SI Course in Jordan

Hello all,

Once again the SI courses will be held in Jordan, so please follow up with Mustafa (ceot_jor@ yahoo.com ) regarding details. I attended course 1 and 2 in Jordan and it was well worth it!

Update from Mustafa "Based on the requests from the colleagues and as we promised those who didn’t attend the SI course 1, we are about to plan for the next series of courses. Course one is open for all people interested to know more about this theory, its open for OT, PT and ST, educators, family, doctors and any others. In our plan for the year 2009, we will be doing course 1 and 4 (theory and interventions) courses 2 and 3 we will talk about them when we meet insha’ allah. This course is open to a big number of participants which means less fees, for doing course 1 we need at lease 40 participant if we want the fees to be less than 300JD (more participants means less fees) and for course 4 we need maximum 35 to do the practice. Please pass this to all you know not only the OT’s, and if any thing else needed please email me."

The Jordan Occupational Therapist's also have a facebook group at : http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1049619689238&f=1&e=0#/group.php?gid=8497592575&ref=ts

If you are a foreign OT, come to Jordan for a nice holiday and an SI course!

CDOTE Meeting

POSTPONED from the 22nd November till the 29th November

Time: 2pm
Date: Saturday, November 29th
Place: Learning Resource Center, Maadi

Anyone interested in OT development is welcome to attend these monthly meetings.

CDOTE meeting

Time: 2pm

Date: November 22nd

Place: Learning Resource Center, Maadi

Anyone interested in OT development is welcome to attend these monthly meetings.

CDOTE Minutes

On the 25th October, several members of the CDOTE (Maha, Miho, Pip, Majdi & Laura) met for the committees monthly meeting. The following are OT in Egypt updates:

Miho Yoshida, OT, is leaving in November and retuning to her homeland, Japan. Her placement has not been decided yet at JICA. It will probably not be another OT as her post is in Social Development, so specialists from other disciplines can also serve there.

Pip Dow, OT, is also leaving in November and returning to her homeland, New Zealand. She had worked at the Agouza Rehabilitation Center.

They have both been active contributors to the CDOTE and will be missed!

(Laura, Maha, Pip & Miho)
Miho reported that Dorothy Witt, OT, had finished her assignment with JICA, and is still working in Assiut temporarily conducting workshops.

Majdi reported that the course on OT that he conducted at the ADVANCE's Exceptional Training Center (ETC), had 36 participants from 20 NGOs serving children with special needs and their families. He presented them with what assessments cover, how to set goals, some case studies, the role of OT in a pediatric early intervention programs, and gave a lot of emphasis on Autism, CP and MR.

Pip reported that the Australian OT students who were volunteering at the Agouza Rehabilitation Center have finished their placement and went home to do their internship requirements.

Laura reported that she receives emails from international OT's inquiring about working in Egypt in adult rehabilitation and the mental health field. Organizations in Egypt serving adults are welcome to post advertisements on the OT blog for OT job vacancies.

No new progress can be reported from 6th October and Ain Sham's University in regards to starting their OT curriculums.

The ADVANCE is holding a function "YOUR DAY WAY" parallel to the "Media & Disability" workshop on November 15th and invited all CDOTE members to participate. Maha will email further details once ready.

The next CDOTE meeting is planned for 2pm, November 22nd at the LRC premises. Anyone interested in OT development is welcome to attend these monthly meetings.

Anyone interested in posting information relevant to OT development in Egypt is welcome to send me information to post: LME1169@gmail.com

Thanks,

Laura

Happy Eid!

Eid Mubarak!

CDOTE Meeting

Date: Saturday, October 25th, 2008

Time: 2 pm

Place: Learning Resource Center, Maadi


Anyone interested in supporting OT development in Egypt is welcome to attend the meeting.

Please send confirmation of attendance, so seating arrangements can be made.

Arabic Occupational Therapists Regional Group Newsletter

The Regional Arabic OT Newsletter is still in need of contributions for their first newsletter in September. The deadline was extended for two more weeks. Inquires can be forwarded to Mustafa Al Qaisi:

Mustafa A. Al Qaisi. OTR (JOR) WFOT Delegat. Clinical
Instructor, Occupational Therapy Dept, Hashemite University,
Tele: 00962 79 6820742 fax 00962 6 4626662. P.O BOX
330222, zarqa 13133 Jordan

Email: ceot_jor@yahoo.com

Contributions can be from anyone interested in OT development in the region.

Thanks

CDOT-E Meeting

Date: Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
Time: 2 pm
Place: Learning Resource Center, Maadi


Anyone interested in supporting OT development in Egypt is welcome to attend the meeting.

CDOTE MEETING

The CDOTE held a meeting on July 19th and several issues were discussed and new topics introduced for future follow up.

