BJ Woolston

Student Choice

Intro to Occupational Therapy

The intro to OT class is an overview of what to expect if you decide to pursue a career in the occupational therapy field.  In this assignment we were asked to choose an activity from a list and evaluate the therapeutic properties that it could provide. 

Reflection

Having worked in mental health for a number of years I felt like I already had a strong idea about what I might find in this assignment.  However, it helped me see just how much detail could be provided and how many different ways you could utilize a simple activity such as planting a flower to help someone.

Social Science

Psychology 1100 - Introduction to the Life Span

This class focuses on the entire spectrum of human development from birth to death.  In the assignment I chose to display we were assigned to research a diagnosis that we wished to learn more about.  We chose schizophrenia.  

Reflection

Taking time really research a topic such as schizophrenia was a great way to start understanding the disease.  This was a group project and my portion was the treatment aspect of the assignment.  

Communications

Elements of Effective Communication 1010

I had previously taken public speaking, but it did not count as my communication requirement for applying to the occupational therapy assistant program.  Hence, comm 1010 became a reality.  

Reflection

One of the final projects that was required for this class is a power point presentation that was utilized during a 5 minute speech.  Being that I had lots of experience teaching west coast swing, I figured that would be a great topic. I ran into some unforeseen difficulties.  I was used to teaching a group of people how to do the dance, not simply telling a group about it.  I began trying to find ways to tell people about the dance without requiring them to get up and move or just by showing them videos.  I decided to focus on the positive benefits of social dance which included meeting people and creating new relationships and getting exercise and maintaining overall health and life span.