Emily Schneider’s Culminating Project Volunteering with Pediatric NDT & SI Therapy Services: Preparing for my Future

Occupational Therapy “Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations)” (The American Occupation Therapy Association, 2015, About Occupational Therapy). Occupational therapy practitioners take a holistic approach, in which the focus is to adapt the environment to fit the person (The American Occupational Therapy Association, 2015). Occupational therapists strive to assist patients in living a healthy, independent life (The American Occupational Therapy Association, 2015).

Occupational Therapy Continued Occupational therapy services can include:  Individualized evaluation where client/family and occupational therapist determine person’s goals.  Customized intervention to improve ability to perform daily tasks and reach goals.  Outcome evaluation to ensure goals are being met and/or make changes to intervention plan.  Evaluations of the clients home or other environments (e.g., workplace, school).  Recommendations for adaptive equipment, and training in using it.  Guidance and education for family and caregivers. (The American Occupational Therapy Association, 2015)

Volunteering With Pediatric NDT & SI Therapy Services Pediatric NDT & SI Therapy Services is a private pediatric clinic including the Parent Child Institute of Whatcom County, and speech and occupational therapists. They are a sensory based clinic. Pediatric NDT & SI Therapy Services includes covered and outdoor arenas and many therapeutic animals to welcome children with a variety of needs and diagnoses. Therapy rooms are adjacent to therapeutic animals to invite children to participate.

Volunteering With Pediatric NDT & SI Therapy Services Continued I learned a great deal of new information volunteering with this clinic:  Therapeutic animals-petting, feeding, and interacting with animals is a great way to help stimulate sensory challenged children.  Dynamic equipment in therapy rooms-adapted to each child to help them recognize and reach their full potential.  Hippotherapy-Horses are therapeutic because they help strengthen core muscles, improve body in space awareness, and encourage interaction and focus of attention.

Volunteering With Pediatric NDT & SI Therapy Services Continued  Hydrotherapy-swimming in the pool can assist with motor planning, tolerance to tactile input, strengthening, flexibility, confidence, respiration, and breath control.  The vestibular system is responsible for processing movement, changing head position, and direction and speed of movement. This system has a direct impact on a persons level of arousal. Improving the vestibular system is beneficial for children who have difficulties with their sensory system relating to balance and spatial orientation.  It’s beneficial to include parents in the therapy process because they can learn important information for home life.  Letting the child choose what they want to do for therapy on a given day helps them to be more motivated to learn. *My time volunteering at this clinic was limited, so I know I could have learned a great deal more. This is just the key information that I feel I best learned during my time there.

Two clients during hippotherapy

One of the therapy rooms

Another therapy room

Occupational Therapist, Susan, with a client on a horse ride

Sensory play with shaving cream!

Hydrotherapy session

This client did an obstacle course for his therapy session. This helps to stimulate him and strengthen his motor skills.

The clients love swinging!

How Occupational Therapy and Human Services Relate Direct service-part of Human Services is direct service where you work directly with clients to best meet their needs. Occupational therapy is very much direct service because it is hands on for both the therapist, and the client. Both fields recognize goals, and strive to meet them. Ethics:  Human Services: National Organization for Human Services ethical standards standards-for-hs-professionals) standards-for-hs-professionals  Occupational Therapy-Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and Ethics Standards  Both of these ethical standards hold the professionals to a level of responsibility

How Occupational Therapy and Human Services Relate In both Human Services and Occupational Therapy, it’s very beneficial to take a team approach to best serve the client. Occupational therapists can team up with speech therapists, the child’s parents, and social workers to provide comprehensive services. Communication is very important in both fields. It’s crucial for occupational therapists to communicate with parents when it comes to what’s best for the child. The parents needs to also communicate with the therapist when they have questions. It’s also important for Human Service professionals to communicate with their clients, or their families to best serve them. The communication could be electronically, or in person.

How Occupational Therapy and Human Services Relate Diversity in the population you serve-A Human Services professional can serve any person no matter their situation, and there is no discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. The same applies for occupation therapy; they will serve any client. Occupational therapists see a wide variety of clients, with a wide range of disabilities. Promoting self-determination-this a fundamental value of Human Services. Occupational therapists promote self-determination by encourage independence in their clients. Occupational therapists do everything they can to encourage clients to be determined to meet their goals. Respecting dignity and welfare of all people is another fundamental value of Human Services. Occupational therapists do this by not excluding any patients for any services. Occupational therapists respect dignity and welfare by providing individualized services to each client to best suit their needs.

In Conclusion: I did this project with NDT & SI Therapy Services to prepare for my future. In the next year or so I will be applying to graduate school to get a masters degree in Occupation Therapy. This project was very beneficial because I was able to learn more about my future career. I was able to volunteer and experience the field first hand, and while volunteering, I was able to ask the occupational therapists any questions that I had. The additional research that I did about occupational therapy gave me a more clear understanding of what I want to do with an occupational therapy degree. I want work with kids in a sensory based clinic, or in a hospital setting.

In Conclusion: Volunteering in an occupational therapy clinic and researching it in depth gave me the opportunity to learn another side of Human Services that I was not previously aware of. Occupational Therapy is a nice transition from Human Services because they are very similar, and in some ways overlap. I feel as though the last two years in Human Services prepared me well to go on and get a masters degree in occupational therapy.

References: About Occupational Therapy. (2015). Retrieved May 17, 2015, from Therapy.aspxhttp:// Therapy.aspx Pediatric NDT & SI Therapy Services. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2015, from