Out of this World OT

Establishing a therapeutic relationship of trust and competence is the most important part of being an OT. Without mutual respect and trust the client will be less inclined to put effort into their treatment and therefore reduce it's effectiveness. I have always struggled with my confidence in social settings, especially with new people or in large groups. So it will probably take some practice for me to get comfortable enough to make good first impressions on new clients. Trying not to go into the first interaction with a scripted checklist of all I need to cover, and just letting go to let the natural conversation flow, I think will help me seem less robotic and nervous.

Both Dr. Keisling's presentation and Judith Heumann's Tedx Talk established the importance of learning the history of a culture. By knowing the history of discrimination people with disabilities have faced, I feel like I can have a greater understanding of how far our society has come and how far we have left to go.  Today's presentation built on the important dates we learned about during the Era Presentations by adding more of the social component. For instance, we had mentioned institutionalization before but seeing documentary clips of the real conditions people were living in was as sobering to me today as I'm sure it must have been for people watching it on television in the late 60's. I also never knew about John F. Kennedy's sister Rosemary. Her story really illustrated how the mindset that people with disabilities had to be "hidden away" was so common that it permeated even the most influential families.  As a future OT practitioner I