Rehab games for stroke patients

I just watch some interesting trans disciplinary team games for stroke patients on you tube . http://youtu.be/M2ULi2Po1Zc . what I like the most about this video is the way the goals for all the disciplines is presented and how nicely it fits together during the games.

This shows that even though ,trans disciplinary approach of treatment is a process but it is achievable with experience and practice. but the key thing is to understand your profession as the therapist so as to be able to transfer you knowledge to the other professions.

I am so pumped up to work with the TDA after watching this in practice.

Building sustainable Relationships with the communities.

Building sustainable relationship with communities is a process that requires many things which includes time ,trust and understanding. having been at the community block for more than  6 weeks. I have realised how important it is forming solid relationships with the community that you are working with. 

One thing that me and my colleagues done in the community we were working with was targeting the community care givers (CCG's). at first they were reluctant to work with us however as the days progressed they came to the party and were willing to be part of our treatment sessions and played a huge role in making sure that the home visits covered were successful. As the CCG's are getting stipends for the services they are rendering to the community ,they felt everything should be done through them unless we are in the community to take their roles.

Back  to back meetings with the CCG's helped in strengthening and cementing the relationship as we were able to answer the questions they had and we also explained that our role was not to do away with whatever they have, however to supplement and add on the knowledge that they have gained over the past years.

The therapist behaviour towards the community determines the type of relationship they will form with the community concerned. A therapist with a negative attitude or that undermines the roles of other community stakeholders will find it difficult to form solid relationships with stakeholders such the CCG's.

One person (unknown) said " Go to the people ,live with them. love them and learn from them. use what they have and concentrate to what they know , in the end when the work is done they will rejoice.. We have done it ourselves".

It touched me

 I recently watched this document accidentally when i was browsing through you tube, trying to reduce the OT 4 stress.However instead of alleviating the stress this documentary depressed and touched me but all of a sudden i realised that as Occupational therapists we do not see disability as anyone else ,so why should I be depressed instead of appreciating the beauty that God is doing to his people.

Hope you will enjoy

or view via  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP_MDRw3Dvg

Rhino poarching a national crisis...

Last week Friday as I was taking a walk with a friend in the beach a came across this young man who uses sand to design powerful message on display for visitors and tourists in our Durban beaches. the picture depicted the following message:

My friend was overly excited about the talent that the young man who made that statue and the way he was so passion about his work, however this was not the case for me. I spent almost two minutes appreciating the art but most importantly the powerful message that was portrayed "Save rhinos-Stop rhino poaching''. Many people see this as something that does not concern them as rhinos are not people and are not close by to their habitats hence they do not see how important are they to their lives.  If I was not an occupational therapist student in an institution that promotes community activism I would definitely not have taken notice of the message or I would have ignored it in totality. however I understand that rhinos play a major role not in the ecosystem but as part of Africa's big 5 most tourists come to our country to appreciate these magnificent powerful creatures.

With this blog I want to challenge all the occupational therapists to take a firm stand against rhino poaching as activist and advocate of change to protect the future heritage of the generations to come after us. We need to appreciate that animals are part of the environment and also part of the communities that we work in. Some of us will be working in the northern part of the province of KwaZulu Natal next year near the Umfolozi game reserve where Rhino poaching has reached it's peak. one of my favourite occupational therapist lectures said one day that ''the little things that you do in the society count a lot to does that are affected''. Saving rhinos could not only be beneficial for our nature conservation but can also save the jobs of those rangers who earn a salary by caring for our animals.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





                         

Political intolerance in the hostels of KK, Why now?

The recent uproar between thee two political parties the National Freedom Party  and the Inkatha Freedom Party in the KK hostels  KwaDabeka Durban South Africa and the surrounding hostels, has caught media attention  from all over the world.

The national freedom party(NFP) is the break away party of the  Inkatha freedom party(IFP) formed in 2011 by the then former Chairperson of the IFP due to dissatisfaction within the party. It is mostly dominated by the younger generation which wanted change within the IFP because it felt it was more of a traditional party then a holistic party and that it's President Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi had to step because he has served his time in the party.


Before we iron out the issue of political intolerance in the hostels, one must briefly remind the public that political intolerance has been one of the major problems affecting our communities post democracy. the killing of 25 family members of the ANC at Shobashobane North of KwaZulu Natal and the never ending war between the ANC and the IFP in the early 90's are all examples of political intolerance in our communities and our country at large.

 But why are we experiencing this pandemic 20 years post democracy? 

I do not think there is a definite answer to the above question I have posed to myself and perhaps even the readers of  this blog. we need to first scrutinise the type of communities that is usually found in many KZN hostels.Well to cut the long story short, these hostels are dominated by people coming from the northern KZN which covers the Zululand and UThungulu district municipalitie which are strong holds of the two political parties in question.

The first explanation is that these wars start in the rural areas where s these communities live and the scores are set in the hostels where there is not enough security or protection from the families as in the rural areas with which they live in.

The second explanation is that, there is a fight for the minimal resources that available for the people living in the hostels such as KK in KwaDabeka. It is important to note that these two political parties do not enjoy hegemony in the cabinet of KZN, hence a fight will somehow revolve for these resources as it is a known fact that most people in the hostels are living in poverty and yes most of them are unemployed.

What is it that is out there for us as Occupational therapists?

As occupational therapists we are well known for advocacy and activism more especially in our communities. we need to be aware of such ills that the communities and our clients face on a daily basis. It is also up to us to face this quagmire and come up with intervention strategies that will help alleviate political intolerance in the hostels and in the communities we serve.

As one exists this blog it should be noted that the author writes in his own views which are not sponsored by any political party.

Reflection on the Cerebral Palsy group

Reflection on the Cerebral Palsy group

Today the 03^rd March 2014 was the first time I ever co-run a paediatric cerebral palsy group; hence I found it as a valuable experience to share with everyone else. We are a group of three student therapists on community based rehabilitation (CBR) module and we were tasked to run a Cerebral palsy group with children of which we have never interacted or did any assessments on most them.

This made it difficult for us to write a proper write up for the group and we were not sure what to put and what to expect. However with the current knowledge we have on Cerebral palsy and the lectures we had on Neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) for paediatrics we were able to formulate a picture of the assessments and intervention strategies.

Running this group for the first time was very much of a positive experience because it has taught one to identify his mistakes and where to improve when handling paediatric groups. It has also assisted one to build confidence about handling the children, more especially when applying some NDT techniques which include tone influencing patterns like  positioning the child in different positions on the plinth (supine, side lying and prone) and on ones lap( to improve trunk control and positioning  the lower limbs in long sitting) .

 We were also able to apply some key points of control of the body which helped to influence movements through inhibiting patterns of abnormal activity while you are facilitating more normal movement.  We also practiced the application of key points of control from proximal to distal as per the literature e.g.  Facilitate walking through controlling the hip joint, for one of the older children who was able to walk with moderate assistance from his mother.

One of the things that made our group successful was that we were able to get to ask the mothers to demonstrate on the previous information that they learnt in the previous groups and to also ask those mothers who have the knowledge to teach others within the group. We also chose an appropriate activity i.e. making musical shakers using simple and scrap material (toilet roll, paper, paper glue, small stones and cello tape). The activity was appropriate for the children as it provided stimulation for them which incorporated different senses i.e. Auditory, visual, tactile and gustatory.