Occupational Therapy Experience

Throughout my life, I have witnessed how important helping others truly is. Ever since I was a child, I have watched my friends and family take care of other people as well as each other. I could personally see the difference it made in the lives’ of the people who were helped and how it could change someone’s outlook on life, benefitting their overall wellness. I have always looked forward to making this helping value part of my career and look forward to making a difference in other’s lives. When I was in high school, I was a member of the Horizon’s Club. This club paired students with special needs children and allowed the students to assist in the special education classrooms. While I was working in the classroom and participating in …show more content…
I think that occupational therapy allows a therapist client relationship that cannot be found in any other profession. In my clinical pediatric experience, I have found out how an occupational therapist has more than just one role in the child’s life. I have experienced appointments where the therapy is set-aside for a couple minutes or even the whole session because a child is in need of other support. I have seen children who deal with bullying at school completely open up to their therapist, because they feel they have no one else to trust or to talk to. I feel like this is a great example of how occupational therapists are more than just focused on meeting goals and performing evaluations; they play an important role in their community whether it be counseling a client on a tough issue or just playing games to further along the clients progress. These qualities are similar to the values I hold in myself. I pride myself on being a helper for others first, and someone who builds relationships easily and is willing to lend a listening ear when necessary. Although science and psychology are very important parts of the occupational therapy career, one cannot be successful in this field if they do not have the heart to do it and a passion for …show more content…
I work beside an occupational therapist and assist her in setting up activities for the pediatric patients and get to run some sessions while she does evaluation paper work or notes on the session. I have already learned so much about occupational therapy through this experience. The occupational therapist always explains why the kids are doing the activities that they are doing and what goals are being worked on with the program for that day. She has also taught me how to modify activities and make them easier or harder for the client being worked with. I think this kind of hands on learning will benefit me in the long run with a career in occupational therapy, because I have learned how to communicate with clients and learned how an occupational therapy session should be