The best month of the year is almost here!! Okay, I might be a little biased, but April is OT Month AND Limb Loss Awareness Month… so I mean what more could you ask for! With that being said, I have decided to dedicate this post to explaining what is to come.
As always, if you have questions, comments, or ideas for any portion of this site, including the blog, please send them my way! Your input is valued, and my desire is for this site to be as informative and fun as possible! I want everyone to learn and grow their understanding of the journey, challenges, and experiences faced by individuals with limb loss and prosthetics devices and to also gain a better understanding of OT and how the two relate!!
Okay, so let’s start with OT Month. What is OT Month? Why is there a month dedicated to it? And how are we going to celebrate it?
Occupational Therapy Month began in 1980! It is a month dedicated to educating, advocating, and increasing the visibility of a valued profession. Just in case you are new here, occupational therapists help individuals across their lifespan to participate in all activities they find meaningful and necessary! We work with pediatrics with developmental delays to increase participation in school and social situations. We help individuals recovering from injury regain the skills they need for work and home life. We assist older adults with aging in place. We aid in keeping individuals as independent as possible through our holistic and client-centered approaches to evaluations, assessments, and interventions! We want to see each and every person reach their full potential and live life to the fullest! The possibilities of what an occupational therapist can do is almost endless. We are individuals that combine creativity and science to produce the best possible outcomes for our clients!
So, April is the month we get to celebrate ALL of that! We dedicate the month to increasing the visibility of the profession. Here are 5 ways you can participate in OT Month with me this year:
Share information about OT on social media (hint: if you don’t know what to share you can always reshare posts showcasing occupational therapy - @ot.unlimbited will have posts to share every day of the month if you so choose)
Use the hashtag #OTMonth on all posts
Dedicate an extra 5 minutes a couple times a week to learning 1 new thing about OT - this can be through a google search or a quick scroll through Instagram or Pinterest
Listen to a podcast about OT - “Occupied” hosted by Brock Cook, “OT 4 Lyfe” hosted by Sarah Putt, “Burnt Out to Lit Up” hosted by Erika del Pozo - these are just a few, I promise there are a TON more that are AMAZING!
Make it a goal to explain what OT is to 1 person each week!
There are plenty of other ways to be involved in OT Month, these are just a few I will be doing!
One other part of OT Month is the #ABCsofOT. This is an Instagram challenge led by @shannenmarie_ot. 2021 will be the 6th year of this challenge!! How fun! The purpose of #ABCsofOT is to “promote the profession of occupational therapy in a visual, easy to understand way by creating your own OT alphabet during OT month.” Each day corresponds to a letter of the alphabet i.e., April 1st - Letter A, 2nd - B, 3rd - C, etc. And the word chosen for each letter is one that relates to the occupational therapy profession!!
If you are ready to take on this challenge with me make sure you tag @shannenmarie_ot and use the #ABCsofOT hashtag. If you decide to just follow along this year make sure you check out @otunlimbited for words and advice related to OT and Limb Loss.
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Which leads me into the second thing that makes April so great! April is Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month!
Here are 5 ways you can show support this month!
Post a picture wearing ORANGE (the color for limb loss and limb difference)!
Use the hashtags #LLAM and #LimbLossAwareness on all posts
Learn 1 new thing about Limb Loss or Limb Difference each week!
Listen to a podcast about Limb Loss or Limb Difference - some of my personal favorites are “A Daily Dose of Orange Juice” hosted by Leslie Green, “AmpLife Radio” hosted by Sean Harrison and “Podcasting One-Handed” hosted by Ryan Haack - and these are just a few. There may be a future blog post with more Podcast recommendations because THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD ONES!
Share your Limb Loss Awareness Month (LLAM) why! Why do you raise awareness and support individuals with limb loss and limb difference? It may be a personal story or simply that you want to support others in living life to the fullest!
Again, there are plenty of other ways to be involved in Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month, these are just a few I will be doing as well!
For more information on OT Month check out the AOTA website (https://www.aota.org/Conference-Events/OTMonth.aspx) and for more information on Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month check out the Amputee Coalition website (https://www.amputee-coalition.org)!
Get ready for a month full of fun and exciting things! Make sure you are following along on Instagram (@ot.unlimited) or Facebook (OT Unlimbited), I promise you will not want to miss out! (**Make sure you tag @ot.unlimbited and use the appropriate hashtags so I can follow along too)
Together we can raise awareness for the OT profession and individuals with Limb Loss and Limb Difference! How will you be showing your support this year? Leave it in the comments below. Use the feedback box to send your stories and experiences to me! And always feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns!
Check out otunlimbited.com for more information
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