Monday, 4 June 2012
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Tutorial Eight: Assistive Technology
Assistive technology can be defined as “any item, piece of equipment or product
system whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized
that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with
disabilities” (States Act, as cited in Cook & Hussey, 1995). I think that assistive technology is any type of technology that can assist an individual to participate and engage in occupation.
There is a very wide range of assistive technologies out there in the world today, so I have chosen to talk about the iPad 2, as I think it is something that has been able to help many individuals who have disabilities. The Apple iPad is a very useful tool in practice for Occupational Therapists. It is quite reasonable, easy to store, and has many different functions and apps.
Here is the link to the Apple iPad website for more information on size, cost and functions of the iPad
The
Apple iPad 2 is a piece of technology, like a lap top but with only one half,
that is very easily portable, can connect to wireless internet, and can have
many apps that can allow individuals to do many different things. The Apple
iPad 2 is 7.31 inches x 9.50 inches and 0.34 inches thick. It weighs
approximately 601grams, and has a storage capacity of 16GB (Apple, 2012). It is very
unique in the way that it can be tailored to suit your own use and what you
will be using it for. Cost
of the iPad 2 can range from around $500 - $800 (Apple, 2012).
Here is the link to the Apple iPad website for more information on size, cost and functions of the iPad:
Some of its main functions and built in apps include: camera, email, use of internet (wireless), maps, face time, iBooks and many many more. From the basic apps you are then able to expand on these by getting any kind of apps you require. As an OT this can very much be beneficial to clients, as there are apps out there now that can enable non-verbal individuals to communicate.
The AutismXpress is “designed to encourage people
with autism to recognizes and express their emotions through its fun and easy
to use interface.” (Apple, 2012). The link below will take you to the app store where you can see some screen shots of this app.
Below is a video of what the iPad can help individuals achieve:
With more and more apps being developed all the time this is only increasing the use of the iPad for assistive technology purposes. In class we were able to use the iPad as a communicator to make a smoothie as we were supposed to be 'non-verbal' communicators. This was a very useful task as it gave us insight into what it would really be like to not be able to communicate verbally. It also gave me a great feeling to think that there is apps out there that provide peoples only means of communication for them. I am not great with technology myself so I don't know a whole lot about iPad's but I am beginning to learn more about them and I am looking forward to be able to use great assistive technologies such as the iPad in my future practice as an Occupational Therapist.
References
Cook, A. M., & Hussey, S. M. (1995). Assistive
technologies: Principles and practice. Missouri: Mosby.
Tutorial Seven: Linking to Blogs of Interest and Exchanging Comments
For the purpose of this tutorial task I
have searched blogging sites to find blogs that are of interest to me as an
Occupational Therapy student.Such as Occupational Therapy Blogs.
An example of where I have commented and
gotten feedback from another blog is shown below:
2 comments:
Tutorial Six: The Internet and Online Communities
For this post I am going to provide a brief
description of three online communities that are out there for stroke victims.
These are online communities that will help with support of stroke victims and
their families.
The first online community is the Stroke
Foundation New Zealand. It is a web site for individuals who have experienced a
stroke to be able to go to and find out information, such as resources that
could provide them with information about strokes. It also gives you
information on how to contact them for help. The site is quite interactive as
you can look at all the different information and pop up windows that they have
to offer; however there are no interactive activities etc. People can
contribute to the site as they have a ‘Help Us’ section where people can go and
donate, fundraise, or volunteer. As I have already said the web site enables
you to contact the stroke foundation for help, they have an info help line, and
also ways to contact help in your region.
Link to this community: http://www.stroke.org.nz/help-stroke-foundation
The second online community is a Stroke
Care website by St George’s University of London. It is a website that gives
you links to a number of other websites, all based on stroke. Including other
online communities such as the Stroke Association. The site does not have any
interactive activities but it is interactive in the way that you can just click
on a link and it will take you straight to the website. You can contact the
people who run the site by emailing them, but apart from that it is very much a
one-way thing where they contribute but you don’t.
Link to this community: http://www.strokecare.co.uk/resources%20and%20help/links/website-links
The third online community is the National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. This site gives you information
first of all of what a stroke is, how common it is etc. It then gives you
information on the effects and stroke can have and the rehabilitation process
that occurs after having a stroke. This online community also gives you links
to other resources that may be useful to you. There is also a lot more added
information on this site, but not all of it is specific to stroke. The purpose
of this site is to provide you with information on the condition of a stroke. As
far as I can tell there is not really any way that you yourself can contribute
to the site, it is more them contributing to the site for your purposes.