In summary, two OT students from Australia will be volunteering at Al Gouza Military Hospital for 10 weeks with supervision from Sue & Pip. Welcome to Cairo, Chelsea and Renee!

The British Council Disability Days presentations will be held 2-3 Dec, 2008. Anyone interested in participating should start planning their presentations and the planning committee will meet in September to finalize the event schedule. Updates will be posted as they develop.

OT Overview Course:
Majdi is presenting a 5 day course about OT, for NGO’s working in Paediatrics, in the last week of August. The course will be conducted at the ADVANCE Society's new Training Center, The Exceptional Training Center for Parents, Teachers & Specialists. Interested persons should contact Mr. Mohamed El-Hennawi, Deputy Director at the Exceptional Training Center after August 17th at 27538022 or 0168809234.

Vacancies:
Maha informed the group that LRC is seeking a new OT staff member for 2008/2009, preferably with experience in paediatrics.

Round table discussion:
ADVANCE is organizing a round table seminar entitled: "Media & Disability" to create awareness on the role of media in advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities, and also to encourage media to use inclusive language when mentioning people with disabilities. Anyone interested in attending and/or who have journalist’s contacts can contact Maha. Date set for October 25th, 2008. Venue to be set.

OT implementer’s course (6 month duration):
Maha was concerned that the course was stopped last year and she sees the need to carry on with this course and to graduate more OT implementers to meet the need.

The next CDOTE meeting will be at 2pm on Saturday, August 23rd, at the LRC.

Arabic Occupational Therapists

Regional Group Newsletter (AOTRG)

I just receieved good news from Mustafa Ahmad,...the newsletter is in the process of development and will be available for distribution through email by end of the summer.

The aim of the newsletter is to provide a forum for OT's in the region to connect and share news, achievements, skills and knowledge, recent updates in the field and case studies. This newsletter will provide a free space for the therapists to express their needs, thoughts, passions in regards to the profession, as well as, obstacles that they might face in practice. The newsletter will be a way to share updates from Arabic OT's worldwide.

If interested in finding out more information about how to join the mailing list for the newsletter and/or how to submit information for the newsletter, please contact:

Mustafa Ahmad, OTR, Group Coordinator: ceot_jor@yahoo.com

The deadline for submitting information for the first newsletter is August the 15th 2008.

Participation by all people is welcomed and appreciated.

CDOT-E Meeting

Date: Saturday July 19th, 2008

Time: 2 pm

Place: Learning Resource Center, Maadi

Anyone interested in supporting OT development in Egypt is welcome to attend the meeting. Please contact myself if you are a new attendee so accommodations can be made at the Center for the appropriate number of attendees.


Thanks, Laura

Occupational Therapy and Disability Website Links:

http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/millbrook/links/lnk1ot.htm

I just came across this website, which has a great resource of links.

The Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange:

http://cirrie.buffalo.edu

CIRRIE has recently published a 79-page booklet:

"Disability and the Muslim Perspective: An Introduction for Rehabilitation and Health Care Providers."

"This publication will fill a void in the literature on disability intended for use by rehabilitation and health care professionals. We highlight both the difficulties and successes that Muslims with disabilities experience as they seek access to the opportunity to live a meaningful life. The growing number and diversity of Muslims in the United States challenges disability and health care providers and researchers to understand this population's perspectives, experiences and ways of practicing Islam, particularly relative to health care, disability and rehabilitation."

This publication is available for downloading on the CIRRIE website at http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/monographs/muslim.pdf

Printed copies can be ordered at a cost of $5.00.

CIRRIE will be conducting an international conference, Toward Culturally Responsive Disability Services in Niagara Falls, NY, October 6 & 7, 2008 incooperation with a number of Canadian and U.S. organizations.

The conference will focus on four themes:
* Cultural competency education and training (pre service and in service)
* Best practices in providing culturally responsive services in the disability and health services
* Acquiring and strengthening cultural competence through international experience
* Research on cultural competency

Co-sponsors:
* The International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation (ICDR) at the University of Toronto
* The Ethno-Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario (ERDCO)
* CERIS - The Ontario Metropolis Centre
* Refugee Cultural Competency Training Program, University at Buffalo Medical School
* Center for Capacity Building on Minorities with Disabilities Research,University of Illinois at Chicago.

The keynote speaker will be Jerome Bickenbach of Queens University.

