ONCE UPON A GENE - EPISODE 060 - Pediatric Occupational Therapy with OT4Lyfe - Sarah Putt
Sarah Putt is the host of the OT4Lyfe Podcast, where she interviews thought leaders in the occupational therapy community. Sarah is discussing early intervention and answering questions about her profession and how it benefits families like ours.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Tell me about why you started your podcast, OT4Lyfe.
Occupational therapy is my life and OT is the "why" of life or "lyfe". My show is all about occupational therapy and I bring on occupational therapy practitioners, students and other people affiliated with the practice area to discuss anything and everything occupational therapy. I love podcasting to talk about occupational therapy, but also promoting and advocating for the profession because a lot of people don't know what we do.
What does occupational therapy entail?
It's a broad field and occupational therapists can work in different practices areas with different focuses. Occupation is defined as how you occupy your time, so anything you do in a day such as self care or leisure activities. We are the experts on occupation, studying what the meaning and purpose of occupation is in people's lives. We have a very broad lens of who we work with and the type of work we do. Someone coming to us generally has a diagnosis, disability, injury or age-related difficulties that interfere with activities. I work in early intervention with kids from birth to three years old and focus on hitting developmental milestones and the family dynamic of parent education, including sensory integration, sleep, feeding, fine and gross motor skills.
What should a parent do if they don't think a therapist is the best fit?
Having the experience of working with so many families, I have an appreciation for the circumstances around this. Therapists need to understand that we may not be the right fit for every family. Families need to understand that each therapist has a different approach and that approach may not work for their kids. If you are a parent and you don't feel like a relationship is working, communicate it with the therapist and organization.
What questions do parents and caregivers need ask in order to maximize their child's care plan?
Therapists need to be proactive in explaining who we are and what we do from the beginning because some families may not know how we can help. If your therapist isn't bringing this up, ask about the overall therapy process and ask how to best support the process. If you ever have a question about a process, therapy or goal, have the therapist explain what they're doing and how it connects to the end goal. There needs to be openness and clear communication from both sides.
If parents and caregivers can't follow through with OT homework, how does that affect the overall therapy goals?
I really try to embed whatever I want families to be doing into their routine so it becomes a habit. If you can eliminate barriers and find ways to embed homework into your natural routine, it helps to do it organically. If a therapist is asking you to do homework, there's a reason they want that extra opportunity and repetition for the child to engage in the activity in addition to the time they have with the therapist. There's a lot of benefit to doing these activities and finding a way to embed them into the regular routine in a way that works and doesn't add stress.
What advice do you have for parents who are new to occupational therapy?
Parents are not alone. Therapists are here to support them in any way they can. Be open and accepting about a child's need for therapy.
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED
Once Upon a Gene Channel with The Disorder Channel
OT 4 Lyfe Episode 81: Pediatric Therapy From the Parent’s Perspective with Effie Parks
CONNECT WITH SARAH
TUNE INTO THE ONCE UPON A GENE PODCAST
CONNECT WITH EFFIE PARKS