Tut Seven: Linking to blogs of interest and exchanging comments

 Through searching the internet and Google reader I found many blogs relating to occupational therapy practice. These where my medicated cartoon life occupational therapy-A blog about OT, For the love of cooking, riding for the disabled and En-able OT.

I really liked my medicated cartoon life. This was because the blogger used visual and reader/writer ways of expressing their thoughts and feelings. It was relevant to my community blog as well.

I posted a comment of Jen’s cooking blog asking ‘What aspects of cooking did you like?’ and she relied with ‘Hi Charlotte, I really enjoyed the social interaction I gained with the clients. Cooking enabled relationship building and group bonding. At the same time when the final product was made so the clients had something to be proud of’.

Jen also left a comment on my assistive technology saying ‘Really interesting Charlotte!’.

Tut Eight: Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is Any item, piece of equipment, or system, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals (Cook & Hussey, 2002) I understand this as equipment that helps an individual with disabilities to become more independent. The individual becomes more independent my maintaining, increasing or improve their functional capabilities.

  

For my peice of assistive technology I choice the Smoothie Switch. The cost of the Smoothie Switch is £25. The size of the operating area is either 75mm which is considered small or 125mm which is considered large. It has a low operating force with tactile feedback. It is also easily mounted via standard fixing holes. It is available in cranberry (red), banana (yellow), blueberry (blue) or apple (green).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/afKfSPvYQ3M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZzU2-zu4bSI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Both these videos relates to occupational deprivation. Townsend, 2010 stated that occupational deprivation being ‘a state of prolonged preclusion from engagement in occupations of necessity and/or meaning due to factors which stand outside of the control of the individual’.

The switches are enabling the users participate in occupations that they would not be able to do without the use of the switches. Disabled people often cannot do certain things due to their impairment therefore switches eliminate the impairment. 

APA Referencing:

Christiansen, C.H., & Townsend, E.A. (2010). Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living. (2^nd Eds.). New Jersey: Pearson.Yxakmn

Y  Youtube, (2012). Simply works product demonstration. Retrived from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzU2-zu4bSI&feature=player_embedded

Youtube, (2012) S.W.I.T.C.H. - See what I totally can handle!. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afKfSPvYQ3M

Y 

Tut Six: The internet and online communities

  The web address is https://www.source4womencommunity.com/community/yourhealth

My first community is Source4Women Community. The purpose of this community is to Source4Women Community, 2012 stated that the web enables women to ‘connect with other women suffering from depression and anxiety’. There is also the opportunity to ask questions and share advice about: Living with depression and anxiety, treatment options, including counselling and medications, coping methods, such as exercise and diet changes and tips for talking to your doctor about depression and anxiety’. This makes the site quite interactive as women can post about problems they have and view what other women have posted which could help them too. It provides support for the women as they feel that they can relate to one another. Been an only women community is also can take some of the shame a way of giving such personal details about themselves which they could be embarrassed about in front of men.

The web address is http://www.depressiontribe.com/home/_/S/faq

My second community is DepresstionTribe. DepresstionTribe, 2012 stated that there website ‘DepressionTribe is an online support community designed to connect individuals that suffer from depression. Members enjoy a variety of features including:

• Personal Profile Pages
• Messaging Features
• Managed Friends & Favourites Lists
• Online Journaling or Blogging
• Reading and Posting Forum Topics
• Creating Member Polls
• Joining & Leading Groups
• Games, Video, Music & More Fun things!

The website has blogs from therapists and people in the community, forums, articles, polls. The intended purpose of the site is to provide as much information about depression for people who may suffer from depression.

People can register and sign up to the site so they can contrite to it. This will help them and other people who may have the same or similar problems as you. The website is for both male and female.  

The web address is http://www.depression.org.nz/content/helpingothers

The third community ‘ is part of a national public health campaign called the National Depression Initiative and has been created to reduce the impact of depression on the lives of New Zealanders, as well as being a component of the New Zealand Government’s approach to suicide prevention’.
 

The aim of this website is to help New Zealanders suffering from depression in terms of been able to recognise and understand it. It encourages people to seek help and offers resources from health professionals about people experiencing depression.

John Kerwin campiness this community. This helps people talk about personal feelings as they see that depression can happen to anyone and it doesn’t matter how professional you may be.

You can register to the website which them means that you can keep an online journal can upload information about your experiences and ask questions. 

These three communities show and can be related to the concept of occupational justice which refers “to that aspect of social justice that pertains to human occupation or the lack of opportunity thereof”.  This is because these sites provide the users' with their needs and allow users to fully occupy within the webpage to express there, feelings, needs and queries through discussion, online chat forums and helplines.

These communities can also be related to Occupational transition. Occupational transition is 'the changes to occupational engagement as a result of changes in daily life' (Christiansen & Townsend, 2010). Through these online communities each community aims to provide the user with ways to cope, manage and get through depression. This done by the sites providing helpful tips and mechanisms as an effective tool to encourage positive participation in occupations to ultimately improve mental health. 

APA Referencing.


DepresstionTribe, (2011). Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from http://www.depressiontribe.com/


Ministry of Health, (2012). National depression initiative. Retrieved from http://www.depression.org.nz/content/about
 

Source4Women, (n.d). Managing your health. Retrieved from https://www.source4womencommunity.com/community/yourhealth