Further information, including registration, is available at: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/conference2008/index.htmlbuffalo.edu/conference2008/index.html

(Thanks to Miho for providing this information to the blog)

JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY (JICA)

The Workshop and Seminar for The Issue of Persons with Disability:

JICA CBR project in Egypt have the honor to invite you to this Workshop and Seminar

Guest speaker: Dr. Kenji Kuno (JICA expert from Malaysia)

Date: Tuesday 17 June 2008

From: 9:30am -4:30pm

Venue: 19th Floor World Trade Center, Corniche El-Nile, Cairo

Please confirm attendance
RSVP: Tel 0121313166，0108604523　

E-mail: Miho W. Yoshida, Occupational Therapist mihowy2007@gmail.com

The Programme:

• Discussion of JICA policy and activities for the issue of persons with disability.
• Questions and discussion about the Social Model of Disability.
• Questions and discussion about introducing the Twin Track Approach for Disability.
• Discussion about CBR practices based on the Social Model of Disability and participation of persons with disability.
• Discussion about Introducing Disability Equal Training.

CDOT-E Meeting June 21, 2008

Date: Saturday June 21st, 2008
Time: 2 pm
Place: Learning Resource Center, Maadi

Anyone interested in supporting OT development in Egypt is welcome to attend the meeting. Please contact myself if you are a new attendee so accommodations can be made at the Center for the appropriate number of attendees.

Thanks, Laura

Membership in the CDOT

Dear Future CDOT Members,

The Committee to Develop OT in Egypt members would like to extend membership to people who are interested in developing OT in Egypt. In order to have a better understanding of the history of OT development in Egypt, please read our history summary:

In order to promote for Occupational Therapy in new non-member countries, Former President of the World Federation for Occupational Therapists (WFOT), Carolyn Webster, visited Egypt and met with Prof. Dr. A-Moneim Ashour, psychiatrist and gerontologist, Professor at Ain Shams University, Head of the Department of Psycho-geriatric Research, and Founder of the International Psycho-geriatric Association (IPA) and President of the Egyptian Alzheimer's Society.

Later in 2003 and 2005, Ms. Christiane Mentrup (Germany) and Ms. Madeleine Corstens-Mignot (Netherlands) from the WFOT visited Egypt as co-leaders of the " WFOT Egypt Project", which aims to raise awareness about the OT profession and to negotiate with relevant persons in the medical, political and business arena the appropriate conditions for setting up the professional and educational programs in Egypt. The visit cumulated with a Memorandum of Understandings signed with the German University in Cairo (GUC), Ain Shams University, Ministry of Health, and October 6th University.

The Committee for Developing Occupational Therapy in Egypt (CDOTE) developed as a result of these visits and consisted of many persons and organizations who were interested in establishing OT as an independent health profession in Egypt, and in creating educational programs for OT. The CDOTE included besides Prof. Moneim Ashour, other active OT advocates, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Hassan the Head of the Physiotherapists' Syndicate; the late Prof. Dr. Naiema Hassan from October 6 University; Mrs. Laura Efinger, OT/L Head of the OT Department at the Learning Resource Center; Ms. Maha Helali, Chairperson of the Egyptian Society for Developing Skills of Children with Special Needs (ADVANCE), and Managing Director of the Learning Resource Center; and Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Kahky, from the Higher Institute of Childhood Studies of Ain Shams University; all of whom worked towards promoting the CDOTE and maintained it after the mentioned visits.

Since that time a number of people have worked together, and individually, to forward these goals. Two occupational therapy programs have been put before the Minister for Higher Education - one is now awaiting Presidential endorsement, which is the final step before implementation. The late Prof. Dr. Naiema worked on the October 6th University undergraduate program, and Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Kahky on that for Ain Shams University. Mrs. Susan Hartshorne, an Australian Occupational Therapist with clinical and academic experience, was appointed as the WFOT Ambassador to Egypt in 2007, and has assisted both universities in developing their curriculum. A number of short courses were conducted at the Institute for Post Graduate Childhood Studies with many people registering, indicating the level of interest and enthusiasm among practitioners.

In April 2007, the First Regional OT Conference in the Middle East was held in Cairo under the auspices of HE Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt. The conference was organized by members of The Committee for Developing Occupational Therapy in Egypt. Sponsors of the conference were Ain Shams University, October 6th University and ADVANCE Society.

Within the area of service delivery, Ms. Maha Helali, has been employing qualified OTs at the Learning Resource Center and the ADVANCE Center for children with autism in Maadi. The LRC conducted many workshops and seminars to promote OT since 1997. The LRC Head of Occupational Therapy, Laura Efinger, who joined the LRC in 2003, has conducted many of these workshops and seminars and later established the OT in Egypt Blog (http://www.otegypt.blogspot.com/) which is well received here and in other countries, and spreads the word about OT in Egypt.

Other examples of the current employment situation of OTs in Egypt are at JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Association), through Ms. Miho Yoshida, which employs two Japanese OTs and other OTs as possible to implement community based rehabilitation services in the Delta region. Also El-Agouza Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Centre has also commenced occupational therapy services with qualified OTs from Australia and New Zealand.

