ADHD and OT

In today’s world ADHD is a term that we typically hear a lot about. The podcast that I decided to listen to was labeled “Can OT help with ADHD?” and I learned a lot from listening to this podcast. My first thought was big changes would need to be made to the someone’s daily routine to adapt to a lifestyle with ADHD and sensory issues, but this is simply not the case. While listening, something that I found intriguing is that making minor changes in routine or environment can really make a significant change in the life of someone with ADHD. From this podcast I learned about a sensory diet and how with the help of an OT someone with ADHD can adjust their routine and it can make a significant difference in their performance. A sensory diet is where there are times scheduled throughout their regular day for them to move and become active. This activity doesn’t necessarily mean going for a long walk, it could simply be squeezing a stress ball or even a planned exercise movement from their seat at work or school. This technique will allow them to sit for longer periods of time and allow more focus in the classroom or workplace. 

During this podcast I also learned about the terms sensory seeker and sensory avoider. A sensory seeker is considered someone who will do anything they think they have to do to regulate their sensory system. Sometimes this can include wiggling around and touching things which can sometimes be distracting to themselves or others. I also learned about a sensory avoider where they have issues when something is touching too much or they don’t want it to touch in any way. The take home message I received from this podcast was that there are several different approaches an OT can take to work with an individual with ADHD or sensory issues. These approaches should be client centered meaning they will be different for each client as to focus attention on each uniqueness of the client and what they find meaningful. 

 I also watched a TED talk video on YouTube by Michael Nesmith. He was explaining how in our world things we use every day are not accessible to those who have disabilities. He used the example of a door knob and an individual with a prosthetic arm. A doorknob is a very common thing but is not universally accessible to everyone. We as healthcare providers should constantly try to be aware of barriers that could make our environment less accessible to others and try to develop new ideas to make our world more universally accessible.