For this post I wanted to discuss adapting and grading an
activity in OT intervention. Within occupational therapy there are many ways to
analyze and adjust activities. There are three major points to consider when
determining whether or not to grade or adapt an activity for an individual
client. 1. Meaningful and purposeful activities are much more effective to use
as a means of grading or adapting to improve client performance. 2. There is
often a choice between fabricating an adaptation and buying a commercial
product. 3. In addition to grading and adapting therapeutic activities used in
interventions, a therapist also needs to be able to grade and adapt his or her
own behavior to meet a clients needs. These three factors are very important to
consider and reflect on when grading or adapting an activity.
So
what exactly does it mean to grade or adapt an activity? Grading means changing
the complexity of what is to be performed. This method is done by the
occupational therapist to help a client improve their performance level. It is
accomplished by examining how a client will do a task given his or her specific
strengths and limitations. The OT could choose to grade up an activity or down.
Adapting is modifying or substituting objects used in performing the activity.
Adaptation may involve changing the tool or the technique used to complete a
task. It is important to remember that with adaptation while you may be
changing or altering parts of the activity, the outcome remains the same.
For class today, we were asked to listen to a podcast before class titled The First Cow. The speaker was Abeny Kucha, a woman from southeastern Africa who has an amazing story. Her village was destroyed by war and for years she bounced from refugee camp to refugee camp walking and traveling for over eight years. Luckily she and her family made it to America. Listening to her story really opened my eyes to just how lucky I am to have the life that I have. When they first arrived they were taken to this apartment and told it was their new home… she expressed that the word home meant more to her than most could understand. Her children had never had a home, they had never been able to sleep in peace without any worry. She spoke of how they had no idea what orange soda was or what a fire alarm was, things that you never even second guess or need to think about can be completely foreign to others. She also mentioned how they had two couches in the living room and how no...
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