Well conference is next week! Next week at this time I will have attended many sessions, listened to the keynote speaker and be roaming the exhibit hall. So now it is time to get serious and develop my plan of what courses I will attend. As there are so many exceptional choices of sessions to attend decision making is often quitedifficult!What a wonderful problem to have! A couple of sessions that I wanted to make sure you didn't miss out on are:
SC114 Photovoice: Advocacy Through Photography and Narrative. Catana Brown, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS and Virginia Stoffel, PhD, OT, University of Wisconsin. I was able to speak with Ginny the last time we were at an AOTA meeting together. She shared information on this program and I can't wait to hear more!
SC120 The Occupational Needs of Students with Asperger's Syndrome and Autism in Higher Education. Theresa Schlabach, MA, OTR/L, BCP, St. Ambrose University. This is one of my colleagues and I'm not just trying to fill the room for her course, although I'm sure it will be packed regardless. As an educator, we are witnessing an increase in students with Autism and Asperger's on our campus. Terry is completing her dissertation on this topic and I feel is extremely knowledgable regarding this area.
There are several sessions addressing sensory needs and clients with mental illness. I want to attend them all, however I'm quite sure that isn't going to be possible. The sessions I'm considering in this area are
Friday
PO 152 Sensory Processing Disorders in Individuals with Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder
Saturday
SC 241 The effects of sensory based intervention on adults with mental illness or substance abuse
Monday
SC 406 Exploring the Safety and Effectiveness of the Use of Weighted Blankets with Adult Populations
I'm sure going to try to get to as many of these presentations and more. Look forward to my reports from conference in St. Louis and I hope to see you there! I'll be the one with the conference bag and water bottle, easy to pick me out of the crowd, right ;)
Christine Urish, PhD, OTR/L, BCMH