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We’ve been hearing about using apps in the clinic for a while now, and we wanted to know how many of you were using this new tech at work. In the latest 1-Minute Update poll, more than half of respondents say they use apps in the clinic (27% say they use them often, 26% say they use apps occasionally). We also found that about 30% of respondents do not use apps in the clinic, which seems to mirror what’s going on at a societal level with almost half of U.S. mobile phone users owning a smartphone.
It’s nice and all to know that so many of your colleagues are using apps on their phones and tablets with clients, but AOTA wants to be your resource for apps.
Today we’re announcing our apps for occupational therapy database. We’ve split the list up by practice area so you can quickly and easily find apps that you can use with your clients. Not only will you learn the name and description of great health and occupational therapy-related apps, but we also provide the price and a link to buy or download the app. Even better? We have apps for both Apple and Android devices!
Here’s a sneak peek:
| App Name & Description |
Android |
Apple |
Stories2learn
Create personalized social stories using photos, texts, and audio
messages. |
|
$13.99
Get it here. |
myHomework
Allows students to keep track of their homework, classes, projects, and
tests.
|
Free
Get it here. |
Free
Get it here. |
Evernote
Helps you remember everything across all of the devices you use. Evernote
lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, and record voice
reminders.
|
Free
Get it here. |
Free
Get it here. |
Click here for AOTA's apps list!
We’re off to a good start with our apps list, but we need your help! Our list was developed based on recommendations from other occupational therapy practitioners, and we need your submissions to keep growing our apps list. If you know of an amazing app that your colleagues could use in the clinic, simply fill out this form and let us know about it.
A note: this great resource is for AOTA members only. Having access to resources like this is just one of the many great benefits of becoming a member. Read more about member benefits here.
To comment, please log in to OT Connections (it's free to join!).
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Do you know what tomorrow is?
Saturday?
Well, yes. But it’s also the Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service!
If this is your first time hearing about this event, let me give you some background. The always fabulous Karen Jacobs came up with the idea of devoting an entire day for OTs, OTAs, and OT students around the world to give back to their communities by volunteering on Saturday, February 25. The ultimate goal of OTGDS is to promote occupational therapy by being visible in your community and giving back.
Want to participate? You can join 2,500 (!!!) of your colleagues tomorrow. Get more information here and also find some ideas on how you can volunteer your time.
The Promoting OT twitter stream has been tweeting ideas and submissions for months now. Check it out here.
Some cool ones I’ve seen lately: a family fitness night at an elementary school; adopt a veteran day at a VA hospital; giving an in-service to physicians about OT in acute care; and so many more.
What are you doing for the Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service? Tell me in the comments. To comment, please log in to OT Connections (it's free to join!).
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As you are probably aware, your AOTA President Florence Clark is quite the busy OT. (Check out her blog post about her activities in the last couple of months - whew!). As a researcher, Clark recently published her Well Elderly II study, which found that small, healthy lifestyle changes—coupled with involvement in meaningful activities—are critical to healthy aging.
Clark recently talked to The Atlantic’s Professional Help column about her top 5 tips for healthy aging. Her tips include simple lifestyle changes such as taking public transportation, walking the dog, going to church, and reconnecting with friends. Read all five of the tips here.
Because she’s not one to just talk the talk, Clark was also recently featured on the National Institute of Aging’s Go4Life campaign as a success story. Go4Life is a national initiative to provide exercise and physical activity resources for older adults (AOTA is a partner organization). In the success story, Clark tells the story about how dancing has helped keep her active. Read it here.
Do you have any tips for active aging? Tell us in the comments. To comment, please log in to OT Connections (it's free to join!).
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AOTA has an exclusive story today about how the new definition
of autism spectrum disorder will affect occupational therapy.
We talked to autism experts in your profession to get their
opinions and thoughts on the proposed definition for the DSM-V.
Read the article and find out the following:
- How the new definition might mean better outcomes and better
interventions
- The effects of the new definition in the clinic
- What opportunity may now be available thanks to the new
definition
- And much more!
Read it now and let us know what you think about what our autism
experts are saying about the new definition.
To comment, please log in to OT Connections (it's free to join!).
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Childhood obesity has been in the national spotlight for a while now (in fact, AOTA selected it as an emerging niche in occupational therapy), and today in the news we wanted to feature three articles about the issue.
Back in January, we featured an article in The Pulse of the 1-Minute Update about new advertisements in Georgia to combat childhood obesity that were making some experts uncomfortable. One of the advertisements shows an overweight girl on screen with the text, “Warning! It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re not.” See one ad below.
CNN continues the conversation and debate today with an article about how Georgia’s largest pediatric healthcare provider is trying to use the controversy surrounding the advertisements to get more attention to the problem of childhood obesity. Most of the advertisements and billboards have been taken down, but the conversation continues. CNN talked with some of the children featured in the ads, interviewed the company that created the ads, and discusses the need for a cultural change to combat childhood obesity. Read it here.
In other news, WebMD reported a study that found that children who feel left out tend to be less active than their more socially engaged peers. Researchers say it’s the first study to look at whether ostracism affects physical activity. Read about it here. The study’s findings could be an opportunity for occupational therapy practitioners in the schools to help children who feel left out to make connections and friends and get more active.
Finally, Kaiser Health News discusses the new debate among experts about whether children should be screened for cholesterol. Because the one in 500 children who inherit a disorder that causes high levels of bad cholesterol have no observable symptoms, as many as half of the kids don’t know they even have the condition. An expert panel recommended that all kids be screened for high cholesterol, but some believe that universal screening can do more harm than good and could result in some children being put on needless cholesterol lowering medications. Read the arguments here.
We want to know what you think about these topics. Do you think the ads featuring children who are overweight or obese went over the line? Or was it just what is needed to get the conversation on childhood obesity started? Have you noticed that kids who are often left out are less physically active? Do you have any ideas or programs that can help get those kids more active? Finally, do you think it’s worth screening every child for cholesterol to catch those few who have an undiagnosed issue? Tell us in the comments.
To comment, please log in to OT Connections (it's free to join!).
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Perhaps it’s cruel to bring up the topic of taxes right before Super Bowl weekend (who is going to do taxes during the big game? Maybe Niners and Ravens fans?). However, April 17 will be here before we know it, so it’s a good time to start thinking about taxes.
This year we have a treat for you. AOTA interviewed tax experts from around the country for their advice on how occupational therapy practitioners can get the most savings on their taxes, as well as tips on getting your finances organized before you submit to the IRS.
We put together their top 10 tax tips for occupational therapy practitioners. Get information on work-related expenses you can count as deductions, preparing taxes if you worked as an employee and an independent contractor (you got a W-2 and a 1099 form), and more.
If you’re an AOTA member, you can click here to see all the tips (you will have to log in). Otherwise, you can click here to see a couple of the tips.
Have you started your taxes yet? Which tip are you excited about using this year? Do you have any tax tips we missed?
To comment, please log in to OT Connections (it's free to join!).