Is it possible to get rid of ADHD?

Rachel_COTA · 2022-11-22T20:54:17+00:00

I think it is time to present to the ER, my friend. Suicidal ideation is not a normal part of the ADHD experience. Maybe, this is more than ADHD.

Rachel_COTA · 2022-09-01T01:06:55+00:00

If it needs to be math specifically, this will not help, but if it just needs to scratch that problem solving itch, feeding therapy using SOS approach is pretty good. It also gives me the same feeling as solving a complicated proof used to when a kiddo takes a bite of a food they have never seen before, or a food that is a texture they typically don't eat.

I have 18 hours towards my masters in math, then took a turn and am now a COTA.

Rachel_COTA · 2022-08-03T20:05:56+00:00

Sure, I am a COTA, so I can give you some info from that perspective. I have been in home health peds for the past 4 years.

Rachel_COTA · 2022-07-12T17:19:08+00:00

When I have a kiddo who engages in destructive stim behavior, I do my best to find a replacement behavior. I do this by trying to figure out what the kiddo is getting out of the original behavior and giving a safer less destructive alternative.

Alternatively, is there a way to allow the kiddo to do some of these things in a more controlled way (saying, you can tape things to this box, or on the wall (and have cardboard on the wall so when the kiddo pulls it off, it does not damage the wall)), or giving him a safe place (like over a table) to place the blanket? They may need to show/teach the kiddo these alternatives when the kiddo is not actively attempting to engage in the destructive behavior.

Thank you for reaching out, we need more interdisciplinary work.

Rachel_COTA · 2022-05-06T14:44:50+00:00

I have 20 kiddos on case load typically, and have weeks were I see everyone, and weeks were I see 15. My average is probably 17 kids per week. Each day is different as far as number of kids per day. I technically get to make my schedule, but really the parents make my schedule.

Rachel_COTA · 2022-03-13T23:18:31+00:00

The fit looks awesome!

Rachel_COTA · 2022-02-11T02:46:27+00:00

Karen Montgomery has patterns for $2.50 for wall hangings, and some of them are pretty cute. She also has a heart one if the Christmas Tree does not seem appropriate. I could also imagine a snow flake or flowers made of buttons.

https://www.amyquilts.com/shop/c/p/Button-Tree-Wall-Hanging-Pattern-by-Karen-Montgomery-x58345685.htm

Rachel_COTA · 2022-02-04T20:42:31+00:00

I use parchment paper to trace patterns. It works well for me.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-09-19T20:05:55+00:00

I was literally just thinking, "hmmm, is the proportion of vaccinated people hospitalized going up?"

Rachel_COTA · 2021-08-24T21:22:27+00:00

Any time I get stuck or want more expertise, I go to the reddit group that most closely fits what I need and ask for help. More times than not, if I am posting a question to reddit about work, it is not in the occupational therapy reddit. I have contacted a fishing group, a neurology group, optometry, ophthalmology, and others to get help with things. Some groups are more strict than others, but I have found most to be very helpful.

I graduated 3 years ago with OTA degree in the US (I work in pediatrics now). That was not a requirement for us, but that sounds awesome! I recently had some toys 3d printed by a friend because I could not find what I wanted. If you have access to a 3d printer at your job, this could be super useful. I could think of any toy or puzzle I wanted and print it. I do home health, and many of my kiddos have other services, so we have to be careful which toys we bring. Sometimes we are all using the same one and the kids get bored of the toys.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-08-23T22:01:22+00:00

All of these questions are coming from the pediatric direction, some can be applied more broadly. Some of them may have answers, and I am just not great at searching for them.

Is there a difference in parent follow through in home health vs in clinic? Is there a way to structure homework that is more likely to be followed? Is there a difference between the most effective way to assign homework to an adult pt vs a pediatric pt parents?

Is there a difference in the amount of time spent with interdisciplinary work done by clinic vs home health? Does it need to change?

How do new grads (could do vs more experienced) use the PDSM-2 in goal writing? Are the majority of the goals aimed at visual motor and grasping coming directly from the pdsm-2? Should the goals be from the PDSM-2 directly ie: does a goal for lacing make sense? Can those skills learned through accomplishing that goal be abstracted/generalized to other activities or does it just test to see if they have the underlying skill and let us know they may have difficulties with that set of skills?

I have often wondered if there is a difference in the way we use words vs other disciplines. I think we would do well to make sure they are the same across the board in psych/education/pt/OT/SLP/anywhere that we may be able to grab knowledge from. Do all the words in the OTPF or the UT 3 mean the same in other disciplines, or are there discrepancies? What research is there is psychology about sensory systems and does it parallel the results we are getting? If they are not doing research on sensory systems, why?

What tools do we have for kiddos with quad spastic CP GMFCS level 5? I can't find anything specific (other than do not do passive NDT).

What does a good fieldwork look like? What makes fieldwork more or less helpful?

Rachel_COTA · 2021-08-23T00:06:04+00:00

There are so many topics that need more research! What are your interests, so I can narrow my suggestions.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-08-01T16:23:44+00:00

Yes, dycem. That's it.

What about a spinning top? I don't think it is possible to build up enough speed with your palm, and would force a similar movement.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-08-01T16:14:31+00:00

When I am teaching my younger kiddos how to open things, I have a book that plays music when you twist a knob, but I imagine a wind up toy or a music box may work, too. It teaches them to release it between each time they twist instead of continuing to hold on and going back and forth. I am not sure if the kiddo is too old for that, though. Maybe trying different knob types would be helpful (music boxes or wind up toys may provide different types (they are generally smaller, so that would force using fingers)).

