Horty Kim

Ok so I have been contracted by the OT department to provide some horticulture workshops for the first year OT students.The groups are fairly large for a practical session so it is great to have Helen (Diversional Therapist) onboard as we work well together and she can help me to explain to the students how the different activities we are doing feeds into their learning.

Occupational therapists perform very important jobs in our community and if you are unsure of what this career entails the following explanation is provided by wikipedia: Occupational therapy refers to the use of meaningful occupation to assist people who have difficulty in achieving a healthy and balanced lifestyle; and to enable an inclusive society so that all people can participate to their potential in daily occupations of life.^[1] Occupational Therapists & Occupational Therapy Assistants work with a variety of individuals who have difficulty accessing or performing meaningful occupations.

Most commonly, Occupational Therapists & Occupational Therapy Assistants work with people with disabilities to enable them to maximize their skills and abilities. Occupational therapy gives people the “skills for the job of living” necessary for living meaningful and satisfying lives.^[2]

Services typically include:

• Customized intervention programs to improve one’s ability to perform daily activities.
• Comprehensive home and job site evaluations with adaptation recommendations.
• Performance skills assessments and treatment.
• Adaptive equipment recommendations and usage training.
• Guidance to family members and caregivers.^[2]

The structure of the workshops were planned with James Sunderland from Otago Polytechnic’s Occupational Therapy Department.

James and I put our heads together and decided we would do similar horticulture activities to the ones we have done over the last few years but this year we would add a strong emphasis on sustainability.

The OT students will use the sessions with Helen and I to put together some workshops which they will deliver as part of their assessment.I have agreed to nut shell some of the horticulture activities on my blog in case the students need to refresh their memories or find some of my references and resources useful for their endeavours.

I really enjoy the opportunity offered to me by the OT department. Horticulture as a form of therapy is an area I am interested in, and in fact ,I embarked on my teaching in horticulture when I was asked to teach adults with acquired brain injury when I was living in Australia and working for the Swinburne University TAFE.