On World Occupational Therapy Day, the 4th Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices event was held

Üsküdar University Graduate School of Health Sciences Occupational Therapy and Music Therapy Application and Research Center organized the "4th Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices" scientific program. Occupational therapists who are experts in their fields participated in the program, which was held under the leadership of Prof. Sevda Asqarova, Head of the Department of Occupational Therapy.

The online program was attended by Vice Rector, Director of the Graduate School of Health Sciences Prof. Türker Tekin Ergüzel, OT Mustafa Sağlıyan, OT Zeynep Özdemir, OT Melike Aslan, OT Zeynep Ender, Neurophysiologist. Asst. Prof. Aymen Balıkçı, Dr. Isabel Beaudry Bellefeuille, OT Menekşe Yüksel, OT Leyla Ak, OT Şevval Kazan, OT Emel Gençtürk and OT Büşra Ağcan.

Prof. Türker Tekin Ergüzel: "Occupational therapy is an important field that supports participation in society"

At the online event, the opening speech was made by Vice Rector, Director of the Graduate School of Health Sciences Prof. Türker Tekin Ergüzel. Ergüzel stated that "Occupational therapy is a very valuable and important field that strengthens people's ability to perform activities of everyday living and supports their participation in society. With your contributions to health and quality of life, you are all working devotedly to improve the quality of life and support the lives and families that need this support, and to support their independence."

Prof. Sevda Asqarova: "The program will continue periodically"

Prof. Sevda Asqarova, Head of the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Üsküdar University, emphasized that this program is an important program where occupational therapists share their research. Asqarova stated that "As every year, it is important for us that this year's World Occupational Therapy Day coincides with October 29 Republic Day. This special day makes our program even more meaningful. Today, we will meet our esteemed guests in our program, one of the pioneers of occupational therapy, Dr. Isabel Boudri Belfoil, Neurophysiologist, who has made great contributions to the field of occupational therapy. In addition to our Asst. Prof. Aymen Balıkçı, our expert occupational therapists, graduate students and professors will share their thoughts on occupational therapy and their research, which is rare in the private field. The program, which is under the title of 'Evidence-based occupational therapy practices', which we will hold for the fourth time today, is an important platform where occupational therapists will share their research and present their rare and special topics, and this program will continue periodically."

OT Mustafa Sağlıyan: "When we look at the foundation, we use the magic of occupational therapy"

OT Mustafa Yalçın made his presentation titled 'Evidence-Based Testing and Goal Setting Process for Children Who Know but Cannot Speak 7 Languages' and stated that "When we look at the foundation of evidence-based practice, we use the magic of occupational therapy. We must identify the strengths and weaknesses of the child. Using their strengths, we must direct the child's games and activities and ensure that they achieve our goals. Thus, even before we see the child, we have a lot of ideas. In line with these ideas, before the evaluation, we consider the situations in which the family may be concerned, or the child feels uncomfortable and the diagnosis. The child's developmental story, skills and various information are important to us in this process. Therefore, by using the power of play, we primarily aim to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the child."

OT Zeynep Özdemir: "As a result of the intervention, complaints are greatly reduced"

OT Zeynep Özdemir who made the presentation 'Selective Mutism in Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices' and made the following remarks:

"We cross paths with a child who has been diagnosed with selective mutism. First of all, the family receives a psychiatrist evaluation. After the psychiatrist makes the necessary diagnosis, the child is referred to a psychologist and the play therapy process begins. With the guidance of the psychologist, the child's sensory-motor difficulties are noticed during the play therapy process and this situation causes him to be referred to an occupational therapist. During the occupational therapy evaluation process, the family applies to us; A meeting is held, goals are set, and the process is initiated. In this process, we proceed in cooperation with the school and the family, and when the process is completed, all parties continue their lives with satisfaction. In the occupational therapy support that lasted for 11 months, the sensory integration disorders of the child diagnosed with selective mutism with somatodyspraxia pattern were evaluated and an appropriate sensory integration intervention program was created. As a result of the intervention, it was reported that the complaints raised by the family were greatly reduced."

