Seizure Alert Dogs - Canine Partners For Life - Comcast OnDemand 4/2009

I chose this video because it shows the many facets of animal assistance for people who have impairments. My supervisor on my first placement had a trained seizure alert dog, so this is something that is of great interest to me. Not every dog is suitable for this role, they need to be finely tuned to their handlers physical state. I personally find it fascinating that a dog can sense a seizure coming on, obviously there are physical changes going on for the owner up to an hour before the seizure that the dog can detect.... are they electrical, chemical, what is it that the dog is picking up on? And then they are also trained to support the person while they are going through the seizure as well, staying close by and often bringing a phone or medication if required. Amazing.

Effects of Animal Assisted Therapy on Autism (Video 3 of 5)

This is a series of videos which shows an Occupational Therapist working with a young man (Zachary) who has autism. I chose it because it shows the progress they make using animal assisted therapy. The connection Zachary has with Henry the dog is plain to see, and having a meaningful occupation (cutting up treats for Henry) enables Zachary to accomplish hand motor skills (using kindergarten scissors).

Doing, being, becoming and belonging….the multi-dimensions of owning Fido.

I never knew that Fido was actually the name of Abraham Lincoln’s dog; apparently he died not long after Lincoln was assassinated. I have always been fortunate to have animals in my life (images 1-6), so I was ecstatic to gain my first placement in an area where dogs were involved. My supervisor had a trained therapy dog who not only visited rest homes in the area (image 19) with clients but was also a seizure alert dog (image 17), who could give her up to 30 minutes warning of an impending epileptic attack. We also had a community client who was in the process of training his pet dog towards mobility assistance certification (images 12-14). I couldn’t have asked for a better first placement really.

The occupation of dog ownership encompasses more than the act of just owning a dog, it can be expressed through other things such as a reason to keep busy, having something to wake up for, exploring new activities and contributing to others (Hammell, 2004). Looking at the images we can see people engaging in activities such as dog agility (slide 7), dog sled racing (slide 8), canine freestyle dancing (slide 9) and the search and rescue team from the Christchurch earthquake (slide 10). All these activities provide the owners with a sense of enjoyment, purpose and fulfilment. This leads to an increased sense of self-worth, capability and respectability.

Being is harder to define as it has a more philosophical flavour, it is simply experiencing life and the environment around us. In my experience no other animal knows the joy of just being than a dog, unlike humans. This is Joshua Bell, one of the world’s greatest violin players…how many people do you think stopped to listen to him play at a busy Metro stop? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw).The joy of dogs however is that they are able to share their ‘being’ (slide 11,12 & 13), its scientifically proven that for most people petting an animal reduces blood pressure and can alleviate depression.

Becoming explores the idea of how people envisage themselves in the future, what possible lives they may have and how their lives might be experienced as worthwhile (Hammell, 2003). For people with impairments owning a dog who can assist them with activities in daily living, becoming involves a sense of independence that they would not have without their canine companion (14,15,16& 17).

As humans perhaps the most important term as social beings is belonging. Rebeiro et al. (2001) describes this as the necessary contribution of social interaction, mutual support and friendship, the desire to be included. For children with autism, some respond first verbally to animals before humans (image 18). In some schools programs have been developed where children struggling to read are encouraged to read to therapy dogs, a fun, comforting and non-judgmental way to enhance learning (image 19). And finally the local dog park provides just as much social opportunity for the dogs as it does for their owners (image 20).


When posting photos on-line there are a few ethical considerations. I was aware that posting my own personal photos would mean they would be accessible to anyone who used the internet worldwide, so I made sure that I was happy with this personally. My other photos came from sites such as www.flickr.com and newspaper articles where I knew that consent would have been made prior to images being posted. I made sure to reference each photo to ensure authenticity and did not include any photos that may be offensive to people. 

As Occupational Therapists I don’t think we have even begun to touch the surface of what the animal world can do for humans, both through biomimicry and therapeutic applications. I will leave you with what I hope to achieve in New Zealand when I graduate (http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2011/10/11/3336788.htm)

Slideshare presentation

View more PowerPoint from Kiwi1974
References for photos:
First photos 1-6 are own personal photos.
Photo 7: Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5962425/Corgis-compete-to-be-top-dog
Photo 8 : Retrieved fromhttp://www.odt.co.nz/your-town/wanaka/20819/no-time-paws-dogged-effort-needed
Photo 9: Retrieved from http://julieannamos.hubpages.com/hub/Doggy-Dancing-Canine-Freestyle
Photo 10: Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4925431/Canine-heroes-to-be-recognised
Photo 11: http://www.flickr.com/photos/childrensla/5039177921/
Photo 12: http://4petsonline.com/pet-therapy/
Photo 13: http://www.healthyfellow.com/289/animal-assisted-therapy/
Photo 14: http://servicedogssite.com/?attachment_id=81
Photo 15 and 16: http://www.spinal-injury.net/assistance-dog-
tasks.htm
Photo 17: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/round-the-clock-help-a-bark-away/story-e6frf7jo-1225711570470
Photo 18: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/good_dogs_PEwwznLJygkcHNBTDdu0OK
Photo 19: http://blog.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/2008/02/boydog.JPG
Photo 20: http://www.auntkitpetnanny.com/2011/04/el-paso-county-dog-park-etiquette/

