ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog RSS feedThis is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Deconstructing the myth of clothing sensitivity as a'sensory processing disorder '
Please note first that there is no formally recognized clinical designation of  ' sensory processing disorder. '   It is a term constructed by occupational therapists that has not been formally recognized by the larger medical community.In our clinic we receive many referrals from local pediatricians when parents have concerns about children being overly sensitive to their clothing.  Most often the children referred are from four to seven years old and the families are severely disrupted by the children ' s behaviors and responses to clothing issues.  Commonly, children will have severely constrict...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - January 7, 2017 Category: Occupational Health Tags: evidence-based practice OT practice parenting sensory integration Source Type: blogs

Isabel Gladwin Barton: Wife, Helpmeet, and Collaborator
According to publicly available records and genealogy databases, Isabel Gladwin Newton was born on July 21, 1891, in Geneva, New York, to Mary Risley Gladwin, age 24, and Frank Ellsworth Newton, age 28.Isabel Gladwin Newton met George Barton when she was twenty five years old and working as a bookeeper in a preserving and canning plant.  She responded to his contact and offer for work; she reported being particularly motivated by the salary of $15 per week which was more than her salary at the plant that paid only $11 per week.  She began working for him on August 1, 1916. (Barton, 1968).She reported being " draw...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - December 22, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: Barton history Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Taking a stand for patient safety with the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan to increase awareness of their topics.  This information in the form of a narrative blog post is provided courtesy of a graduate student who is interested in promoting increased awareness of impacts of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.  Because the author only has fieldwork experience and the facility or patient could be possibly identified, with the student ' s permi...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 29, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: health insurance injury prevention OT practice Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Advocating for FERPA rights
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan to increase awareness of their topics.  This information is provided courtesy of Sarah Watson, a graduate student who is interested in promoting increased awareness of privacy concerns and FERPA in context of computerized record keeping and documentation.Extra note: I was really happy to see one of my students tackle this topic - I have seen many privacy breaches because of improper ...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 29, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: Disability rights OT practice school-based practice Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Advocating for a loan repayment bill that could impact occupational therapy
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan to increase awareness of their topics.  This information is provided courtesy of Nagella AL-Balushi, a graduate student who is interested in promoting a bill that improves health professional workforce distribution via a loan repayment program when practitioners work in underserved areas." Greetings fellow OT students and future colleagues,I am a graduate OT student seeking opinions,...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 23, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT practice policy Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Advocating for canine training programs that benefit veterans
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan to increase awareness of their topics.  This information is provided courtesy of Nina Fusco, a graduate student who is interested in increasing awareness to HR 3016, particularly those sections that support canine training programs that would benefit veterans who have PTSD and other conditions." The Veterans Employment, Education, and Healthcare Improvement Act is a federal bill curr...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 20, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT practice policy Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Advocating for co-payment reform in New York State
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan to increase awareness of their topics.  This information is provided courtesy of Tori Persons, a graduate student who is interested in legislation that would help alleviate the burden of out of pocket costs for people receiving occupational therapy services.  " Existing laws in New York have stated that health plans must cover occupational therapy services.However, the insu...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 20, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: health insurance policy Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Advocating for people who have traumatic brain injuries
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan to increase awareness of their topics.  This information is provided courtesy of Ashlee Lytle, a graduate student who is interested in advocating for people who have traumatic brain injuries.  Under a current plan, transitioning this population to a managed care system will impact the quality of their care." As I am soon entering the profession of occupational therapy this May, ...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 18, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: Disability rights health insurance policy Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Advocating for occupational therapy wellness programs
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan  to increase awareness of their topics.  This information is provided courtesy of Emily Scholl, a graduate student who is interested in promoting occupational therapy ' s involvement in wellness programs.  She found an interesting bill that promotes wellness in NY State and is advocating for occupational therapy to be added to the existing bill." Occupational Therapy should...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 18, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: health insurance OT practice policy Source Type: blogs

Guest entry: Advocating for a workload approach in school systems
A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share.  The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan  to increase awareness of their topics.  This information is provided courtesy of Jenna Soldaczewski, a graduate student who is interested in promoting a workload approach in school systems.  She found out how a parallel profession in NY (speech therapy) promoted change by advocating for alterations to the Part 200 NYS regulations that govern special education:Many occupati...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 18, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: policy school-based practice Source Type: blogs

Support for ESSA - not as simple as you think
This week has been identified as the #OTWeekOfAction by the American Occupational Therapy Association.  They are encouraging member actions on a number of policy initiatives; however, as noted in the previous blog post, it is important for occupational therapists to independently assess the nature of these proposals before blindly writing letters of support to Congress.Individuals may learn that they agree with the positions of the professional association or they may learn that they disagree. Today ' s topic is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which is an important law for pediatric practitioners to be awar...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 15, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: OT practice policy school-based practice Source Type: blogs

The importance of rational policy analysis for occupational therapists
The OT Capital Briefing in the November 7, 2016 OT Practice analyzes two Supreme Court cases that are summarized together as follows:If the Supreme Court finds in favor of the families in both cases, the expertise occupational therapy practitioners provide will be more important than ever to ensure students with disabilities receive a meaningful education, and that schools fully comply with the ADA and Section 504.This is a confusing summary because neither case has anything to do with OT specifically and in fact if the Supreme Court finds in favor of the families there may be unintended consequences that are damaging.In t...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - November 8, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: Disability rights OT practice school-based practice Source Type: blogs

The Case of Lena, Part III: George Barton's promise to help others who were in pain
The original book " The Counterpane Fairy " was written and illustratedby Katharine Pyle in 1898.  It is a fanciful story of a fairy who visits children in their beds as long as they do not cry.  The fairy brings some comfort to these children and has the ability to magically transport them away from their circumstances if they focus on one of the squares of their counterpanes (bedspreads).Occupational therapists may not be aware of how this story is relevant to the profession ' s history.  This post will conclude the exploration of ' The Case of Lena ' and explain how Pyle ' s story influenced George Barton...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - October 1, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: Barton history Source Type: blogs

Correcting the record: The relationship between Barton and Dunton
The 1992 article " Point of Departure: A Play About Founding the Profession " written by Robert Bing, has some notable inaccuracies that require correction.  The article has incorrect dates, incorrect attributions, and factual errors.  The article was written in a somewhat whimsical fashion in the form of a play.  However, it is important for such a telling to correctly reflect the historical record.  It is possible that poetic license, used in context of history, does a disservice to our proper understanding of events as they actually occurred.In an article relating to historical documentary methods, D...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - October 1, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: Barton history Source Type: blogs

The Case of Lena, Part II: Barton's response to'A Common Man '
Continued from Part I - Read here.This exploration of some of Barton ' s writing outside of professional journals is offered for additional context to assist readers in understanding his concerns and passions that related to the occupational therapy profession.+++The story of Lena got one reader of the Geneva Daily Times " all choked up. "  This reader called himself " A Common Man " and wrote a letter to the editor on January 19, 1920 asking more about Lena ' s story:Now what I don ' t understand is this.  It was too bad that Lena couldn ' t take that elegant job in the 5&10 and I guess the manager was sorry...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - September 20, 2016 Category: Occupational Health Tags: Barton history Source Type: blogs