On 05.03.2021, Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) Faculty of Health Sciences (SBF) Occupational Therapy Department Head Dr. Lecturer Berrak Dumlupınar and Dr. Lecturer Department students came together on Google Meet with the participation of Abdullah Yüksel Barut. Pediatric Occupational Therapist Gökçe Özdağ, who works in the Child Istanbul Family Counseling Center, was invited to our online event. Head of Occupational Therapy Department, Dr. Lecturer Member Berrak Dumlupınar and Res. See. Our program started with Beyza Aslı Bilsel introducing our guest teacher. Our event continued with the experiences of Occupational Therapist Gökçe Özdağ shared with our Occupational Therapy Department students in the field of pediatrics.
Occupational therapist Gökçe Özdağ stated that the concepts of meaning and purpose in meaningful and purposeful activity, which are one of the main components of our professional perspective, directly affect the working principle of an occupational therapist. He drew attention to the importance of the occupational therapist to be aware of the daily life activities that the child can do and enjoy, and to include the skill to be integrated into the learning process, as well as the skills that are aimed to be acquired by individuals.
Frequently encountered and coming to the agenda nowadays, "Is the activity of parents and children at home is sensory integration?" The answer to the question “The activity that families do with their children at home is not sensory integration, it is a quality time with sensory stimulus spent with the child; Of course, this time cannot be denied. " On the other hand, he gave place to the therapist-client experiences that the occupational identity of an occupational therapist who puts the Sensory Integration perspective in his profession for a specialist is much more than that.
Home therapy program is one of the working areas of occupational therapists within the scope of occupational therapy sessions. The individual may be someone else in a clinical setting from another home environment. The aim is for the individual to use what he / she has acquired in the clinic in daily life activities. For example; Ergotherapist, who learned that the individual with left hemiplegia does not use his left hand in his home life and continues his life with his right hand; He included the example of the individual including the practice of using his left hand in the activity by preparing cookies with him at home. When viewed from the outside, this situation may seem small or simple, but individuals are brought to life with such meaningful and purposeful approaches. The imagination and talents of occupational therapists touch the lives of their clients and enable them to reach independence and spend quality time.
To answer the question of how ergotherapists should create a program for their clients during the pandemic process and what should they pay attention to; A roadmap was drawn that there should be a program tailored to the individual and separate from the goals in the therapy room, the parents should be interviewed beforehand, and the parents should be included if necessary, and should be notified before being included. Online therapy applied during the pandemic process; It has to be different from the goals and programs in the therapy room. The tools and equipment in the therapy room may not be available at home. The occupational therapist aims to gain the independence of the person by using the materials in the house and turning them into activity.
Our speaker ended his speech after answering the questions of the students who participated in the event. Head of Occupational Therapy Department, Dr. Lecturer Berrak Dumlupınar, guest speaker Gökçe Özdağ and our guest of honor Dr. Lecturer He thanked Abdullah Yüksel Barut.