It should be noted that as in any country where OT is in its infancy there are misunderstandings about what OT is-- there are people offering services that they call OT but without qualified OTs and some people have fixed ideas about what constitutes OT without the benefit of OT input.

If you are interested in becoming a member and live in Egypt, please contact any current member of the CDOTE and they will be able to send you an application via email until we can add a link to the OT blog to download applications. You can also contact Laura Efinger directly at lme1169@gmail.com and she will be able to send you an application directly.

Applications and fees can be given to any present members or completed and delivered to the Learning Resource Center. Address: 9 Road 278, New Maadi, Cairo. Telephone number: 25163965 Fax number: 25203110 Contact persons at the LRC: Maha Helali or Laura Efinger.

For further information, please visit the OT in Egypt Blog at www.otegypt.blogspot.com




Thank you,
Members of the Committee to Develop OT in Egypt

Egyptian Physical Therapists

WE ARE ALL PART OF A TEAM

Recently, I have receieved emails from Egyptian Physical Therapists interested in learning more about Occupational Therapy. Many of them report that they heard about OT from the OT in Egypt Blog link posted on the home page of the The Egyptian General Physical Therapy Syndicate: (http://www.gpts-egypt.org/).

As OT's are part of the whole rehabilitation team, I think it is very important that all members (doctors, nurses, speech and language therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers etc.) have an understanding of each other's role in a patients' wholistic treatment plan.

So, thanks to The Egyptian General Physical Therapy Syndicate for linking their PT's to our OT in Egypt Blog!

I think future Egyptian OT's can learn a lot from the history of Physical Therapy development in Egypt.

If any Egyptian physical therapists have specific questions about OT and their role in patient care, please post a comment here.

Thanks,

Laura

Are there any Egyptian OT's or students living abroad?

Since not everyone reads the comment section of the blog, I wanted to move some of the discussions to the posting section so everyone can have the advantage of reading these comments.

Through the comment section, people reading the blog from numerous countries have expressed how excited they are to read about OT advancement in Egypt.

Over the past year, two Egyptian American OT's and several Egyptian American and Egyptian Canadian students have also contacted me through the blog. Some will visit Egypt and are interested in meeting other OT's who are living and working in Cairo. All are happy to hear that OT awareness is growing in Egypt.

I recently received two messages in the comment section from two Egyptian American OT students, Khalid and Hind, who are living in New York and are future first and second year students attending university in New York.

Khalid brought up a good point, as he posted the following comment on the blog:

"I think why Occupational Therapy is not well known or understood in the middle east, is because the definition of Occupations differs, in Middle Eastern countries as oppose to the United States and Europe. Middle Eastern countries tend to define occupations as just a "job" that they must attend to everyday. While in Western society it is defined more broadly as what we call ADLs. Occupational therapy needs to be well understood so that the profession takes off in Egypt as well as other Middle Eastern countries."

Public awareness of what Occupational Therapy is and how one can benefit from these services is key in developing educational programs and job opportunities in Egypt.

If anyone has any stories (not only written material, but also accompanying them with pictures or video will provide a strong message) about their experiences with Occupational Therapy services, please share them on the blog.

If there are any other Egyptian born OT's who are interested in corresponding with OT's currently living and working in Egypt, please contact me through the blog or email me at LME1169@gmail.com

Hope to hear from more Egyptian OT's and future Egyptian OT's!

Thanks,
Laura

Survey Results: What prevents you from pursuing international OT work in Egypt?

There were 28 posts on the last survey: "What prevents you from pursuing international OT work in Egypt?," with the results listed below:

Financial Reasons (13) 46%
Family Obligations (10) 35%
Political Reasons (2) 7%
Cultural Reasons (3) 10%
Present Job Obligations (6) 21%
Lack of Awareness (15) 53%
Other (1) 3%

Financial reasons and lack of awareness were the highest ranked as far as reasons for not seeking employment in Egypt.

If anyone would like to comment on this and/or future surveys please do so.

CDOT Meeting: May 2, 2008

On May 2, 2008, we had another Committee to Develop Occupational Therapy in Egypt (CDOT-E) meeting. Present members on the committee live in Cairo and actively support the development of OT.

We had the pleasure of Madeleine Corstens-Mignot, WFOT Delegate of the Netherlands and Egypt Co-Project Leader and Christiane Menthrup, former WFOT Vice President and Egypt Co-Project Leader also attending our meeting. Madeleine and Christiane were visiting Egypt for several days to follow up on the progress of their Egypt Project, which they initiated several years ago.

The following people attended the meeting, which was held at the Learning Resource Center in Maadi:



Pictured: (back row) Laura Efinger, Maha Helali, Dorothy Witt, Deepak Andhare, Christiane Menthrup, Madeleine Corstens-Mignot, Pip Dow, Sue Hartshorne, Ahmed El Kakhy; (front row) Majdi Bzoor and Ahmed Hassan.

