A different look at adversity

by - April 03, 2017


Aimee Mullins stands at the podium of TedMed, one of the keynote speakers for their conference. Although not a Medical Professional herself, she is experienced with the medical profession from the perspective of a patient. During her talk she says something profound, "Adversity isn't an obstacle that we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It's part of our life....Our responsibility is not simply shielding those we care for from adversity but preparing them to meet it well." This coming from someone who, in my eyes, has overcome incredible adversity, more than any I have ever experienced in my own life floors me. This causes me to look a little closer at myself and reflect on what I believe about adversities or incredibly hard challenges. As an OT, the clients that I will be working for will either have already experienced incredible challenges in their lives or if they are just diagnosed, are about to. This provides us with a unique opportunity as OT's. It is incredibly important to be aware of how we talk about the challenges that they are facing. To let the challenge be the focus could actually further handicap or clients. Instead of being problem-solving practitioners that don't run from challenges and instead see adversity as new opportunity to discover new strengths and new talents could easily change everything. For Aimee Mullins, this made all the difference in how she saw herself and her challenges. For us as OT's, this should change how we talk and think about our clients. 

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1 comments

  1. Dr. LancasterApril 3, 2017 at 7:32 PM

    Very well articulated, Sarah Caitlin! Also, I love your "About Me" section on the blog :) Love the enthusiasm!

    ReplyDelete