Do What You Love

In our latest episode, we chat with Jeanne Eichler about music, the arts community, and thoughts on community and connection during and beyond COVID.

In today's episode, Dr. Rosalie Wang, an occupational therapist at the University of Toronto, joins me for a fun chat about technology, design, participation, and belonging in our communities. We talk about how technology can be both a bridge and a divider. What occupational therapists can do in the tech arena, how tech could be made accessible and inclusive, and how it's important to include disabled people and older adults at the table when we're designing technology so that we can all use it in our day-to-day lives.
You can follow Rosalie on Twitter (@RosalieWangOT) and find out more about her research here: https://ot.utoronto.ca/about/core-faculty/rosalie-wang/

Join Anna and Emily as we have a conversation with Gretchen Kingma about her role as an occupational therapist and realtor.
Gretchen Kingma, OTR, CAPS, ECHM, and REALTOR©️, is an occupational therapist in Missouri, USA who has gone into real estate full time and has successfully carved out a market niche serving individuals with accessibility-specific and aging-in-place needs.
In this episode, we talk about:

• What a Realtor OT (trademark pending) is and how Gretchen brought occupational therapy and real estate services together to promote accessible communities
• finding accessible homes during COVID
• Advocating for accessible design in building codes

Learn more from Gretchen:

She is offering an upcoming course for occupational therapists who are interested in learning more about working in the real estate field and helping people find accessible homes in their communities. Registration is here: OT to RE webinar

Today, Anna chats with Emma Smith, PhD., about some of our favourite things: assistive technology, policies, and interdependence.
We discuss:

• everyone using assistive technologies every day
• access to assistive technologies
• interdependence and its relation to assistive technology and community
• community mobility and accessibility - things to consider to design community spaces that everyone can use

To learn more about Emma and her research and projects, check out: https://emmamariasmith.ca/

In this episode, Isabel Fryszberg, a leader in arts-based occupational therapy in Canada, chats with Anna about how she has used the arts to co-create community, build belonging, promote occupational justice, and facilitate wellbeing. We discuss the privilege that is often associated with the arts and the importance of breaking down barriers to accessing the arts. Coming into occupational therapy with a visual arts background and inspired by the Living Museum, Isabel lead the creation of the Creative Works Studio, an art studio to promote wellbeing amongst people living with mental illness in inner city Toronto. Through the Creative Works studio, people discovered their love of art, that they could do it, and some became working artists. Co-designed with members of the studio, 'What's Art Got to Do With It' was born as a way to share knowledge about the impact of the arts on wellbeing and, as a valued occupation, how engagement in the arts can be transformative and enable people to realise their possibilities. Most importantly, we can start doing the arts at any age - we don't need to be good to experience joy doing artistic occupations, and if we want to, we can practice to become skilled.
Recommended links:
Isabel's website: https://www.isabelfryszberg.com/
What's Art Got to Do With It Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_q7bzdl4cA
The Living Museum: https://untappedcities.com/2019/03/25/go-inside-the-living-museum-at-creedmoor-psychiatric-center-in-queens/
The Creative Works Studio: http://creativeworks-studio.ca/site/
Facebook group for occupational therapists interested in bringing arts-based occupations into practice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2506275573029276