such a thing as 'Sensory Stories.' During a conversation on the ABC Therapeutics discussion board she asked about 'Sensory Stories' and I thought she was talking about Carol Gray's Social Stories. Turns out that some folks have tweaked the Social Story concept and are now marketing products. For more information on Sensory Stories you can buy them here or read information from the authors here . It seems that these are customizable stories that employ sensory-based strategies to help children learn to cope with hyper-responsivity to certain sensory information. In addition to the sensory strategies the authors suggest repetitive reading of the story, perhaps setting up a cognitive-behavioral script to help establish a coping routine to an upsetting situation. The authors provide recommendations for how often the stories should be read, and make statements about their research - although this is all just weasel-wor...

This is a lot of information to get to a book recommendation at the end, but I hope the information along the way will be helpful. In occupational therapy, context refers to a variety of interrelated conditions including cultural, physical, social, personal, spiritual, temporal, and virtual factors that influence performance (AOTA, 2002). Performance contexts are taken into consideration when determining function and dysfunction within an environment. The concept of “contextual factors” was not explicitly stated in the occupational therapy literature until the profession adopted Uniform Terminology III (AOTA, 1994). This document included the earliest named references to contextual factors that occupational therapists consider. Specifically, it mentioned temporal aspects including chronological age, developmental stage of maturation, point of location in the life cycle, and disability status. Additionally, the definition of cultural contexts includes customs, beliefs, and activity patt...

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. M. Haddon. New York: Vintage.226 pp. $12.95.Paperback In this mystery novel the protagonist narrates through his journey into awareness of adult relationships. The story is at times engrossingly accurate and at times painfully pedantic. Ironically, in a story about a protagonist who perhaps has Asperger’s Syndrome or some other form of high functioning autism I imagine that is supposed to be the point. Unfortunately, the story ultimately fails because the author can’t resolve the fact that the real ending is already known, despite the ‘mystery’ being revealed on page 120. Christopher is an interesting character and his quirkiness is probably what drew critics to praise the book. I don’t imagine that the critics have ever met someone like the protagonist, so his ‘differences’ are captivating enough to keep an uninformed reader glued to the pages long enough to finish reading. Sadly, the author reinforces the disability-as-magic-power my...