2 hour pizzas....learning the ropes of vocational rehab and to not be a helicopter OT!

I am learning about patience now that I am starting to work in vocational rehab a few hours a week. I did a kitchen safety assessment today - where the student makes something in the oven or on the stove, as well as peels and cuts a potato [knife safety], and the student made a 10 minute instant pizza in the oven, but it took us 2 hours from start to finish because of all the little steps I take for granted as an able-bodied person without cognitive deficits [I guess you could argue that one]. Like I forget it can be hard to skim for the right directions, or that opening the package can be a struggle, or that figuring out how to pre-heat the oven - and manage your time for that - is a big deal, and that cutting is made a lot harder by spasms, etc etc. Not to mention scrubbing dishes. I also made grits with another student, instant 1 minute grits with just water, and that was a 40 minute ordeal as well after you factor in searching for the items, knowing how much to measure, opening and emptying the packet, forgetting directions and going back for a packet, forgetting to stir, misreading the numbers or translating that into microwave times, etc...

I am still learning - this is a new area for me - when to step back and when to step forward. When to let them figure it out or how to question them indirectly so they can learn of their own empowerment. I struggle sometimes with the best attitude to present, especially considering many of these people are the same age as me. I feel like it can be really awkward for them to have someone their own age watching them do things so I try to make them as comfortable as possible but it can be hard to find that balance between friendship and being OVER comfortable versus a therapeutic relationship. I definitely have to sit on my hands a lot. I just want to help SO BAD. And especially when there is a knife involved I turn into a total helicopter OT. :) My internal thoughts accompanied by slightly external cringes and deflected reflexive movements: OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH HE IS GOING TO SLICE OFF HIS FINGERS AND I AM GOING TO LOSE MY LICENSE OH HIS FINGERS OH OH OH PLEASE MAKE IT STOP NO NO NO NOOOOOO OK PHEW HE DID IT AND NO ARTERIES WERE SEVERED OKAY HEART RATE LOWERING PHEW. lol

And frankly, I have some learning to do myself about basic cooking! Like I wasn't sure if you could brown frozen meat directly. I'm shadowing another OT right now, learning the ropes of vocational rehab, and she doesn't have a lot more experience than me, but enough to be very helpful, especially because she is exceptionally competent [and actually part of a Steering Committee which makes me very jealous, she is awesome]....she is better at being more direct than I am.

I'm just kind of rambling here. I've got blog ADHD. I've gotten used to my outpatient and inpatient forays but this vocational rehab stuff is REALLY fascinating to me but it has its own unique issues to learn to navigate. I'm trying my best of course to do what's best for the students and that requires a lot of self-investigation! And ideally feedback from others. :)