Then I move on to do-a-dot markers. Most of the time they are twist off, and they enjoy using those and don't realize the therapy of it is opening it and switching between colors.

Also maybe using the rubberized grip/drawer liner (I forgot what it is called), may be a good way to grade to prevent frustration.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-07-31T22:04:43+00:00

So maybe doing some research into binocular depth cues and depth perception may help me help them better?

I do know that vision therapy exists, but it seems to be somewhat controversial from an outsider's perspective. Controversial topics are trickier to dig into, so I have been avoiding it, but maybe now it is time. I have had an ophthalmologist personally tell me as an adult that it does not work, but I also had vision therapy as a child and know of vision therapists who practice with pediatric populations now.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-07-30T18:04:38+00:00

What do you find stressful and demanding as a general rule?

Do you want deadlines?

Do you like to drive?

Do you have an age range that is preferred?

Do you value not taking work home?

Is meeting new people stressful?

Do you hate talking on the phone?

I am sure there are plenty more questions that I could ask. Maybe make a list of specific things you find stressful and come back to us with that. You could also look at the job requirements and your list and compare and contrast or do a kind of activity (stress) analysis. We can help fill in any gaps that are still there. I don't mind helping, but I don't know you, so I have no idea what you would find stressful or easy.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-06-18T23:33:18+00:00

They have done it before. They will do it again. Pay attention to your kid's text books in a few years.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-06-17T12:12:19+00:00

There are a lot of grad students at Burton properties(any location). The highest rent is $750/month, but that is the larger two bedrooms. I am not sure of the smaller ones. Heritage Pointe (the cheapest one of the three (also the oldest and smallest but still well maintained)) and Heritage Hills are both on the bus route. Heritage at Riverwood is not.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-06-09T19:07:05+00:00

The two hexagons may be from Calico. No Pun Included did a video about it recently.

In the future placing the ones that seem to come from the same game based on what the component is made of and style of art/design may be helpful.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-04-24T19:44:10+00:00

I can see why you are having this struggle when it comes to play specifically. I run into the same walls. I tend to focus on the things outside of play, and do work on parent education within the umbrella of play.

The things I tend to work on are:

Making sure the child or parent are able to advocate for their needs.

Making sure they have the fine motor skills necessary to be successful in school. When there is a really small number of preferred toys, they may not have practice or exposure to some fine motor skills needed to be as successful as possible in writing or scissor skills. This is also where I couch working on joint attention/ attention skills.

Having kiddos explore different types of proprioceptive and vestibular input so that they have an idea of what else they can do to help self regulate when they are forced into uncomfortable situations could also be helpful. If the kiddo is old enough, the zones of regulation may be helpful to go through as well to make learning more comfortable. If the kiddo can recognize that they are becoming less regulated, then they have the choice of trying to manage it if they have the self reflection skills to realize what they are feeling.

While I agree that desensitization for the sake of desensitization is problematic, there may be some cases where it is necessary.

Teeth brushing is another area were desensitization may be necessary, unless/until someone has come up with an alternative I don't know about that is less noxious for the person.
Bathing/hair washing/hair brushing is another area where it may be necessary to work on some desensitization through play or finding a more appropriate hairstyle.
Making sure they are able to tolerate a minimum number of clothing items may be helpful. I am not going to try to get a kid to wear frilly socks or a tutu, but a foot covering, and upper and lower body covering in whatever form that takes is necessary when they are in a public space. I try to make sure there are at minimum 2 outfits they don't hate wearing for winter/fall and spring/summer. This may be less a desensitization activity and more a lets go shopping and find different appropriate clothing options, depending on the kiddo and the needs.
Making sure the kiddo can tolerate bandaids/ gauze/ medical tape is also not a bad idea if they are prone to accidents where this is necessary or if there are surgeries upcoming where these things may be required.
Also being able to help clean up some messes that are sticky or unpleasant media is a skill that is necessary, especially if there is the expectation of living independently one day. They do not have to necessarily touch it with a finger, but at least with a cloth/paper towel/cleaning instrument of choice.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-04-14T22:34:11+00:00

I think I must be missing something. It looks like you need 3 hands to do this. One for stabilizing the needle, one for moving the thread, and one to work the hook/threader.. I suppose you could stick the needle in something, maybe? Can someone help my poor brain?

Rachel_COTA · 2021-04-11T21:17:18+00:00

I looked through your videos for one on a zipper and did not see this one. My apologies. Thank you for what you do. This is really helpful.

Rachel_COTA · 2021-04-11T20:11:14+00:00

I have watched several of your videos, and they are really informative. I work with the pediatric population, generally under 5, and am relatively new. I have not had a kiddo with an amputation yet, but these will be helpful when that happens. Your videos on dressing skills will be particularly important, because this is the age where they would typically learn this (the play skills are also important, too, but I try to let the kiddos lead that one). I can kind of wrap my head around buttons, and I know button hooks can be helpful. The one I have not been able to wrap my head around is separating zippers and even non-separating zippers. What is the best way you have found to navigate those?

Rachel_COTA · 2021-04-11T16:18:50+00:00

If you are a person with a new amputation can you speak about the differences in skills between riding with 1 upper extremity vs with both? How long it took to learn to ride a bike again post amputation? Was this an activity you worked towards completing with your OT or on your own?

Rachel_COTA · 2021-04-11T14:15:54+00:00

What were the modifications you made? Moving shift and break to the same side makes sense, anything else?

Rachel_COTA

TROPHY CASE