It’s finally April and one of my favorite months to celebrate, it’s OT month!!
When thinking about my profession and being an OT, why I choose this path, and what I enjoy most about it, it’s hard to pinpoint just one word or one thing that encapsulates the wide variety of what we do! However our national organization AOTA was able to find that perfect word: INSPIRE.
Living the life of a pediatric therapist, there are so many things that I get to do everyday! I get to: play pretend, play games, learn new games, bake delicious treats, try new foods, read books, talk about both tricky and happy situations, make obstacle courses, teach new skills, and the list is never ending!! There is one thing all of those things have in common; it is the inspiration that comes out of each of those activities and every session.
Each kiddo that comes into CI becomes an inspiration to each of their therapists and those they see throughout the building! Day after day, week after week and session after session, each kiddo that walks through the door makes progress towards the skills they are working on!!
Inspiration comes in a variety of ways; learning how to get dressed and tie shoes might not always be the easiest task to accomplish, but as a therapist, I get the opportunity to work and problem solve the challenging parts and individually inspire each of my kiddos to keep trying and provide them with the tools that are going to make them as an individual successful!
Every kiddo is their own individual and they have inspired me to be creative and think outside the box to make sessions fun and uniquely tailored to them, all the while working on their goals!
The moment they accomplish a challenging task and the look on their face after accomplishing the task by themselves for the first time is priceless! It is in this moment that the inspiration continues to build onto the next BIG thing!
My job has allowed me to take my kiddos passions and provide them the opportunity to pursue those dreams. Through these experiences I have had the joy of having my kids inspire me to keep wanting to learn more, do more and be more!
See below for some inspirational and all inclusive activities to check out this spring and summer!
Resources:
https://www.danecountymiracleleague.org/
https://tri4schools.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Adaptive-Events-Overview-1.pdf