Dunedin Blog Abstracts and Links

Gardening Therapy

Dave Armstrong

Gardens can be environments where your senses are enriched, challenged and where you can find peace from modern day life. This blog will look at how tailoring roles and the environment in different gardening projects can help vulnerable clients engage in their occupations. http://davesgardeningtherapy.blogspot.co.nz/

Institutions: Have They Really Stopped in NZ?

Grace Fairhall

Sunny side, Cherry farm, Lake Alice... OTs have all heard of these institutions that were home to many people with mental and intellectual disabilities, but how have things changed? This blog aims to look at institutions and the way individuals lived there compared to present day and the use of current community housing, exploring the benefits and barriers of both.  http://gracefairhall55.blogspot.co.nz/

Keeping Calm

Bree Quinn

Relaxation is a common intervention used by occupational therapists in mental health settings. This presentation will look specifically at progressive muscle relaxation, how it can be utilised, its benefits and why we might choose it over other relaxation methods.  http://progressiveelaxation.blogspot.co.nz/

Meeting Milestones, Developmental Coordination Disorder and Struggles at School

Gemma Campbell

Achieving developmental milestones, such as crawling, is expected at certain times during growth. When these are not met there is question of a developmental coordination disorder. This blog will explore developmental delays and their implications at school, and will link to how occupational therapists can help! http://developmentalcoordinationdisorder.blogspot.co.nz/

Young at Heart! Music Therapy for the Elderly

Matthew Janssen

This blog will explore how listening and performing music can help as an activity based occupational therapy intervention tool when working with the elderly. Proven physical/mental/emotional benefits will be also be explored and discussed. http://kiwi-ingenuot.blogspot.co.nz/

Friends for Life: Animal Assisted Therapy

Gemma Nicholson

Some have four legs, a tail, some are for assistance and others are for companionship. This blog will explore how animal assisted therapy can impact an individual with a mental illness positively and improve their quality of life and occupational performance. http://gemmasblog2011.blogspot.co.nz/

When East meets West in a Holistic Platform… What Happens?

Shilmoni Singh

This blog will explore issues for NZ immigrants; their engagement, settling into their new home country, and how it could benefit occupational therapist to have this knowledge. http://shilmonishilmoni.blogspot.co.nz/

Society Bias

Rachael Tracey

Occupational therapists have roles in returning professionals back to work after physical trauma, whose role is it to return tertiary students back to study? These students are the professionals of tomorrow and they're falling through the cracks! This blog looks at my personal experience and how we as future occupational Therapists can fill the cracks. http://returningstudentstostudy.blogspot.co.nz/

Cerebral Palsy

Elisabeth Tankard

Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common congenital disorders among children. At this stage, there is no cure for cerebral palsy. Through this blog, I will be exploring a broad range of treatments that are effective in improving a child’s functioning and how these can be integrated in to everyday activities. http://elisabethtankard-ot.blogspot.co.nz/