Occupational Therapy Career Essay

I have been determined to pursue a career in occupational therapy since the summer after graduating eighth grade. Although, comically, my view of occupational therapy has drastically changed. I am a planner; I love to map out my day by the hour. I knew I wanted a job that was active and was centered around people. I crossed paths with occupational therapy when I was taking career assessment tests for fun. Occupational therapy continued to appear in my portfolio. I did a lot of research on the profession; I was hooked. Not because of what I probably should have loved about the profession. My initial impression was, “Occupational therapists get to play all day long and get paid for it!” That reasoning motivated me to pursue this career path for

I learned that occupational therapy covered an umbrella of areas, not only play. I often define occupational therapy as a form of rehabilitation that helps an individual live their life to the fullest by aiding in the achievement of meaningful activities of daily living such as brushing teeth, cooking, and typing. I went through a long process to coagulate my dream to be an occupational therapist. I began to pile on the college credits in high school; the last semester of my senior year I was taking twenty-one credit hours. I graduated high school with forty-two college credits and entered college as a sophomore. I have continued to take classes full time during the summer, which has allowed me to be able to graduate in two years instead of four. After high school graduation, I applied for a job at United Cerebral Palsy Child Development Center. I work with amazing staff members, and the joyful population of children of all abilities. I work closely with the occupational, speech, and physical therapists who provide therapy to the children at the center. I have seen the positivity the therapists bring into the center. Not only have I

She was scared to try the balance beam; however, when I offered to help she ran away. I began to start small by reading her a book, staying close by at play time, and comforting her when she was upset. By the end of the month she allowed me to help her try the balance beam because she trusted me. Since then, I have built a strong relationship with the child, but also a bond with her family. Not only have I learned that relationship building is important in the field of occupational therapy, I have seen how important problem solving is. While observing an outstanding therapist in the school setting, I learned about how she needed to adjust from child to child. For example, a child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, had a vision impairment, and low motivation. She explained to me that motivating the child was challenging. The child did not want to move the bears that were on the table to the bucket the therapist was holding. The therapist accepted the challenge willing, turned the lights down low, shook the bucket so the child could locate the bucket with his ears, and explained to him that if he did this task he could earn two minutes on the iPad. The child seemed motivated; thus, he started to attempt the task the therapist had given him. I loved how the occupational therapist took the challenge in stride and succeeded in motivating the child. I have