Media Project
At the beginning of our media project assignment, I was really worried because I found it to be somewhat of an intimidating assignment. When we drew our objects, I got a parmesan cheese container, and I remember thinking that it was going to be really difficult for me to come up with a way to use it. I started off by looking for different intervention examples using the container to get an idea of some things that people might try. However, all of these were for children and my client is an adult, so I knew that some adjustments would need to be made. I felt like I was completely stuck while trying to think of how to use the parmesan cheese container itself, so I decided to focus on the client, and that is where I found my idea. I knew that I wanted my intervention to be client-centered, so that was what I went with. My client is Jane, a 33 year old registered nurse, who has recently been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and is now recovering but having difficulty with fatigue and fine motor skills. She enjoys spending time with her friends, gardening, and taking cooking and pottery classes. With this in mind, I began to brainstorm an idea for the parmesan cheese container.
For my device, it is a combination of an intervention and an adaptive equipment. To prepare, the occupational therapist would put dirt and fertilizer into the parmesan cheese container, which is used as a "garden gadget", and also prepare a pot with some dirt in it. They can then choose seeds based on what Jane would like to grow, and can also use the seed size to grade the activity. Jane will be using pincer grasp to pick up seeds individually, and place them into the smaller holes in the garden gadget. Since she has difficulty with her fine motor skills, she can improve them by starting out with larger seeds and gradually reducing seed size as she is able to. Following this, Jane can close the container and shake it to mix the seeds and the dirt. She can then open the larger hole and pour out the mixture into the pot to plant it. This allows her to use gross grip which is less difficult for her fine motor difficulties, and it helps her to conserve energy because it has less steps. By using a pot, she also does not have to bend down to the ground to plant her seeds, and the activity requires some help, so it could increase her social participation.
The most meaningful thing I learned from this assignment was that interventions and adaptive equipment do not have to be complex or expensive to be useful for clients. More important than this, the invention should be something that is centered around the client's interests, strengths, and things that could be improved. When focusing on these things, an occupational therapist can be very creative to help a client in many ways. I really learned the importance of creativity and being able to use what is around me to be able to work with a client. This was something that I did not consider before this project, but that is very useful. Lastly, I think that this project was helpful to me because it showed me that I really do have creative, original ideas that can help me as a clinician in the future. When I first heard about this project, I was worried that I would not be creative enough to complete it, but I see now that I have the ability to carry the knowledge from this project into my future as a practitioner.
For my device, it is a combination of an intervention and an adaptive equipment. To prepare, the occupational therapist would put dirt and fertilizer into the parmesan cheese container, which is used as a "garden gadget", and also prepare a pot with some dirt in it. They can then choose seeds based on what Jane would like to grow, and can also use the seed size to grade the activity. Jane will be using pincer grasp to pick up seeds individually, and place them into the smaller holes in the garden gadget. Since she has difficulty with her fine motor skills, she can improve them by starting out with larger seeds and gradually reducing seed size as she is able to. Following this, Jane can close the container and shake it to mix the seeds and the dirt. She can then open the larger hole and pour out the mixture into the pot to plant it. This allows her to use gross grip which is less difficult for her fine motor difficulties, and it helps her to conserve energy because it has less steps. By using a pot, she also does not have to bend down to the ground to plant her seeds, and the activity requires some help, so it could increase her social participation.
The most meaningful thing I learned from this assignment was that interventions and adaptive equipment do not have to be complex or expensive to be useful for clients. More important than this, the invention should be something that is centered around the client's interests, strengths, and things that could be improved. When focusing on these things, an occupational therapist can be very creative to help a client in many ways. I really learned the importance of creativity and being able to use what is around me to be able to work with a client. This was something that I did not consider before this project, but that is very useful. Lastly, I think that this project was helpful to me because it showed me that I really do have creative, original ideas that can help me as a clinician in the future. When I first heard about this project, I was worried that I would not be creative enough to complete it, but I see now that I have the ability to carry the knowledge from this project into my future as a practitioner.
The poster for my media presentation.
An example of two different sizes of seeds that can be used in an intervention, depending on the abilities of the client.
My invention, the "garden gadget", filled with dirt, and labeled in order of steps.
An example of the intervention part of the invention, placing a seed into the smaller holes of the container.
The second portion, the adaptive equipment, as seeds and dirt can be shaken into a pot which requires less fine motor skills and energy.
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