OT Melike Aslan: "Occupational therapy can offer a comprehensive life to increase the quality of life"

OT Melike Aslan made her presentation titled 'The Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy in the Management of Headaches and Evidence-Based Application Methods' and stated that "As we all know, headache is a common health problem that both causes loss of workforce and reduces the quality of life. Occupational therapy can offer a comprehensive life to manage headaches and improve the quality of life of the person. It is very important for occupational therapists to support employees in areas such as regulating the working environment, managing stress, time management, planning, physical activity and exercise programs."

OT Zeynep Ender: "They help children and their families to cope with difficulties"

OT Zeynep Ender made her presentation titled 'The Role of Occupational Therapy in Corpus Collosum Agenesis' and stated that "The structure we call the corpus callosum is mentioned in the literature as the biggest way that plays a role in the transmission of information reaching one hemisphere to the other hemisphere. The term Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum is used to express the absence or partial absence of this structure. Studies show that whether it is complete, partial, or absent does not change any behavioral or medical outcomes, nor does it reveal a significant difference. In some studies conducted with parents of children with Corpus Callosum Agenesis, it is defined that the problems that affect their daily lives the most are especially poor social skills and insight towards themselves. Regardless of the intervention chosen in the rehabilitation process, children’s rehabilitation process should be arranged according to the needs of both themselves and their family, and when these change, it should be revised. Occupational therapists help children, and their families cope with difficulties and master the readings that are meaningful to them, that is, what they want to do or are expected to do. If we are an occupational therapist who practices occupational therapy with children, the most basic thing that creates meaning for us should be childhood itself."

Asst. Prof. Aymen Balıkçı: "The main purpose of the enriched environment is to create an optimum environment by changing the quality and path of environmental stimuli"

Neurophysiologist Asst. Prof. Aymen Balıkçı stated that "Autism in general, so there are basically two issues. The first is social interaction or social communication disorders. The other is in the form of limited interests and repetitive behaviors. There are two main issues, but we can see many additional problems that accompany it. Cognitive skills, language skills, adaptive functions can be affected. Especially here are cognitive skills, the field of special education, language skills, the domain of speech-language therapists. Here, the area we call adaptive responses or adaptive functions is also very much the field of occupational therapy. The main purpose of the enriched environment is to create an optimum environment by changing the quality and path of environmental stimuli."

Dr. Isabel Beaudry Bellefeuille: "Nutrition and eating are carefully studied within the context and culture in which the activity typically takes place"

Dr. Isabel Beaudry Bellefeuille made her presentation 'Integrated sensory nutrition: A Holistic Approach to Selective Nutrition and Food Rejection' and stated that "Occupational therapists have the training, knowledge, and skills to work with people with lifelong nutrition, eating, and swallowing difficulties. Occupational therapists assess clients with problems feeding, eating, or swallowing from a unique, holistic perspective that considers physiological, psychosocial, cultural, and environmental factors that support or interfere with these important activities of daily living. Nutrition and eating are carefully studied within the context and culture in which the activity typically occurs. In addition to the individual intervention directly addressing the specific nutritional, eating, or swallowing problem, occupational therapists also adapt the environment to support safe eating habits, provide adaptive equipment, and educate families and others in the community."

OT Menekşe Yüksel: "We can be a community-based occupational therapist"

OT Menekşe Yüksel made her presentation titled 'Standing as an Occupational Therapist in the Face of Violence Against Women' and stated that "We can provide occupational therapy support to people who have experienced violence, relatives of those who have experienced violence, especially on these issues. Psychosocial therapy and rehabilitation programs can be established. In other words, we can be a community-based occupational therapist. Everday living skills may be lost depending on the situation experienced after violence. It is important to restore them and provide education to the community. We said that we can participate in trainings as human beings. As occupational therapists, we can also provide these trainings. We can start creating awareness, and we can create support groups. We can create and use social connections. And most importantly, we must do it in a multidisciplinary way. At this point, it is one of our duties to inform people about both legal rights and support resources. We have two phases, the first is our preventive phase. Early intervention and awareness training are important here. The second is our remedial stage, that is, how we can recover from the situation after violence and violence. Women and men have equal rights and values. Each individual has the right to make their own decisions and manage their own lives. This needs to be remembered and communicated at all times. There is no giving up on every client, regardless of whether they are children, adolescents, elderly or adults."

