Neuro Note 4

On May 30th, our class had the opportunity to watch the Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies play wheelchair basketball during one of their practices. This was one of my favorite experiences in OT school so far. It was really interesting to learn about the sport. For instance, they follow what they call "modified NCAA rules". So that means, they follow the college basketball rules with some adjustments. Traveling is only called if they player is holding the ball for more than two pushes and charging is only called if the team member runs into someone without the intention of getting the basketball. Getting to see it first hand is an experience I will never forget. I expected them to be rough out there, but they exceeded my expectations. Also, the athleticism required for this sport is astounding. Never would I ever be able to compete at the level that they do.

I can see myself using this knowledge gained in my future practice. I think finding a group like this in the community that continues the competitive spirit of basketball while still having fun is something that a lot of people can benefit from. Especially someone at a young age with a new SCI. Showing them that sports aren't out of the question can be a big morale boost for an athletic individual. It's a way to get them connected back into the community, give them that support system of individuals that are going through similar things, and provide that team morale to let them know they are not alone in this. As we know, attitude has a lot to do with success and progress so giving a client the tools to improve their outlook could not only help their mental status but physical growth as well.

If anyone is interested in seeing the best wheelchair basketball team this side of the Mississippi, their practices are open to the public and they would love some people to cheer them on. They practice every Monday and Wednesday from 6-8 at the Glenview Community Center in Memphis, TN.

If you aren't in the area, but still want to show support, you can donate at their website http://www.rollingrizzlies.org/. They use the funding to buy new chairs, for travel expenses, and they have a goal of starting a youth league.

Media Project

Throughout this project, I gained a lot of knowledge and surprised myself with what I already knew. One of the most useful things I learned is that an activity can help a client in numerous ways. At first, I was focusing on Dennis' left neglect. I though the plant hanger would be useful to work on using that left hand because it's pretty difficult to tie a knot with only one hand. This activity would encourage him to use both hands. But then as I started thinking deeper, not only was this activity client-centered, but it was working on many other things that could be potential barriers in the future. It worked on spatial relation, finger flexion and extension, left/right discrimination, and even could work on his shoulder ROM by having him hang the planter in different areas of his rehab room. I was very happy with the outcome and feel like this would be an effective intervention for Dennis.

When I first started thinking of the assignment, I was stuck because I felt like I didn't really know the best intervention to work on a lot of his barriers. I was stuck in an EBP mindset and even did some research to see what was best for left neglect and didn't come up with anything too useful to me from an OT standpoint. I was trying to bring in that previous knowledge to make sure his intervention was effective but realized down the road that I was thinking too much into it. Once I started breaking down and individualizing his barriers, the hanging planter began to fit into place as the perfect client-centered intervention for Dennis. I now know that a big part of our job is to make sure the client is working towards his goals, finding his "clinical carrot", and doing all this in a creative, client centered manner.

This assignment is definitely going to impact the way I view interventions in upcoming fieldwork. We really focused on the client-centered part of intervention for this project and I believe that's because that is what distinguishes a good OT from a great OT. In fieldwork, I'm going to be looking out for that. Even as an OT myself, this project has made sure I never forget the importance of client-centered activities in our profession.