UOTA 

I attended the UOTA conference and was able to hear from a keynote speaker, attend 4 different discussions and volunteer. The four discussions that I attended were as follows; Empowering Parents with Mental Illness: Interventions for Enhanced Parenting Engagement (Lynn Farley) 9:10-10:10, The Joy of Sensory and Emotional Balanced People Through Meditation & Guided Imagery (Anita Williams) 10:20-11:20, Rehab/Adults Specialty Practice Area (Jon Farrington)11:30-12:00, Collaborative and Proactive Solutions: A More Effective Approach to Help with Challenging Behaviors (Jamie Wilkerson) 1:40-2:40. I then volunteered at the main registration table. 

Lynn's discussion stood out to me because of her passion and dedication. She saw a gap in research and resources for parents with mental health struggles and decided to be the one to fill that space. She introduced an incredible workbook designed for parents to use in coping through their mental illness while also finding ways to show up for their children. Her book outlines creating strong family attachments,  self-regulating emotional responses,  communication, mediating conflicts, rejuvenating routines, and advocating personal and community support. This perspective emphasized that occupational therapy should focus not only on children but also on empowering parents, which aligns with treating clients holistically rather than solely the diagnoses. This is useful to me in the program as we progress through our classes and begin to learn about mental illnesses, pediatrics and how to treat the client as a whole, not just their diagnosis. 

Anitas class was very different from what I was expecting, but I ended up really enjoying it. She stressed the importance of meditation and guided imagery not only for our clients but for ourselves as practitioners. She even said it could be one of the most important things we could do for ourselves as clinicians. Her advice resonated with me: “connecting with ourselves enables us to better connect with clients”. It can be helpful to practice meditation and guided imagery so we can paint a picture in our minds before we invite the client to try it with us.  I realized how this practice could reduce my own stress and anxiety, particularly during school. Moving forward, I plan to use guided imagery especially before tests or hard assignments, increasing both my personal well-being and future clinical skills.

In Jons discussion we talked about things that I feel like we have covered in class while also introducing new concepts. I was excited to learn about different techniques and timing of therapy and how it can helpfully impact our therapy outcome. Some ideas that were mentioned were music, light, massage, gardening, yoga, aromatherapy, and art. Some of these techniques can be combined with interventions and some can be the whole intervention. He mentioned a sensory cart is really useful if you don’t have the space for a whole room and I think it could be cool to start one for school!  I'm really excited to be going into our pediatric semester where I hope I’ll be able to expand my knowledge on what I learned in Jons discussion and learn more sensory integration techniques. 

Jamie did such an incredible job and it was so fun to be able to see her thrive and show off all of her hard work. The quote that she shared, “kids do well if they can”, resonated with me and brought me back to my time of teaching preschool.The strategies she shared would have been so helpful back then and will 100% influence my approach during pediatric fieldwork and clinics. I found everything she said to be so insightful and meaningful.  It was a great reminder that kids' behavior can be a reflection of their needs and it is the role of OTAs to help them and their families succeed. 

This conference was such a long day but I feel like I have already grown from it. It confirmed my passion for occupational therapy and gave me so much confidence that I am choosing the right profession. It also made me realize the importance of networking and gathering resources early in my career and while I’m in school. These discussions provided me with new tools and different perspectives that I’ll carry forward into my career. I feel inspired and better prepared for the challenges and rewards of being an OTA.