VirtualOT
- Anita Hamilton
- Australia
- I am an Australian occupational therapist, educator and researcher. I have worked as an OT in mental health, vocational rehabilitation and a private surgical hospital. I am passionate using online technology to enhance the knowledge and growth of the occupational therapy profession. In my PhD research I am looking at the role of online technologies in information management and knowledge transfer in occupational therapy. Views expressed and stories shared on this blog are my opinion and do not represent views of my employer or professional registration body.
4 comments:
Hello, my name is Andrea and I am an OT student from Utica College. I think it is great that the Wii can be used for therapy, however I wonder about the personal attitudes towards the 'gaming system' from some clients. I think about occupations, and wonder if an occupation for an elderly individual consists of gaming systems. Also, is there a lot of research on the topic of the Wii and rehabilitation? I am curious to see how effective it is, because it seems like a very feasible type of therapy for many different settings!
Hi Andrea, thanks for visiting! It is great that you are questioning the relevance of an occupation to a particular group. As an OT this is very important. Surprisingly the Wii is different to other computer games (such as World of Warcraft etc) in that it has broad appeal to a range of age groups.
I am aware of Wii being used in aged care facilities and in rehabilitation facilities for over three years now, in a range of countries. It was featured on a computing games show on the ABC Australia where the hosts visited an aged care facility and participated in the residents Wii tournaments!
Here in Edmonton it is routinely used in aged care rehabilitation, particularly post-stroke. Look up Jonathan Halton's name to read more about his work.
I noticed that some older people using the Wii commented that they enjoyed learning about it as they would be able to play games with their grandkids.
Bottom line with all technologies I suppose... have a reason for using it, ask if the person wants to use it and continually check that it is performing the way it should to enable participation in meaningful occupation.
Cheers, Anita
I currently work as a rehabilitation assistant at an outpatient physical therapy clinic and am in the process of pursuing my Master's degree in Occupational Therapy at Utica College. We have a Wii game system at our clinic and utilize it on a daily basis. Not only does the game system work on a variety of client factors, such as ROM, endurance, flexibility, strength, etc., it does so in a way that can be fun and engaging for the client. On the other hand, we have had clients who did not enjoy participating in this game whatsoever. Like any intervention technique, this is something that is client specific and if they do not want or enjoy participating in such an activity, it should not be utilized.
I have also heard that the Wii game system has risen in popularity for use within skilled nursing facilities. Does anyone have any input on this?
Hi Jodi, thanks for "dropping by" and talking about your experience using the Wii. I am seeing a lot more interest in these topics right now... it is very exciting.
All the best with your studies!
Cheers, Anita
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