Speciality & Board Certifications

     Once in the OT field, you are able to obtain more certifications in certain specialities across the profession.  One area that interests me is a speciality certification in feeding, eating, and swallowing because during my time shadowing I was able to experience this is many different ways.  One client I was able to observe was a child with a sensory processing disorder which made eating foods very difficult.  Being able to follow the OT's progress with him for 4 months, I got to see some victories and some set backs.  I learned a lot about how a sensory processing disorder can effect all aspects of a person's life and how having a specialty certification in this can help these clients gain more nutrients and variety in their diet.  Another patient I got to observe was a 12 month old who had developmental delays and one area of delay was swallowing.  The therapist was able to work on introducing new textured food to the baby in a safe environment.  Another reason I am interested in this speciality is because it is extremely needed for children and senior citizens making it versatile.  I saw this with my grandmother a month or two before she passed away.  Her mind began to fade and I remember one day she told me she couldn't feed herself or chew anymore.  It was like she had forgotten how and I  began to pressure my parents to find an OT or speech therapist that could help with her chewing.  This is an important certification to have in order to help clients remain healthy and independent in basic ADLs.