Angela Breeland

High School Presentation Reflection

West Jordan High, 8136 S 2700 W, Todd Pyne, 33 students.
Presentation date: 02/03/16
Presented By: Angela Breeland and Liz Gray
Presentation Length: 70 minutes
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Topic or what was taught We discussed what occupational therapy is, what
occupational therapy settings, responsibilities, education, pay, and why we chose to be
occupational therapy practitioners. We discussed different diagnoses, how those
diagnoses present, and how OT helps to either remediate or compensate. We had several
activities to simulate different dysfunctions to help the students gain an appreciation for
how much of their life revolves around their upper extremities. We used and defined
common occupational therapy jargon.

Your feelings on what was taught I enjoyed the topics we discussed. I enjoyed
introducing the students to occupational therapy. Only two of the thirty-three students
were previously introduced to occupational therapy. I feel like they were surprised by the
amount of settings and diagnoses that occupational therapy addressed. It was also
interesting to see when it clicked with them that there is a difference between being
strong and have the ability to use that strength in a functional way. They also seemed to
react positively to the idea of earning 40k-50k yearly salary for a two year degree.

I thought they could be more enthusiastic and I would have appreciated more
participation. We brought a large variety of adaptive equipment and therapeutic activity
materials but they did not want to move from their seats. I thought we did a good job at
maintaining our energy level and positive attitude. We ended up dividing the students
into groups and divided the different items among them. They seemed to be more willing
to try out the activities when they did not need to be in front of the entire class.

We used the informational slides from AOTA.org. It was good information but
extremely dry and boring. We gave them all that information but we laced it with
personal experiences and pictures from lab to better illustrate the fun and interactive
nature of occupational therapy.

Pre-conceived Notions I thought that the students would be disengaged. I

thought it would take a considerable effort to get them to participate, but I thought that
candy would entice them to interact. I told my partner not to be offended if they did not
want to participate because they are sixteen year olds. And sixteen year olds are
notorious for being too cool.

Post Attitude: They were disengaged, but polite. It did require sustained effort
on our part before we began to see the students perking up and wanting to participate. I

think it was very important that we didnt allow their lack of enthusiasm at the beginning
to negatively affect our confidence and that we continued to interact with them as though
we expected them to respond. Eventually they did and I think our continued efforts to
engage with them paid off.
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How will this info help you in your future practice - I think being able to explain
the treatment, why we are doing it, why it is important, how it will improve function will
help my clients trust me. I will come across as educated, trained, and competent. Being
able to enjoy what I am doing and to be able to convey my passion and excitement for
not only the treatment session but in occupational therapy in general will help my clients
gain the most out of therapy. I think it will benefit the therapeutic relationship in that it
will show that I am invested in them and in their progress.