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I do plenty of video blogs related to aging, disability, and residential accessibility, and have developed a format in which I usually do something a little goofy at the beginning of a video in order to catch people’s attention and get them laughing. I believe that people will be willing to tolerate thinking about what can sometimes be an uncomfortable topic once they have laughed and relaxed a little. I know that I run the risk of being known as the goofy lady who will do just about anything to get people to stick around and talk about making homes safer and easier to use, but I can live with that. I often wonder though, if people know that in addition to being silly and interested in how people live in their homes, that I am an Occupational Therapist, and have been for over 30 years.
I recently read an interesting article in the November 14, 2011 issue of AOTA’s (The American Occupational Therapy Association) magazine “OT PRACTICE”. Another Occupational Therapist, Barbara A. Smith, MS, OTR/L wrote a short reflection piece titled, “Finding Our Special Strength”. She said that, “We as occupational therapy practitioners strive to find the special strength each and every one of us contains,” when she was sharing stories of people with disabilities whose accomplishments were “examples of ability trumping disability”. Thinking about the article caused me to reflect on my own practice, Home Access Solutions, Inc. and the people that I serve.
It doesn’t really bother me to be known as that goofy lady who will do just about anything or the person who is always talking about bathrooms and gleefully announces she was crowned Potty Queen in 1999. I don’t want to be like everyone else and on my better days, I don’t even try. The fact that I truly care about everyday living and can comfortably carry on conversations about things most people don’t even want to think about is one of my strengths and I revel in it! My company, when it is functioning at its best, is not like any other company either. I do not think that there is another OT practice quite like us; an equipment supplier quite like us; or a construction company quite like us. Our strength is that we are merging all three services to accomplish our mission and our focus on the importance that everyday activities in the home have on quality of life and we revel in it!
Our strength is that we are actively listening to and seeking to understand and work with the strengths of our clients. Each person we work with is unlike everyone else who may share the same age, medical condition, developmental disability, or other condition. We don’t ask our clients to accept the same equipment or remodeling idea that works for someone else. We listen to their goals, look at their abilities and environment, and we offer education and solutions for them to choose from. As I tell clients, “It doesn’t really matter to me what you choose to do as long as you are safe. After all, I am not going to live here.” As a company we don’t know everything and we can’t work miracles (much to my everlasting disappointment), but we do listen and we do see our clients as people who have unique strengths and unique outlooks.
So whether you are a practitioner of the growing field of environmental modification or you are the recipient of these services, focus on your unique and special strengths to find solutions that will not only work, but will reflect how you want to live your life.