During our meeting, we discussed several new issues, as well as, finalizing older issues discussed in previous CDOT-E meetings.

In Summary:

• The OT Blog will now be used to replace the CDOT newsletter that Christiane Menthrup previously completed. All CDOT-E members are welcome to post on the blog or to send myself, Laura Efinger, information to post on their behalf.

• Membership forms will soon be available to be downloaded through this blog and can also be obtained from current members. A more detailed explanation of the membership process will soon be posted with the application.

• Pip and Sue presented an OT workshop at a Back and Spine Conference in Cairo and reported positive feedback regarding their information and style of presentation.

• Prof. Ahmed El Kakhy, representing Ain Sham’s University, and Prof. Ahmed Hassan, representing 6th October University and Cairo University, asked Christiane Menthrup to clarify the WFOT’s role in supporting educational programs in Egypt. Specifics regarding the WFOT support of programs in Egypt will be finalized during their university visits over the next few days.

• Ahmed El Kakhy and Maha Helali will work together to develop a proposal for funding from the Sawiris Foundation to cover the cost of hiring an experienced OT Director from abroad for the Ain-Shams University OT program.

• Christiane Mentrup & Madeleine Corstens-Mignot, WFOT representatives, together with Sue Hartshorne, WFOT Ambassador and Maha Helali, CDOT-E Director will be meeting with HE Dr. Hany Helal , Minister of Higher Education on May 4th. They will report to the group the outcome at a later date.

The next CDOT-E meeting

Date: Saturday June 21st, 2008

Time: 2 pm

Place: Learning Resource Center, Maadi

***Anyone interested in supporting OT development in Egypt is welcome to attend the meeting. Please contact myself if you are a new attendee so accommodations can be made at the Center for the appropriate number of attendees.

***Please email myself (lme1169@gmail.com) any topics to include on the next meetings agenda.

Thanks,

Laura

Surveys

I was recently speaking with an Egyptian friend regarding the OT survey about "What prevents you from pursuing international OT work in Egypt?" and she had a good point that I wanted to follow up:

If you answered politics or cultural reasons prevented you from working in Egypt, was this specifically due to issues of safety and language barriers?

Once a survey has been started, I cannot change the choices of answers, so can people please clarify in the comment section?

BTW, I have been receiving a lot of junk mail in the comment section, so people may start to see a lot of comments that say "deleted by administrator."

Thanks,
Laura

Surveys

Thank you to all who participated in my blog survey "What is your profession?," which I had posted for 8 weeks.

The results from people who completed the survey were 68% OTs, 22% PTs and the remaining 10% were educators, health professionals and "others."

I will be doing future surveys, so if anyone has any suggestions on topics of interest, please let me know.

Since starting the blog in June 2007, I have had an increasing number of subscribers and visitors to the blog. Each month there is a growing number of visits to the blog and last month alone there were almost 700 visits!

I will be updating the blog shortly on the results of our last Committee to Develop OT meeting, which took place last week. We are in the process of developing membership applications for persons interested in supporting OT development in Egypt.

Laura

OT Awareness: Presentations, posters and workshops

Physiotherapy Conference at Pyramisa Hotel, 7th March, 2008:

Professor Ahmed Hassan kindly arranged for several CDOT members to be a presence at the Physiotherapy conference on 7th March at the Pyramisa Hotel. Congratulations to the PT Syndicate for organizing such a great event. Majdi and Laura put together a great poster (Arabic and English descriptions of OT supported with pictures of children receiving therapy) and Majdi managed it for all of Friday with support from Laura, Pip and Miho. Sue presented a brief lecture, "An Introduction to Occupational Therapy", which generated many questions and hopefully raised awareness about Occupational Therapy generally and in Egypt. (Thanks Sue for this update!)

Poster Presentation

ADVANCE and LRC 8th Annual Educational Conference March 14th, 2008:

During the conference, a "What is Occupational Therapy?" poster was made available in Arabic and English in the school lobby.


A lecture, "What is Occupational Therapy?" was presented in Arabic by Majdi Bzoor, which generated questions and more interest in the benefits of occupational therapy.


An occupational therapy based workshop, "Recipes for Fun" was presented by Laura Efinger. Participants greatly enjoyed playing various activities, some of which were generously donated by Out of the Box (http://www.otb-games.com/) and Thinkfun (http://www.thinkfun.com/). These are two US based toy companies, which are interested in parents and teachers using toys to develop academic and sensory motor skills within children. Thank you to both companies!

Adults enjoy the games as much as children!

