Occupy Yourself Nicole Cipriani & Valerie Khodorkovskiy

Season 1 Finale! 
This guy gets one pepper because although we talk about occupational therapy the whole time, the theme of transitioning into a new career is relatively universal, and if you are new to occupational therapy, it's a good way to learn about the profession! We make connections between two different specialty areas within the practice of OT, as well as with themes from previous podcast episodes. We also squish some life lessons in there. We begin by discussing how we changed our perspective to use the Fieldwork Performance Assessment (FWPE) to assess Val's performance over these past 12 weeks. Then Val presents the findings of her final project! After this episode, Occupy Yourself will be taking a brief hiatus as Nicole re-gathers all of her spoons, spending the next couple of months learning, reflecting, and lounging her way towards season 2, which will surely be monthlyish, starting in May-Juneish. 

It's OT Month, and also Nicole's birthday month! In this brief little treat of an episode, we talk about word choice. She's a mild gal on the OT spiciness scale. We begin by examining some terms identified by Brock Cook, in the most recent episode of his OT podcast Occupied, as terms that should be used with caution, or perhaps, not at all. Per protocol, we had thoughts to add, discussing the way we have used these terms in our episodes. With Autism Awareness Month underway, we also wanted to discuss the use of language around autism, citing this article from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to start the discussion. Though we didn't mention them in the episode, Autism Level Up is also doing excellent work in this area, and is an amazing resource to learn more about autism advocacy. Changing habits around language use is difficult work, but it comes much easier when you understand other perspectives!

This week it was Val's time to shine! Cip was somehow able to suppress her impulsivity using all the strategies (taking notes instead of talking, sipping her beverage, and at times, spacing out on purpose), to let Val have a chance to take the driver's seat for once! OK fine, she did pop in a couple times. But for the most part, Val and Nicole Fidanza had an enlightening chat about all things occupational in the realm of older adults and neurorehabilitation, focusing on areas of social participation throughout.  They discussed how mental health considerations are a part of occupational therapy interventions in all practice areas, the importance of using transitions in life as an opportunity to reflect, plan, and connect, keeping your antennae up going into a new situation, "aha moments", systemic barriers, and using different approaches with regards to intervention and therapeutic use of self. We're all optimistic to see where the field of occupational therapy will respond adaptively to the global challenge that Covid has brought us. Bonus: Nicole gets to play with sound effects to sensor potential identifying information.

We recently sat down with the delightful Sheila Frick, OTR/L for a two pepper-sode! Sheila is the founder of Vital Links, an education resource for all sorts of sensory integration, motor development, self-regulation, and trauma-healing techniques for occupational therapy practitioners and other individuals working in this area. Sheila tells us about her occupational history, and how all the different roles of her early career informed her practice today. We talk her partnership with her husband, Ron in the formation and development of Therapeutic Listening, the importance of friendships, how trauma affects regulation, and why kids with sensory processing challenges are at greater risk for PTSD. If you work with, care for, or are individuals with sensory integration differences or trauma histories, check it out! For more information about Sheila's work, visit www.vitallinks.com!

Join Nicole and Val (and the wind whistling across the block) for a leisurely stroll through their occupational histories relative to work and education. This episode is rated 🌶🌶, not necessarily because you need to know a lot about occupational therapy, but because you should have at least an interest in it to groove on the convo. We talk about how we got into OT, how our interests evolved through schooling and careers, and our plans for the future. We touch on addressing sensory processing in clinics vs. schools, facilitating self-management of learning disabilities in middle school, creating optimal routines, studying for the boards, and all sorts of half-time recap stuff.

OK guys, here comes the first 🌶 episode (remember, our OT Spiciness Scale is out of 3, so we're in mildtown tonight)! We met virtually with Shannon Downey: artist, activist, craftivist, community builder, and general instigator at www.badasscrossstitch.com. Nicole got so flustered in her excitement that Val had to help her remember the 9 occupations because she forgot to count on her fingers (twice)! We discussed  Shannon's occupational evolution, and, like, all the projects she's done in the last year and a bit. Like completing an unfinished 100-piece quilt that she bought at an estate sale, facilitating her community in crafting their way through a challenging transition, packing up all her stuff and going on tour in an RV in a pandemic. You know. The like. We made little tingly connections with OT, but didn't bring the full clinical ambiance this time. It's an episode about the benefits of intentional occupation in the context of leisure, learning, routines, social connection, pooches and kittycats, and those mandatory projects that life sometimes throws your way. There's also a very brief OT origin story at the end and a textbook recommendation if that's your thing! Also, finally! Some swear words!