JESSICA SWANSON, OTD, MS, OTR/L
E-Portfolio
WHAT IS OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY?
This is a question that I have been asked many times and each time I'm sure I answer differently. Here is my answer today. Occupational therapy (OT) is a really unique field in that it encompasses every aspect of one's daily life.
OT is usually seen as a physical rehabilitation profession which is not wrong, rather, only a small portion of our profession focuses on physical or motor impairments. OTs can promote, habilitate, rehabilitate, maintain, and advocate for any "occupation" that one performs in their daily lives. Occupation today is synonymous with work but occupations are also activities that one does or needs to do within one's daily routines. These occupations may be impacted due to a physical impairment or limitation but occupations or activities may also be impacted due to social, emotional, perceptual, cognitive, sensory, and even behavioral challenges. We are well adapted to assess any challenge one faces by dissecting the activity, understanding the person, and observing the environment. Common therapeutic treatments include making environmental adaptations, providing adaptive equipment, providing compensatory strategies, and designing remedial activities. We work with people across the life span. We may work with a pregnant mother, an infant, a school-aged child, and adults from the young to the old.
WHO AM I?
My name is Jessica Swanson and I am an occupational therapist.
I began my occupational therapy journey as a high school senior. I shadowed an occupational therapist for 1 hour a week for an entire year. I decided to pursue OT and began with an applied associate's degree as an occupational therapy assistant. I graduated from Jamestown Community College in 2008. After working in the field for a few years, I returned to gain my master of science degree in occupational therapy at Gannon University. I earned my Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA in December 2019. I currently work with children within local school districts while also teaching as an adjunct professor.
I have worked in many settings including in early intervention, preschool, school-based, hand rehabilitation, mental health, and with the geriatric population. I began to focus primarily on pediatric therapy in 2013. Since then, I have obtained a certification in Ayer's Sensory Integration from the University in Southern California which allows me to provide specialized sensory evaluations and interventions. This is the gold standard certification in the sensory field. I completed over 100 hours of programming and two specialized courses, Sensory Integration in School-Based Settings and Sensory Integration for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum.