The Itinerary

Reflection

Assistive technology includes a broad category of both tangible and intangible accessories used to enhance participation. As a newly graduated therapist, it quickly became overwhelming to select the ideal assistive device for my clients. Therefore, I felt that I needed to build a framework of knowledge prior to delving into adaptive fashion, which is a specific subcategory of assistive technology.

Growing up, I took tennis lessons and continued to participate in the sport throughout my life. While researching for volunteer opportunities, I was thrilled to come across Prospect Park Special Aces, a tennis program for children with special needs that are between six and 18 years old. As a volunteer, I was able to work with an occupational therapist, tennis coaches, and tennis players with varying abilities. The biggest challenge during my experience volunteering at Special Aces was becoming comfortable grasping the children’s attention without hesitation. Interacting with children in a wide age range with the pressure of their parents watching along the sidelines was something that pushed me to grow as a clinician. I was able to exchange feedback with the children’s parents regarding their children’s progress and skillsets. I took note of what the players were wearing and if their parents assisted them with their clothing during the sessions. However, I found that the participants were wearing typical, non-adaptive athletic clothing and the parents mostly remained on the sidelines during the sessions. While adaptive clothing may not be developmentally appropriate for everyone, I was able to identify a correlation between adaptive tennis and adaptive apparel. I built upon my knowledge of how occupational therapists can engage in the community to increase the quality of life among a diverse group. I gained the confidence and insight to implement strategies used to modify sports activities and relate it to adaptive apparel, based on the child’s individual needs. My experience with Special Aces opened my eyes to a new way for occupational therapists to assist individuals with disabilities in a compassionate and niche way. The relationship between adaptive tennis and adaptive apparel is easy to overlook. However, through the clinical lens of an occupational therapist, one is able to recognize that these two entities have more similarities than expected. See table under “Volunteering” artifact for specific examples.

The journey to complete my systematic review was a humbling, rewarding experience. The fastidious amount of work needed to compose a research study taught me patience and perseverance. Prior to conducting the systematic review, I was unaware of the lack of research available on adaptive apparel. I was ready to delve into the Internet without concern for the minimal research on this topic area. However, the lack of evidence led me to believe that there is a significant need for the systematic review to be completed in the first place. The systematic review taught me how to critically appraise articles and organize the data. Through my research efforts and consultations with professors, I was able to successfully piece my systematic review together. The most rewarding feeling is when my hard work is acknowledged and approved. The systematic review process shined a light on the need for further research and the power of obtaining different viewpoints and perspectives. I was then able to use the knowledge obtained from my systematic review to conduct a survey on adaptive fashion. 

The purpose of the survey on adaptive fashion was to evaluate the authenticity of my systematic review results by gathering data of my own. In order to direct a survey on adaptive fashion using ethical methods, I obtained my Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) certification. This certification process expanded my knowledge of not only ethical principles in research but performing research on individuals with disabilities as well. I was able to identify ways to make my survey more accessible such as providing a telephone option to participate in the survey or alternative methods of acknowledging consent forms. I learned that it is critical for research studies to identify potential barriers and vulnerabilities that the proposed population may face while participating in the survey. Following the distribution of my consent form and survey, I received zero responses. I quickly learned that it is not easy to obtain survey respondents. Although I encountered this setback, I continued to post these items on social media platforms and reached out to professors and people with disabilities to share this survey. In the end, I was able to gather four responses. Despite the low turnout, I was fortunate enough to receive information from four unique individuals with disabilities and was able to learn more about the complexities of disability and clothing. I found that there were multiple similarities between my systematic review and the survey results. These similarities pertained to the importance of comfort, mobility, and customization, impact on self-esteem, confidence, and participation, and interest in collaboration. A follow-up interview I also conducted with a survey respondent was insightful, particularly since the participant was a fashion designer with a disability. This respondent provided thought-provoking opinions on adaptive apparel and believed that it should be marketed towards people of all abilities as opposed to focusing on disabilities. This reminded me that I must not assume the needs of people with disabilities and that I should seek the opinions of people from a broad range of demographics. I plan to continue asking questions, learning from people with disabilities to build upon this newly obtained knowledge, and becoming more cognizant of the literature related to adaptive clothing.

These three artifacts exemplify the foundation of knowledge I built on assistive technology and adaptive fashion. Occupational therapists carry a unique ability to critically think and clinically observe information related to assistive technology. I believe I have acquired an advanced understanding of the needs of adaptive apparel through clinical observations during my time volunteering at an adaptive tennis program, by conducting a systematic review identifying the considerations of adaptive apparel, and by orchestrating a survey on adaptive fashion from the perspectives of individuals with disabilities.