ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog

I received this email today, and I thought it was a great question: I am an adult who has Sensory Integration problems that were diagnosed three years ago. I also have central auditory processing disorder and was recently diagnosed with Asperger's. I have had some OT in the past for the SI difficulties, and was wondering if you knew of services for adults with these problems. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sensory integration refers to an 'unseen' process that has not yet been clinically defined - people have suggested that it may be a neurochemical problem, or perhaps a neuromigrational problem, or perhaps something else entirely. However, occupational therapists are claiming that it is SOMETHING that has to do with neurological processing - a lot of current research is looking at sympathetic and parasympathetic sensory processing of information. There are also some occupational therapists who claim that the prevalence of SPD can be as high as 5% (in the 'n...

When we see people who need occupational therapy they have to be understood in more than organic terms. That may seem obvious to some but I know it is not obvious to all. I know that it is not obvious to all because so much of clinical practice looks like it is oriented toward the organic or biological level. People are more than the sum of their parts, of course - and that is why I find it so important to let my anthropologist out for a walk. I was reviewing these 'field notes' from some time I spent teaching at a college - and I wondered how different the intervention plans would be if they both came to an occupational therapy clinic with similar injuries or needs: Penny and Natalie are moving in two different directions. I watched their trajectories intersect for a couple months and it provided a lot material to think about. Let me start by saying that they don't even know each other. But they are the same age - having both just turned 21. Natalie will graduate in a yea...

I got email from a parent today asking me how to answer some difficult questions from her son. I told her that it was ok for parents to 'make up a story' for the short term if the real issue at question was too developmentally complex for the child to comprehend. Parents have a lifetime to be honest with their children, and sometimes it is ok to hold the truth for just a little while. The truth is hard for children to understand, sometimes. I admit that I have a long history of 'telling stories' to children. I do this for fun, and to sometimes promote a fantastic world to them. The world is so much more fun when it is also fantastic. So although I 'stretch' the truth I also know that you reap what you sow (in so many ways). I know this intuitively. This is something that I always keep in mind, hopefully in the forefront, as I go about the daily tasks associated with raising and also in working with young children. But inevitably, kids ask difficult questions and...

As promised, here are a few pictures of our new space... this is the desk I am currently sitting at and making this entry. It belongs to the receptionist but I have temporarily taken over until I get my own office out of boxes. This is one of the gross motor areas. Phase II of our building project will add an additional gross motor gym, as well as an outdoor play area and bike path. With over an acre to develop we are having a lot of fun developing ideas! We especially love the interior design that makes it feel so open and fun for swings! Here is Danielle Green, a Level II student from Quinnipiac College, working with one of our friends in the fine motor treatment area! ...and of course we always have time for fun at ABC Therapeutics! Here is a nice picture of our two Halloween ladybugs!