As physical abilities change with age, it may become more
difficult to manage at home safely. It is very important to evaluate
the home for its safety, and whether it supports your client's ability
to carry out everyday activities efficiently. This easy-to-use checklist provides a guide to the features of your home that may be an increased risk to your safety.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be caused by a forceful bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body, or from an object that pierces the skull and enters the brain.  Learn more here to see how OT can provide rehabilitation and intervention.  

The Physical Self-Maintenance Scale was developed to gauge disability in an elderly people currently in a community or institution for use in planning and assessing treatment.  Items in the scale specifically target observable behaviors.
In each category, circle the item that most closely describes the person's highest level of functioning and record the score assigned to that level (either 1 or 0) in the blank at the beginning of the category.

Objectives
• Discuss the importance of good positioning in acute stroke
• Discuss shoulder care in acute stroke
• Review seating options for stroke patients
• Discuss the importance of early mobilisation
• Review aids and equipment to facilitate mobility of stroke patients

A deterioration in mental health and admission to an acute mental health unit can result in skill loss and decreased participation in daily life. Furthermore, discharge from hospital is associated with high risks of social isolation and suicide. This OT intervention development study aims to describe the rationale, methods and processes of developing an intervention for adults with a diagnosed psychotic disorder following discharge from hospital. The intervention aims to increase participation in self-care and leisure, well-being and quality of life and reduce crisis service use.

A very good read for all those in the world of therapy. 

Let's learn about the Frame of Reference for Development of Handwriting Skills.
This frame of reference identifies functions and dysfunctions in five areas of handwriting for children, including proximal posture, components, use of writing tools, grasp, and handwriting. Good proximal control is required for functional and effective distal control of the writing tools. Either excessive postural stability or lack of postural stability during writing tasks is considered as dysfunctions. Components including ocular-motor skills, attention, and memory are considered as essential. This frame of reference assumes that functional visual perceptual skills are prerequisite skills for good handwriting. The ability to perceive letters as a set of distinct features is the main concern in the component of visual perception. Writing tools, including paper and erasers, needed to be positioned and stabilized effectively are prerequisite for legible handwriting. Functional grasp is necessary to manipulate writing tools effectively. At the end, writing should also be readable and completed with an appropriate time interval. In evaluation, therapists look at the overall legibility, subskills of alignment, spacing, and size of both in-class handwriting and homework. There are numbers of assessments on visual-perceptual and/or fine motor skills for occupational therapists to assess the underlying causes. Clinical observations can also be made during handwriting. The treatment plan within this frame of reference includes various interventions including working in the classroom with the child and cooperating with the teacher on environmental and/or curricular adaptations. The aim of the interventions is that the child will be able to generalize skills into more complex fine motor skills, and eventually be able to participate in age-appropriate occupation as a student.

Learning Objectives:
1.  Identify strategies to manage difficult behaviors during
ADL activities of dressing, eating, and bathing
2.  Identify ways to modify environment for persons with
dementia to minimize confusion

The purpose of this learning package is to assist health care providers in long-term care facilities to gain the knowledge and skill required to manage the unique challenges inherent in the positioning of residents with varying degrees of dependency.
The learner will gain knowledge to enable them to position a resident in good body alignment, taking into consideration typical scenarios that may occur in a long-term care setting.
The package will highlight the ways that correct and frequent positioning will contribute to the resident’s comfort and greatly assist in the prevention of pressure ulcers and contractures.

Wandering, elopement, “running” or bolting behaviors among those within the Autism community present unique safety risks, and
create extraordinary worry and stress among caregivers. Drowning fatalities following wandering incidents remain a leading cause of death among those with ASD.
This toolkit provides direct aid and support to those at risk.