Teaching Daily Living Skills: Not as Easy as it Looks!
When a person is unable to perform a daily living skill, the usual assumption is that the person needs to be taught it. This seems to make sense, and is actually an integral part of some current models...
View ArticleHow Can We Make Mental Health Sexy?
Mental health services seem to be underfunded wherever you go. A huge number of visits to the doctor and/or hospital are really mental-health related, yet the funding does not reflect this. I worked in...
View ArticleThe Connection Between Hoarding and OCPD
Up until recently, I never paid much attention to Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been reading Too Perfect: When Being in Control...
View ArticleAdding a New Activity to a Daily Routine
This is the time of year when people are struggling with their resolutions (or have given up!). Often, people want to add something new to what they are doing every day. It could be taking a new...
View ArticleFake It Till You Feel It
Last week I could feel depression knocking at my door. I would not say that I was actually feeling depressed, but it was like it was lurking around me, hoping I would let it in. This can be a really...
View ArticleHow Did Medication Become the Norm?
Last week I had a personal situation that got me thinking. My little guy has really been struggling with Kindergarten. Basically, a Kindergarten classroom is absolutely the worst environment for him...
View ArticleCounterwill - Why did I never see it this way before?
I have been taking a course on Promoting Flexible Thinking, led by an OT trained in RDI (Relationship Development Intervention). I'm not sure how much her RDI training is reflected in the course...
View ArticleThe Privilege of Hearing Your Story
I recently had a woman share her troubles with me. She has been through an incredibly tough time, and she opened up and told me her story. I have had this happen so many times, where people share their...
View ArticleWhy PSR is Still Needed
I just spent the weekend working with others from PSR/RPS (Psychosocial Rehabilitation/Readaptation Psychosociale) Canada on core competencies and developing a registry. I know, it sounds like pretty...
View ArticleWe Are Not Worms...
I remember watching a video about a worm in a psychology class in University. The worm was in a maze. Whenever it tried to turn to the right, it was poked with a paintbrush, and forced to turn left....
View ArticleFinding a Balance Between Remediation and Compensation
When a person wants to learn daily living skills, but has difficulty, there are two approaches that can be taken: remediation and compensation. Remediation involves addressing the underlying deficits...
View ArticleSuper-Long List of all the OT Blogs I Know
I am so impressed with all the new OT blogs that seem to be popping up. About a year ago, I had difficulty finding blogs written by OTs, and now I have a long list of them in my favourites. I thought I...
View ArticleUsing Online Technology - A Basic Activity of Daily Living
I recently heard that Canada Revenue Agency will no longer be mailing out the basic tax forms. I guess this is one way that the Harper government has decided to save money. I guess they assume that...
View Article2nd Annual Blog Carnival for World OT Day - Accepting Submissions
This year's Blog Carnival has been posted. Here is the link: http://www.lindasdailylivingskills.com/2012/10/blog-carnival-celebrating-world-ot-day.html It's that time of year again when we need to...
View ArticleWhose Responsibility is it to Teach Daily Living Skills?
In many countries, there seems to be a push for schools to make life skills education a compulsory part of their curriculum. I recently came across a quote by Charlie Powell (from Britain) that said,...
View ArticleFinding My Balance
I have put a great deal of effort into finding life balance in the past few years. I think I am a lot closer to finding balance than I used to be, and as a result I am less stressed and happier....
View ArticleBlog Carnival Celebrating World OT Day 2012
Welcome to this year's blog carnival celebrating World OT Day. OT bloggers from all over the world have done posts on the theme of "Exploring Balance." I think what impressed me the most about reading...
View ArticleSocial Environment Affecting Diagnosis and How a Person is Treated
I have been thinking a lot lately on the effect of the social environment on diagnosis, the meaning attributed to the issues, and how a person with a condition is treated. I have been seeing the effect...
View ArticleIs Gamification the Future of Teaching Life Skills?
Last night I heard a CBC radio program describing gamification, and my mind is buzzing with all the implications and applications of this idea. Gamification is the process of applying gaming principles...
View ArticleOur Changing Society May be Affecting Childrens' Resilience to Bullying
My little guy has been into the Hardy Boys books lately, so we have been spending a lot of time reading them. There are the classic old books, and there are also new books. There are some dramatic...
View ArticleAppointment Fatigue
As a healthcare professional, when we meet with someone and it looks like the person could benefit from our services, we schedule them in for future appointments (often weekly). It seems fairly simple....
View ArticleToo Much Time Can Be a Bad Thing
I recently had a period of time where I had booked some time off from my regular activities. I had a huge long list of things that I wanted to do during that time. Do you think I got any of them done?...
View ArticlePSR National Conference in Winnipeg
The PSR (Psychosocial Rehabilitation/Readaptation Psychosociale) National Conference is being held in Winnipeg this year in September. The early bird deadline is approaching fast! Fees go up after...
View ArticleAccepting Submissions for Third Annual Blog Carnival for World OT Day!
Wow. I can't believe October is already here. I think I will blame it on the weather - we have had such lovely weather that it has not really felt like fall. One of my favourite things about autumn is...
View ArticleBlog Carnival Celebrating World OT Day 2013
Happy World OT Day*! The theme for this year's blog carnival is the "Transitions", although I don't think I did the best job of advertising the theme. I seemed to get submissions on a variety of...
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