Theories of Rehab Therapy

One of my biggest problems in rehab was that my therapists constantly told me what I was doing wrong. There was rarely any encouragement. My outpatient PT told me this was because theories of therapy called for them to point out problems as they occurred — that this was the effective way to teach new moves.

My inpatient PT was the exception. One day she said to me, "Oh Wendy! Your balance is getting so much better!!" I could’ve used a lot more of this. It often seemed as if nothing was going to improve.

Occupational therapy was another thing. The rehab unit had a place called the ADL Suite. Stands for Activities of Daily Living. Unfortunately, my OT assigned me things I really never needed to do around my house. For instance, one day he asked me to cook eggs sunny-side up!! I was totally lacking in the skill of flipping over the eggs. We never have any such thing except when we go to Denny’s for breakfast. Our eggs are always scrambled when I make them.

An OT who filled in one day for my regular guy admitted that she got her patients to cook her breakfast — sparing her the need to eat before leaving the house.

And then there was bedmaking. For many years we have depended on just putting on a bottom sheet and then covering it with a comforter. With the king-size bed we now have, this is particularly helpful (that’s a lot of walking around, especially for a disabled person). But nooo, my OT was like, ya gotta put on a top sheet!! It wasn’t as if I didn’t know how, but that’s a step I’ve skipped for many years. How practical is that?

My sister is acquainted with a woman who had a brain injury. She lived in a mansion and had hired help, so she was never going to have to make beds!! But still the rehab unit insisted on it.

No. Activities of My Daily Living, not yours.