Link to this community: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/stroke.htm
When being a part of an online community
there are always ethical issues to consider and that may arise. Informed
consent and copyright are two of the main ethical issues that come to mind when
I think of online communities. As anyone is able to discuss things via the
Internet and web pages it is important that they have gained informed consent
from the person in which they are sharing information about. With my online
communities I found, not just anyone could post anything on the pages. Each of
the web sites had other ways that you could contact the people running the
website and say what you wanted to say. Also the information that is on the
website has been copyrighted. So that makes it important when using information
that is taken straight from the website that it is properly referenced. This
will hopefully stop most of the copyright ethical issues that may arise.
The benefits of these online communities
include:
·
A lot of knowledge provided
around stroke, what it is, what are the symptoms of stroke etc.
·
Extra links provided that will
give you further information or support the information that site is giving
you.
·
Means to contact the people who
run the site with comments.
·
Also being able to contact the
Stroke Foundation for help.
The limitations of there online communities
include:
·
People who don’t have access to
a computer will not be able to take part in these online communities.
·
People who are not very good
with technology or don’t know how to navigate their way around websites may
struggle to use these online communities.
·
There is a lack of interactive
activities on these websites, a lot of just reading information and
calling/contacting for help if you need to.
Tutorial Five: Video Production Sessions
Stroke is topic within the Occupational Therapy practice area
and is a topic of interest for me. I have worked with a few clients on my first
fieldwork experience that have had strokes and I found this to be very
interesting and helped widen my knowledge about strokes. I am really looking
forward to working with individuals who have suffered from a stroke in future
placements or future practice. Below I have chosen five videos about Stroke
that I found very interesting. I chose 5 very different videos so that those
reading could expand their knowledge base about Stroke and gain a better
understanding. These videos will help to explain what a stroke is, some of the effects of a stroke, and some symptoms of a stroke.
They will also show a victim who has gone through an intense rehabilitation to
recover from her stroke, and shows us some amazing technology that will allow
stroke victims to do things they previously couldn’t.
This first video is an animation that
provides a brief overview of what a stroke is, and what is be happening in the
brain when a stroke occurs.
This second video is about some of the
effects that may come from having a stroke.
The next video outlines some of the
symptoms that could occur when having a stroke.
This next video is about an individual who
has suffered from a stroke, and recovered.
This last video is about stroke victims who
are paralyzed being able to move a robotic arm with only their thoughts.
References
Youtube. (2012). Stroke animation video. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_fo6ytlmD0
Youtube. (2012). Effects of stroke (stroke recovery #1). Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2GHf6TS490&feature=relmfu
Youtube. (2012). Signs and symptoms of a stroke. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=dn8gV2dLx8A
Youtube. (2012). Recovery from a stroke: Valerie’s story. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Hx_eRHTl0&feature=related
Youtube. (2012). Stroke victims move robot arm with thoughts. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHxXQPxBTQ
Tutorial Four: Video Production Session
Video: ‘Occupational Transition to Dunedin’
The task that we had to complete was to produce
a one-minute video on occupational justice, occupational disruption,
occupational transition or occupational deprivation. Our group chose to do
occupational transition. We all thought that it would be a good idea as it is
quite a significant transition in all of our lives. We also all thought we had
quite similar transitions from our hometowns to Dunedin. Apart from me, since
Dunedin is my hometown, so I didn’t have to make much of a move. Although I
have gone flatting since I have been studying and this has been quite a
transition for me. We discussed ideas about how we could show our stories of
coming to Dunedin. And came up with the idea of using the theme ‘occupational
transition’ to show the different transitions we all experienced. We decided
that we would have one shot of each of us holding two pieces of paper (one
under the other), the first piece would say what we used to be like or
experience in our home town, this would then be dropped and the second one
would be reviled to say something that represents us now as students in
Dunedin. Before we started filming we were able to draw up a storyboard of how
the shots of the video would go. This then aided us when it came to the filming
of the video.
Occupational Transition is where we as
humans change and make new transitions through various life stages.
Christiansen & Townsend (2011) define occupational transitions as “Circumstances
creating a change in the nature or type of occupational engagement pursued by
or available to an individual. Such transitions may be the result of choice,
changes in physical or mental status, life transitions, geographical change,
geopolitical strife, or other factors. (p.421). So as you can see, the
transition of going from high school into tertiary studies, moving from your
home town to the place you are going to study, falls right within the
definition of ‘occupational transition’.
References
Christiansen, C. H. & Townsend, E. A.
(2011). Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living (2nd ed.).
New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc
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Thanks for your feedback. Its my favourite video too. Must have taken that man a long time to make. Its a great way to make people aware of Autism. Yep I would love to work with children with Autism. I am looking forward to being full qualified so that I can research more about Autism and work closely with children with Autism and their families.
Sophie