"A challenging game of COVER UP, by Out of the Box"

"A nerve wracking game of concentration, speed, fine motor and visual perceptual skills: WALLAMOPPI, by Out of the Box."

"A game of problem solving skill: RUSH HOUR, by Thinkfun"

"COVER YOUR TRACKS, TIP OVER, HOT SPOT and RUSH HOUR, by Thinkfun, enjoyed by all!"

Due to high shipping and custom charges, there are limited choices in regards to educational toys in Egypt. If anyone has any ideas on how to create more awareness of the need for educational games and increase availability to Egyptians, please share your thoughts!

Thanks to all who participated in these presentations!

Laura

ADVANCE & LRC's 8th Educational Conference: "Building Bridges"

ADVANCE & LRC's 8th Educational Conference entitled: "Building Bridges."

Opening ceremony March 13th and Conference Seminars March 14th-15th at the British International School Cairo.

The Learning Resource Center (LRC) and the ADVANCE Society would like to announce the Eighth Annual Educational Conference under the theme of: "Building Bridges", held 13th to 15h March, 2008 at the British International School (BISC) in Zamalek, Cairo .

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled to be held on the 13th of March at 7:00 p.m. at the Casbon Hall of the British International School, 5 Al-Yamani St. , Zamalek, Cairo .

Our conference this year, "Building Bridges … Bridging Learning Styles & Strategies," will cover the following seven streams:

1. Social Emotional Skills (SMS);
2. Communication and Language Skills (CLS);
3. Neuro-Motor Developmental (NMD);
4. Classrooms’ Management & Settings (MB);
5. Academic Skills (ACS);
6. ICT in Education (ICT);
7. Learning for Life (LL).

Occupational Therapy Related Topics

"What is Occupational Therapy?" poster will be presented in English in the BISC lobby.

A workshop, "What is Occupational Therapy?" will be presented in Arabic by Majdi Bzoor.

Occupational Therapy based workshop presented by Laura Efinger: "Recipes for Fun": choosing activities for school aged children that are fun and also develop underlying skills.

If you wish to receive an emailed registration form, please contact Mr. Yasser Salah, Conference Coordinator, at 25163965 or 67, Mobile : 012-1400811 or send a message to lrcttc@yahoo.com.

We look forward to your participation in the conference.

More games...

When I traveled to the US this past holiday, I did my usual shopping for toys and supplies for the OT department. I brought back some great finds that the kids really have enjoyed playing in therapy.

Since kids and parents often ask where I get these games, I thought I would start posting and highlighting the companies and the games that the kids enjoy.

Two of the companies, THINK FUN (www.thinkfun.com) and OUT OF THE BOX (http://www.otb-games.com/), have been gracious enough to donate some games for my OT workshop at the ADVANCE SOCIETY'S 8th Annual Educational Conference in March 2008.

Both companies are interested in developing programs for teachers to use games within the classroom setting to develop the children's skills (i.e. language, reasoning, problem solving, visual spatial and motor skills).

I posted some pictures of a few games from these companies on a previous entry about "Family Game Night":

http://otegypt.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-am-one-of-those-people-who-grew-up.html

FAT BRAIN TOYS

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/

FAT BRAIN TOYS is a retailer and developer of unique specialty toys, games, and gifts. They are a retailer of over 100 companies and have a great website. They have some great sales on THINK FUN games this month, too!

A great new game is DADO CUBES, which is a new twist on classic building blocks. Dado invites visual spatial development and problem solving through design-centered, attention-grabbing fun!

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/fat_brain_toy_co/dado_cubes.cfm

GAMEWRIGHT

http://www.gamewright.com/

Gamewright is another company that offers excellent games.

Here are a few games that the kids have enjoyed over and over again in therapy!

GO BANANAS: a fast and fun card game

SLAMWICH: a fun sandwich making card game

Since shipping to Egypt has often proved to be difficult, many people are now using ARAMEX (http://www.aramex.com/) "Shop and Ship", which provides you with an address in the US or the UK to which the products get shipped to first and then sent on to you in Egypt.

ADVANCE's Garden Bazaar

OUR SPECIAL KIDS

INVITE YOU TO

THEIR SPECIAL DAY

ADVANCE's Garden Bazaar

Saturday 9th February

12-3 p.m.

Venue: ADVANCE SCHOOL

34 Al-Nady Al Gadid St.,

(Opposite New Maadi Central Telephones ' Office)

New Maadi, Cairo

Inquiries @ tel: 25193721 or 23

Come enjoy our event

Face Painting ~~ Handicrafts~~ Games~~ Snacks~~ Prizes

NY Times Newspaper Article About OT

When we read about OT's in the newspaper, we need to spread the word!

This is an article about an OT working with patients with brain injuries in a US rehabilitation hospital. It is a great article to explain what OT's do with patients during the rehabilitation process and it also shows the relationship between an OT and his/her patients.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/health/15tren.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=disabilities&oref=slogin

Occupational Therapy Continuing Education Links

The following is a list of OT continuing education resources that I have compiled. Quite a few of these resources are starting to provide online courses, which is a good opportunity for therapists in the region to take some continuing education courses otherwise not offered in the Middle East.

Many links also provide speech and physical therapy courses, too. All the links are US based, so if anyone has any more international links, please share them in the comment section or email me and I will post them.

• Education Resources

http://www.educationresourcesinc.com/

• TheraPeeds, Inc

http://www.therapeeds.com/

• EDLANTIS SEMINARS

(Offers OT Online Courses, such as Autism, Sensory Dysfunction, Kinesio-Taping and Torticollis: Eval/Treat)

http://www.edlantis.com/shop/customer/home.php

• OnlineCE.com

(Offers numerous Online courses for all rehabilitation specialist)

http://www.chirocredit.com/courses/index.php

• Myofascial Release

http://www.myofascialrelease.com/home.asp?

• Hand Therapy

(Online courses, DVD's, Patient Information)

http://www.handtherapy.com/

• Live Conferences

(Offers conferences online)

http://www.liveconferences.com/

• Stroke Help: Improving Life for Stroke Survivors

(workshops, products, patient education)

http://www.strokehelp.com/

• Cross Country Education

(Online, audio cassettes, self study)

https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/cce/landing_pages/LP_OT.jsp

• National Therapy Seminars

http://www.therapyseminars.com/home.htm

• Emerald Events

(Online training and conferencing)

http://www.emeraldevents.net/

• Vision Education Seminars

http://www.visionedseminars.com/

• Academy of Lymphatic Studies

http://www.acols.com/

• Therapeutic Resources

http://www.therapeuticresource.com/seminars/seminars.php

• Rehab Education

http://www.rehabed.com/

Follow up: Patient in need of OT

Thanks to the small network of OT's we have in Cairo...Summer's mom is now receiving OT services! Her daughter is building a good rehab team for her mom. So, good luck to her!

Occupational Therapist Job Wanted:

I have received CV's from international OT's who are interested in working in Egypt. Many of these OT's have a wide range of expertise with years of experience, but unfortunately I do not have enough positions to fill at the center. Some of them are finishing contracts with other facilities this year and are looking for future work abroad and others are available for sooner employment.

I will periodically post their contacts and if anyone is interested in hiring them from abroad, please contact them directly.


Name: Jitendra Singh
Nationality: Indian
Language Known: English, Hindi, and Arabic
Permanent address: New Delhi, India

Qualifications: Diploma in Occupational Therapy, 1985 from the Institute of Engineering and Rural Technology & Motilal Nehru Medical College, India.

Experience: Over 20 years experience working with children and adults in various settings in India and Kuwait.

E-mail: singhjiten@hotmail.com, singhjiten03@yahoo.com



Name: Mr. Leong Wai Ming
Nationality: Singaporean
Permanent address: Currently working in Cambodia.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science, Occupational Therapy in 1999 from Curtin University of Technology, Australia. Bachelor of Arts (major in Psychology) in 1992 from the National University Singapore.

Experience: 8 years experience working with children in various settings in Singapore and Australia. Post-graduate training in NDT (pediatrics), SI, craniosacral therapy and Modulated Music (SAMONAS & Therapeutic Listening Programme). My main interest is to work with children with ASD, cerebral palsy and children with motor issues.

E-mail: waiming.leong@gmail.com

Patient in need of OT....

I have re-posted below a recent posting from the comment section of the OT blog. I wish it would have been easy for me to give her a name and address of a great inpatient rehabilitation unit with a good OT/PT clinic, but it wasn't.

This should not happen...

"Hi Laura, I came across your blog and I am in desperate need of help. I am an American-Egyptian physician. I arrived 2 weeks ago after hearing of my mother being involved in a traumatic accident and sustaing a severe fracture of her tibia, in the setting of an already deconditioned weak rheumatoid arthritis patient. I am shocked and disappointed at the information I have received regarding OT/PT...this is of utmost importance for my mother as she has already starting developing decubitus ulcers. The nursing care has been abhorrent, in private hospitals. I am looking for an inpatient rehab facility/qualified nursing staff/all the OT services I can get. Any information you can provide would help me tremendously and I am sincerely grateful. The best way to reach me would be mobile 012-277-4008 or 012-394-0130, as internet access is not daily. Thanks and look forward to speaking with you. Summer Abdel-Megeed, M.D."

She lives in Heliopolis. If anyone can further assist her, please contact Summer at sabdel.megeed@gmail.com.

Thanks,
Laura

"Occupational Therapy for Egypt" abstract to be presented by Christiane Mentrup at the next European Congress for OT.

