Blogs

UPDATE:Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties and we were unable to get a live stream out. Sorry Everyone! But not to worry there is plenty of footage that will be up soon on the Conclave Gallery If you cant make it to the Conclave this year make sure to mark your calendars because I'm...

(From my blog ) There has been an ever-growing presence for occupational therapy on the Internet. Social and professional networking amongst occupational therapy practitioners has been the subject of presentations at conferences , blog posts , articles, and more. Several months ago, OT Practice...

Want to promote occupational therapy everyday? Well now’s your chance! To coincide with OT Month in April 2009, AOTA has set up an online store where you can buy anything and everything OT—from pens and sticky notes, to t-shirts and tote bags. Proudly display OT everywhere you go! Visit...

As the chair of the Affilitated State President Association I recently asked state presidents about how they involve students. Most all of the state associations have student positions on their board to represent student issues and concerns. Most states offer students scholorships. Here are some other...

Inauguration Day started at about 6am for me. I drove to AOTA's office to park and shoe-horn myself onto the Red Line Metro. To my surprise I waited for the last train and actually got a seat in a half full car for the typically 30 minute ride to the Capitol at Union Station. Two stops later the...

Yesterday afternoon I had a meeting with President-elect Obama's Transition Team regarding health care and health care reform. After braving 20 degree temperatures on the way there I managed to go into the building a few minutes early and it was a good thing I did as they had a security lockdown...

On Monday January 5th I met with President-elect Obama's Transition team to share AOTA's thoughts on education and early intervention. Arriving at the site which was formerly (and soon will be again) a Department of Justice building, it was clear that things had changed. Secret service had blocked...

On Monday, February 23rd we celebrate the anniversary of AOTA's longest-serving employee. Darlene Dennis, the Political Action Administrator, will have been with AOTA for 30 years! From typewriters to the blog-o-sphere (as she likes to call it), through five executive directors, twelve presidents...

As I reviewed my campaign plans for becoming elected to the position of AOTA Secretary, I realized voting for the 2010 AOTA General Elections is slated to begin Monday, January 18th--Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Interestingly, I just ran across a motivational quote from Martin Luther King Jr.--"Our...

Reading through the forum comments regarding participation and the proposed changes to the RA, one of the common threads is the issue of communication. Several members are concerned with the structure of the new 15 member group and how they will communicate with the membership. It is clear the state...

As I read the posts from students who are planning to attend their first AOTA national conference this year, I started thinking about my past conferences and how this year will bring some changes for me...hopefully. This year I will be presenting a poster with students...in the past, I have done a workshop...

My professional goal for 2010 is to increase my professional involvement at the national level--it is official, I am running in the AOTA General Elections for the position of AOTA Secretary ! I hope to use this blog to share my professional experiences and goals as well as get to know you and your thoughts...

Wow...the holidays are here...which means the AOTA General Election is right around the corner! Following the holiday season, I plan to spend much more time online communicating my platform. However, Saturday's event steered me here a bit earlier. Saturday morning was filled with smiles and laughter...

The 2010 AOTA General Elections have started--this is your chance to begin your professional New Year right--by voting. Involvement at the state and national level is important to ensuring the longevity of the occupational therapy profession. One's level of involement in professional organizations...

This will be my first face-to-face RA meeting as the Alabama Rep. I am looking forward to meeting those who I have been communicating with since July! I am also excited to return to Indiana....my home for 6 years before relocating to Alabama. Go Hoosiers!

Did you know that membership in AOTA continues to grow each month? Recently AOTA membership topped 41,000 members. This is quite impressive and should be celebrated by all. As a long time, one might even say lifetime member of AOTA and my state association, I can't tell you how important these two...

So last Friday I mentioned that the first group of emerging leaders was meeting just down the hall from me. Later in the afternoon I actually got to meet some of these fine people, and even took a picture or two. Or 189. Whatever. The group was energetic. They were exciting. There...

If you don't know this before, you will know now. I am currently running for the President position of the Assembly of Student Delegates in AOTA. Unlike the formal email some (if not most) of you might have probably receive, I am going to do it in an informal way. Yes, my resume is not as impressive...

I have friended a lot of this year's Assembly of Student Delegates Steering Committee candidates both on here and/or Facebook. So, it was no surprise that when the calendar switched from the year 2010 to 2011, a good bit of them started their campaigning efforts, or election fever as I call it. Blog...

I think there is a good bit of you who have heard not only Dr. Clark, but also other previous AOTA presidents speak about the issue of advocacy for students and professionals. Well, the video above is actually a great example of how our pixel power can be in action. Sure, it is in Hong Kong and they...

Autism is a highlighted part of our centennial vision, which is about 6 years away. Aside from delivering high quality interventions and researching for performing research for better evidence based practice, another thing we in the OT community (practitioners and students) have to do is actually reaching...

One thing I always find fascinating in life is- the company you are with could play a role in determining who you are in the setting you are in. I find it pretty true during my OT school experience so far. For example, the fact that I ran for the Assembly of Student Delegates led me to eventually know...

When I saw the blog post that the AOTA elections will be extended 4 more days due to the fact that the site needs maintenance, I was like, "Oh great!" I say that not because of the fact it's 4 more days... but the fact that it is going to drag on to my birthday, which is the day before...

I am a gamer at heart and hate losing on things that I am good at as much as Tiger Woods hates bogeys on his scorecards. But, one thing I am working very hard on (which has been putting through practice quite a couple times in OT school already) is being a graceful loser. This ASD elections, believe...

I have officially registered to go to the upcoming year's AOTA conference... woot! Predictably, because of the fact that I have to wait for certain variables to clear up, I have neither booked my flight nor my hotel room yet. Yes, I will be bummed about missing some of the end-of-year festivities...