Assignment 11: Mentorship Writeup

My Profile:

Hello and welcome! My name is Ashley and I am a current senior at Forsyth Central High School in the STEM Academy. Ever since seventh grade, I have been interested in becoming an occupational therapist and I am so excited to have been given this opportunity to further my knowledge about the world of therapy.

In April of my junior year of high school, Mr. Walkup entered my biotech class ready to give a short presentation on the Honors Mentorship Program and how it was an amazing opportunity for students. By the end of his 15 minutes, I had a page full of questions and truly couldn't wait to begin the application. Only a few weeks later, I found out I had been accepted into the program and began contacting an occupational therapy clinic to see if I could intern there. After being able to observe some of my best friend's therapy sessions in middle school, I was very interested to learn more about the field. By summer I had been accepted as an intern at Essential Therapy Services where I am able to shadow occupational, physical, and speech therapists. I am excited to begin this new chapter of my life and learn many new things about occupational therapy, my future career.

My Mentorship:

Each Tuesday, I intern at Essential Therapy Clinic and am able to observe three sessions. Typically from 3-4 I observe a OT session with a kid that has been diagnosed with sever epilepsy. This has been an amazing learning experience for me, because previous to this I had never had such direct contact with any kids with epilepsy. He is non responsive, but we are still able to improve his quality of life by facilitating directed play and some repetitive activities.

Typically from 4-5 I see a young girl diagnosed with cerebral palsy for OT. We are currently working on isolating her movements so she can use one part of her body independently from the other parts of her body. This including working on a pincer grip so she can play board games and other activities. We often end our sessions by riding the therapy bike, which is one of our favorite activities.

The last session I attend is for a young boy with cerebral palsy. We work on a combination of large motor planning activities, fine motor skills, and visual tracking skills. In this session I am able to observe all different aspects of OT as I see it in front of me. This client is extremely open so I am also able to ask him many questions and this has been extremely helpful.

In all of these sessions I work with certified OTs to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to each student we see.

My Future:

Next year I intend to begin working towards a pre-med or exercise and sports science degree in hopes of later obtaining my masters in OT. This mentorship has allowed me to see the true life of an occupational therapist and ensure that I want to be an OT. I also have a lot more hands on experience than many students, so this will benefit me in school. Overall, this mentorship has ensured that I want to become an OT and I am excited to begin this process.