Media Project: Using Tin Foil as Assistive Technology

The Wedge:

Poster presentation on Craig and "The Wedge"

Occupational Therapy school has challenged me in new ways in the last couple of weeks.  In the course Neurological Aspects of Occupational Performance (OT 537) we were given a form of media and asked to transform it in to a purposeful modality for therapy. This assignment definitely got my creative juices flowing and pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was assigned tin foil as my media and the case study of Craig, a man in his mid thirties that just sustained a C5 complete spinal cord injury. Craig enjoys his life with his wife and owns his own small business, he is currently in the acute phase of his injury and experiencing Autonomic Dsyreflexia. 

After I read my assigned case study I racked my brain for activities I could do with Craig and Tin Foil. I continuously drew a blank so I decided to look back at my spinal cord injury notes. In the acute phase of SCI an OT's role is positioning, splinting, range of motion, and manual muscle testing. A light bulb went off, Craig is experiencing AD, I could use foil to help combat this by making a wedge! This would allow him to work up to a sitting position, allowing him mobility while in a seated chair, sitting to eat and do other activities of daily living. I got to work!

From this project I learned: 

Some occupational therapy interventions are as simple as working on positioning. The wedge will serve as a building block for Craig and eventually help him gain independence.

How my OT outlook changed as a result of this project:

Prior to this project I believed an OT intervention needed to be a flashy game or high tech assistive technology, I now understand that something as simple and repositioning and building endurance to allow one to complete an ADL or occupation (like using the wedge to sit up and brush ones teeth) is effective and exciting. 

How this project will effect me moving forward:

I think moving forward I will be more mindful of the new uses for everyday objects in occupational therapy. I also really enjoyed explaining what I was doing to my friend and family who were not as familiar with OT and OT school. I got a kick out of being called "Macgyver" by my mom and boyfriend.

The wedge at work!