Oscar Mayer Wehner

When completing my observational hours before OT school, I had the privilege of shadowing occupational therapists in many settings including pediatrics, acute care, and inpatient rehabilitation.  In the hospital setting when observing an OT in acute care and inpatient rehab, I noticed there were many more limitations in terms of what media they were able to use, as well as how personalized the interventions could be for the client.  Since learning more about the varying levels of care, I understand why that is so.  Compared to the pediatric OT clinic I shadowed at, the hospital setting has much more restricted means to address the client's problems whether they are primary or secondary.  At the acute level of care, occupational therapists are occasionally racing against the clock to show improvement in clients so that they can continue receiving the medical and therapeutic attention they need.  They also have to use some of the more standard therapy machines such as the arm bike

When watching Michael Nesmith ' s TedTalk, I found myself agreeing with every point he made.  As a deaf individual, Michael discussed the need for a universal design that allows communication and understanding between all individuals despite language differences and physical barriers.  This design would be in the form of products and/or environments that are applicable to all people and do not require adaptations/specializations for any specific population.  A design like this would eliminate what he called the "awkward dance" that takes place between people when the ability to communicate and engage with one another is unavailable.   In my own experiences, there have been many times when I wished that I had the ability to speak other languages fluently or just well enough to briefly converse with an individual that speaks a different language.  There are not many situations that stop you in your tracks quite as strongly as encountering someone who speaks a differen