I feel like I have learned a lot about the versatility of occupational therapy this year and now know and see how different activities can be transformed into a therapy session. Through my observation of how the therapist transformed cooking, cleaning, and board games into therapeutic sessions that the client found expressed that he found helpful, it really helped me change my perspective. With my new perspective, I find it very easy to adapt an activity to make it work for therapy. One activity that I am still uncomfortable with is how to stretch the client so that they feel stretched, but not so much that they cause damage to the client's muscles. In almost every session, the therapist would stretch the client's muscles and show me and the other student how to stretch the fingers and wrist in a certain way. I feel comfortable stretching a client in those spots, but feel I need more direction on how to stretch the client in other areas. Overall, I feel that I have learned so much from my first observation opportunity at Nazareth College and know that the remainder of my occupational therapy curriculum will greatly prepare me to be a helpful and competent professional individual.
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