What do I focus on.....

This is a picture I snapped this morning as I was driving into work. I looked at it and thought it wasn't the best picture given the trees were blocking out the gorgeous sunrise that I was trying to capture.

But, then I decided to look at the picture again and I decided that I did like this picture and I decided to blog about it as I haven't done so for a few years.

So, today marks the first time that I am blogging as The Empowered OT and the topic is on focus and vision.

Earlier this year, I was working on my own growth and my mentor asked us to work on a vision board. As an Occupational Therapist, I have often used one as a communication tool for my clients but to intentionally work on one myself was something I had never done. So, as I embarked on this project, it brought into perspective what is most important to me and what I need to be focusing on for my personal development and one of the areas of my vision was to be a mentor to new Occupational Therapists entering into the field of paediatrics and perhaps private practice.

So, coming back to this sunrise picture... At first I focused on the trees blocking the picturesque sunrise and that is so like me. I tend to focus on my barriers or what I can make perfect instead of changing my perspective and recognizing that I can still see the gorgeous sunrise peaking through the trees. I realized that in life and as an OT, I should always remind myself to focus on the big picture and no matter what barriers are in the way, there is always beauty and purpose if I intentionally focus on the light.

Being an OT who loves working with kids and families, this is what I see often. Too often, we as medical professionals focus on the barriers and the weaknesses/challenges instead of focusing on the strengths. As I work alongside Neurodiverse kiddos and young adults, I often see that parents too want to fix the child be it their fine motor skills, sensory preferences, eating/ feeding challenges, social engagement etc. I get that as as mom to an Autistic son that it's tough to see people judging and passing comments, but if I could share one request to anyone working with Neurodiverse clients, especially Occupational Therapists, it would be to instil HOPE in the families and validate that there might be challenges but our FOCUS is only on the strengths of the child.

I am intentional and focused to work and mentor based on these Neurodiversity Affirming principles that focus on strengths and that we as Occupational Therapists are blessed to be able to add value to families and kiddos to help them achieve their goals beyond their imagined possibilities.