Occupational Therapy practitioners have been utilizing iPads in intervention strategies to address cognition, visual perception, motor coordination, handwriting, and other impairments.  The benefits of an iPad are especially useful for students with special needs for their ease of use, access to information, and convenience.  However, iPads are now changing higher education and interaction in the [...]

Music Therapy patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt have partnered with Nashville community artists, musicians, producers, engineers, and other professionals to create the Everybody Has a Story CD.  Each song on the CD is the result of a clinical music therapy session involving the patient and music therapist, Jenny Plume.  “One day [...]

Stroke can strike suddenly and most people don’t know what is happening.  For JoAnn Berkley of Cookeville, TN, she was lucky to have a friend that was a former nurse recognize the symptoms which allowed her to get to a hospital immediately. As soon as she arrived at the hospital, the medical team started exams [...]

Did you know that May is National Stroke Awareness Month? On May 11, 1989, President George Bush signed Presidential Proclamation 5975 designating May as National Stroke Awareness Month to increase public awareness of stroke in an effort to conquer it.  Here are some alarming facts about Stroke: Stroke kills twice as many women each year [...]

You might think that miniature horses are just tiny and cute, but at Shands Rehab Hospital in Gainsville, Florida, miniature horses are assisting patients in therapy programs.  Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses has partnered with the hospital to provide the newest form of therapy to patients.  “No-one plans to go to rehab,” said Andrea Gilbert, a [...]

As April wraps up as both National Autism Month and National Occupational Therapy Month, it is easy to reflect upon the positive attention given to each of these during the past month.  Through our blog and Facebook page, we hope that we were able to help spread visibility of these important topics.  Here are some [...]

Autism Speaks and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) partnered together yesterday, April 28, to create the first “Zoos Go Blue” event.  More than 30 AZA Zoos and Aquariums participated in the event in different ways – some offering free or discounted admission and some offering special programming for individuals and families of those [...]

Have you ever considered using magic tricks as a part of your occupational therapy program? For Magician Kevin Spencer, it wasn’t until a serious car accident that he realized magic could be more than just a way to entertain others.  After his accident, he spent a year in physical and occupational therapy.  According to Spencer, [...]

As we continue to celebrate Autism Awareness Month, below are some facts about Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Autism from the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation. More than 75% of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) have significant symptoms of SPD. However, the reverse is not true. Most children with SPD do not have an autistic [...]

Did you know that there are multiple aspects of Yoga that can be related to physical therapy? Yoga is typically thought of to be for individuals that are “healthy “or “normal”, however, with some modifications yoga can be effective for all. According to a recent article in Advance magazine, “Like other branches of modern medicine, [...]