OT Leyla Ak: "It is important to communicate openly"

OT Leyla Ak made her presentation titled 'The Importance of Cognitive Balance in Adolescence Mental Health' and stated that "When we say occupying balance, we can think of it as all activities that add purpose and meaning to an individual's life, and it is important to be able to add them to their life in the right amount in a balanced way. In fact, time is a very important combination for the concept of occupational equilibrium. This is time management and the capacity to use time appropriately. Adolescence is a period in which individuals develop identities and assume responsibility for different roles and roles. Here, as I said, the diversity of educational participation plays an important role in stress management and psychological resilience. Occupational equilibrium does not follow a fixed process throughout the life of individuals. Sleep inefficiency, especially due to screen use, can also affect cognitive balance and other processes in mental health. The most important part for me here is time management. Open communication and a balance of role models are also important here."

OT Şevval Kazan: "Gaining motor skills is one of our biggest goals"

OT Şevval Kazan made her presentation titled 'Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Interventions in Stroke Rehabilitation' and stated that "Common symptoms seen in individuals who have had a stroke can include sudden weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, difficulty speaking and understanding, loss of vision, and balance problems. In stroke rehabilitation, a multidisciplinary approach is carried out to help individuals regain their lost skills and rejoin their daily lives. We use a variety of activities and techniques to maximize an individual's potential and gain independence. As occupational therapists, we help individuals regain their activities of daily living. Gaining motor skills is one of our biggest goals."

OT Emel Gençtürk: "Multidisciplinary approaches are important for us."

OT Emel Gençtürk made her presentation titled 'Investigation of Impulsivity in Children from the Perspective of Occupational Therapy' and stated that "Impulsivity is a complex concept that includes behavioral and cognitive components. We can express it as a series of inappropriate or excessively risky, unplanned behaviors that often lead to undesirable consequences. Since children cannot control their mind, they think very fast, we can observe that they have problems focusing because instant pleasures are activated and affects their learning processes. The most important job here falls on the family. Here is how we create the intervention plan on impulsivity. For example, children have movement sensitivity; therefore, we need to be individual, as always, when planning an intervention on impulsivity. In the same way, we need to deal with therapeutic activities with a program that is customized to increase attention, focus, regulate behavioral problems, and the individual needs I just mentioned. It is important for us to take multidisciplinary approaches by setting common goals such as what we can do more for children, how we can control their impulses, how we can increase their attention."

OT Büşra Ağcan: "We aim to increase the functional use skills of individuals with low vision"

OT Büşra Ağcan made her presentation titled 'Evidence-Based Occupational Therapy Practices in Low Vision Rehabilitation' and Ağcan stated that "Low vision and visual impairment describes any loss of vision that cannot be corrected by the use of glasses, contact lenses or surgery, and low vision is defined as the visual acuity of the eye, which can see well despite all corrections, is less than six in 18 or the visual field is less than 20 degrees. Low vision is a visual impairment that restricts the ability to perform visual tasks of daily living. Vision problems in individuals cause difficulties in school, social life and home life, as well as in activities such as writing, reading skills, climbing stairs and passing obstacles such as sidewalks. Vision loss is very common and the prevalence is expected to increase with the prolongation of life expectancy. And individuals with vision loss also have difficulties in functional activity skills, quality of life, leisure and participation in social activities. As occupational therapists, we aim to increase the ability of individuals with low vision to use the remaining level of vision functionally in daily life, productivity and leisure activities."

Presentations were thoroughly evaluated

After the presentations at Üsküdar University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Prof. Sevda Asqarova, Head of the Department of Occupational Therapy, made a comprehensive evaluation of the presentations with occupational therapists.

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)