The next European Congress for Occupational Therapy is being hosted by the German Association of Occupational Therapists - Deutscher Verband der Ergotherapeuten (DVE) in Hamburg May 22-25th, 2008.

Christiane Mentrup will be presenting an abstract:
Occupational therapy for Egypt/Ergotherapie für Ägypten

The presentation will be on May 22, 2008 from 1500-1520 hr.

The following abstract information was obtained from the COTEC website (http://www.cotec2008.dve.info/).

Absno: 498
Autoren: Mentrup C.1
Institute: 1Zürcher Hochschule der Angewandten Wissenschaften, Winterthur, Zürich, Switzerland
Thema: Occupational therapy training
Thema: Ergotherapieausbildung (9)
Occupational therapy for Egypt/Ergotherapie für Ägypten

A gerontologist in Cairo approached the World Federation of Occupational Therapists about the need to set up the profession in Egypt. During the Council Meeting in 2002 a WFOT project was established and a group of persons within and outside of Egypt started to work on achieving the goal of setting up OT practice and education in the country. Involved were representatives of consumer groups, health care professionals, educational experts and government officials. In the meantime two Cairo universities established an educational curriculum and several foreign colleagues have contributed to OT practice. This presentation will show the process and complexity of setting up the profession in a "new" country.

Ein Gerontologe aus Kairo wandte sich an den Weltverband der Ergotherapeuten mit dem Anliegen, den Beruf des Ergotherapeuten in Ägypten zu etablieren. Während der Konferenz 2002 wurde ein WFOT-Projekt gestartet und eine Gruppe von Menschen im In- und Ausland begann, Grundlagen für die ET-Praxis und Ausbildung in Ägypten zu schaffen. Dies geschah unter Einbeziehung von Vertretern von Nutzergruppen, Gesundheitsdienstleistern, Ausbildungsfachleuten und Regierungsvertretern. Zwischenzeitlich haben zwei Hochschulen in Kairo einen Ausbildungslehrplan geschaffen, während einige Kollegen aus dem Ausland einen Beitrag zur ET-Praxis leisteten. Dieser Beitrag zeigt den Prozess und die Komplexität der Schaffung eines Berufsstands in einem "neuen" Land.

Please visit the website http://www.cotec2008.dve.info/ for information regarding the program, abstract filing, registration and general information.

More Visits to Cairo and More Friendships Developed...

Since starting this blog, I have had the pleasure of corresponding with some wonderful students, therapists and educators. Dianne Koontz Lowman, Ed. D. is one of these educators that I met through this blog. We started corresponding after I emailed the blog to the OT department at James Madison University in the US.

In November, I had the pleasure of meeting Dianne as she was part of the People-to-People Special Needs Delegation visiting Cairo. Itinerary of the 2007 U.S.-Egypt Education Forum can be viewed at: http://www.ambassadorprograms.org/upcomingprograms/education/kelly-duncan.asp.

We had a lovely time meeting for lunch and talking about special needs, the growth of OT in Egypt and life in Egypt.

I asked Dianne to share some information about herself and her experience in Cairo:

Dianne Koontz Lowman, Ed.D., is the Early Coordinator of the Training and Technical Assistance Center at James Madison University and an Adjunct Instructor in the Occupational Therapy Program, where she teaches the research courses. Previously, she was an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University. At VCU, she taught content related to child and adolescent development, evaluation and assessment, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities, school based practice, and qualitative research. She is a 1994 graduate of the University of Virginia, with an Ed.D. in Special Education. Her research interests are in pediatrics, focusing on working with infants, toddlers, and young children with oral motor feeding difficulties, complex health care needs, and autism spectrum disorders. She is the co-author of The Educator’s Guide to Feeding Children with Disabilities. She is a member of the Ukraine Special Needs Orphanages Fund, Inc. group (USNOF) and travels to Ukraine to work with and on behalf of children with disabilities and their families (http://www.specialorphans.org/).

Some feedback from Dianne regarding her trip to Cairo:

"I recently had the opportunity to visit Cairo as part of the People-to-People Special Needs Delegation. I found the city to be exciting, overwhelming, noisy, fascinating, and a "must-see" destination. We toured a school and had the opportunity to see older students and young adults with disabilities working and making items (I bought a beautiful scarf and purse). In addition, we met wonderful administrators, teachers, and therapists. Maha Helali spoke to our delegation and did a wonderful job describing services in Egypt (especially OT). Laura and I went out to lunch, immediately connected and began talking to future collaborations (I know we will have more about those plans later). I am impressed by all the efforts being made to organize and develop occupational therapy in Egypt and hope to be part of those efforts. Thank you!"


Thanks Dianne and Happy New Year to you and your family!

Laura