Food For Thought

After looking through the various resources, my mind is racing with the different topics that were brought up. The first thing that struck my attention, during a TED talk in which was being presented using sign language, the speaker brought up a very interesting scenario. He discussed him and his wife going through a tour of a Norwegian school for the deaf. In this situation, he was able to interpret for his wife what the individuals were saying because they were using a type of sign language in which she was not familiar. In this moment, he stated that for the first time in their marriage, she was the one with the disability. This struck me because I do not think very often about the fact that disability is relative to the situation we are in. Disability can not be defined as abnormal because normal is also relative to what the situation is. This is why the universalism being discussed is so important. Another thing to consider however, is when this universalism is appropriate. For example, the speaker mentioned the ease of access of a levered door handle to an individual who has a prosthetic, he also mentioned that it eases access for a child to be able to open a door. In some cases we may not want that child to be able to open the door because then they would be able to walk out of the house whenever they wanted. This is what makes universalism so difficult is because some adaptations may be positive for some individuals and negatives for others. This is why we must be able to adapt to our surroundings in the manner that they are because they may have another purpose that is beneficial.

Another idea that captured my attention during the podcast about Cancer-Related Cognitive Dysfunction is the idea that the cognitive effects of cancer can go beyond the side effects of chemo. This treatment is not the only cause of the fog that happens in clients with cancer as the cancer itself can also have an impact. I would be interested to find out how this impacted individuals outside of the clients with breast cancer that were discussed in the podcast. In children with cancer, what kind of cognitive delays might cancer cause in their development? Is it possible that these cognitive impairments due to cancer are causing problems in children that are being overlooked? This is not to blame anyone, however to bring attention to a possible consideration to which occupational therapy could be beneficial. These thoughts once again have my mind engaged in the role that occupational therapy can be used to change lives. 

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