For this week's post, I would like to talk about hearing loss in pediatrics and what occupational therapy does to help. Here at SLU I am currently taking sign language, so I felt this would be an appropriate topic. This particular article by Varsha Sewpersad focuses on preschool-aged children in South Africa, but many of her ideas are applicable to children everywhere. Sewpersad discusses "co-morbidities" along with hearing loss in children, which means there are other health-related issues that come along with loss of hearing. Among these co-morbidities are motor impairment, learning disabilities, global development delay, sensory integration impairment, communication disorders, and other issues as well. Of all the children studied by Sewpersad, 63% of those with hearing loss also had other health issues. She believes many of these issues are caused from "auditory deprivation," and this leads to development that is not typical.

I thought this was an excellent article and I enjoyed reading it. While my topic, pediatrics, is broad, this was an interesting way of looking at a particular aspect of it. I think learning about hearing loss and deafness is very interesting, and I am especially interested since taking ASL here at SLU. This article has me thinking more about how to relate my new ASL skills to my future career of being an occupational therapist. I can't wait to learn more about this subject and apply it to my life!



Sewpersad, V. (2014). Co-morbidities of Hearing Loss and Occupational Therapy in Preschool Children.South African Journal Of Occupational Therapy, 44(2), 28-32 5p.

I have chosen to blog about pediatrics and occupational therapy. While this may be a broad topic, I wanted to write about this because this is the area of OT that I want to go into when I graduate. I have always loved working with kids and I love the idea of making their lives better. I have been playing volleyball since I was 11, and recently I have taken up coaching. Last year I worked with 14 year olds, and this coming season I am coaching 12 year olds. I love working with them and teaching them, and seeing them grow and improve is very rewarding. Maybe someday I can even use volleyball while working in OT. Tonya is a pediatric OT that uses seated volleyball to improve balance and endurance in kids. Volleyball requires coordination and dexterity, which makes it a perfect exercise for kids working on those skills. Also, by using a balloon, this minimizes risk for any injury and makes the sport accessible to anyone. I hope to learn about connecting with others with similar interests through blogging and improving my professional writing!

Reference: therapyfunzone.net/blog/seated-balloon-volleyball/