Are you there TechnoGod? Its me Snickelfritz……

If you are reading this, welcome, my first attempt at writing a blog. As an Occupational Therapy student we are often asked to try new experiences, so this will be yet another notch on the proverbial therapeutic belt. I should briefly explain my blog name, its no secret…. the age old “what’s your porn star name?” Substitute your first pet's name with the name of the street you grew up with and there you have it! (Should you wish to see a photo of said Snicklefritz please view profile pic).

My first entry is focused on Information Technology (IT)/Information Communications Technology (ICT). Yadav (2006) defines IT as a generic name for the following functions; information/data representation, storage, retrieval and processing, and communication. The computer is the tool we use today to carry out these tasks as effectively and efficiently as possible and with increasing speed as technology advances. ICT is similar to IT but includes telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) such as computers, broadcast media and video and audio processing. So that is any product that will store, retrieve, manipulate, transmit or receive information electronically in a digital form.

To say that technology is not prevalent in modern industrialised society would be insanity; it is everywhere you look even if on occasion it is invisible to the naked eye. The rapid expansion over the last 20 years of communication and personal digital assistant (PDA’s) devices is phenomenal, and the market competition is incredibly fierce. Watch Steve Job’s talk about the development of Apple’s post personal computers products here; (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3QBw0QMzWU&feature=related); a genius in his own right and a truly inspirational speaker on entrepreneurship should you ever come across a video. In the first 9 months of Apple’s iPad release in 2010 over 15 million units were sold, that’s $9.5 billion in revenue! It often reminds me of the arms race you find in nature, the prey (technology) is constantly trying to evolve greater strategies to stay ahead of the predator (human race). But I guess it’s more of a supply/demand scenario. The following video is a clever account of the evolution of technology, although it is 4 years out of date; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcSzqm5Whwc&feature=related.

I personally do not own any fancy gadgets, its not that I don’t want too it’s more of a financial restriction for now. I will admit to being a bit of a feature and design snob, its got to look sexy first and foremost and then be user friendly before I would consider purchasing it. I would buy an Apple iPhone 4s in a heartbeat if I won Lotto. My laptop is an old Dell inherited from my father’s workplace, it is sworn at daily for its slow processing capabilities and one day I will put a sledge hammer through its screen. But for now it serves its purpose and I don’t want to upset the technology karma gremlins.

Technology is becoming such an important part of everyday life that as of 2011, Occupational Therapists have a new assessment available to them in order to gauge the ability of some clients to manage the use of everyday technologies (Malinowsky, Nygard & Kottorp, 2011). But while for some technology may be a hindrance or safety issue for others it is a way to reconnect with family and society. I was fortunate enough to work with a supervisor on my first placement who was technologically savvy. One client in particular while I was there received his new iPad, which once attached to his wheelchair enabled him through a touchscreen and the use of interactive Prologuo2Go app to communicate effectively for the first time since his stroke. The following blog gives one woman’s account with her experience with this device and application, and how it helped her cope with cerebral palsy; http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2010/the-ipad-as-an-affordable-communicator-initial-review/. I personally think as OT’s we cannot ignore the technology that could be yet another effective tool or enabling agent in the problem solving process. At the same time we must be mindful that not everyone is technologically aware or comfortable enough to use this equipment in which case education or alternative methods may be more suitable.

The final consideration for this blog and IT will be the ethical implications that arise from the capturing, sharing and transferring of information via PDA’s. Illegal downloading is recently been heavily targeted both in the media and in the courts, but copyright and intellectual property is something that should be respected when accessing information via the internet. The problem arises however when information starts crossing international borders and therefore differing regulations. This is clearly obvious when we look at the current Kim Dotcom saga. As OT students any photos taken while placement required informed consent from not only the organisation we are working for but if they include clients, then the clients as well. Quite often there will be strict guidelines to when and where they can be used and they certainly wouldn’t be put on the internet where anyone could copy and share it.

References:

Malinowsky, C., Nygard, L., & Kottorp, A. (2011). Psychometric evaluation of a new assessment of the ability to manage technology in everyday life. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 18, 26-35.

Yadav, D.S. (2006). Foundations of Information Technology. 3rd Edition. New Age International (P) Ltd, New Delhi.