As we celebrate national Occupational Therapy month this April, our OTs and COTA’s have written short summaries of how they came to work in the field and why they do what they do.
Caitlin Hankins, our first COTA (Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant) shares her perspective.
I moved to Eugene in the Fall of 2013 and found Connect the Dots shortly thereafter. I felt honored to become a member of such a wonderful, dedicated team of therapists and professionals. My journey for working with children in an OT setting began when I volunteered as a teenager at a Hippotherapy clinic. Hippotherapy uses the horse as a therapy treatment tool that provides numerous physical, emotional, sensory and cognitive benefits. Over the course of many years, my role as a volunteer eventually evolved into a professional career as an occupational therapy assistant. The children I worked with in that setting were what motivated me to follow the pediatric occupational therapy path. The way they view the world, their observations and insights really inspired me.
Being a part of helping facilitate a child’s growth is the most rewarding thing for me about working in the field of pediatrics. I’m learning the importance of providing intervention at a young age in order to help children grow into happy, successful adults. Nothing could replace seeing the pride a child gets after independently achieving an activity for the first time. Children have a wonderful way of teaching us what it means to live in the present moment-something that could benefit us all!