Neuro Note #2 : Huntington's Disease
I chose to watch a TedTalk on Huntington's Disease. The video I watched was entitled "Facing Death Full of Life" by Danielle Valenti, who spoke on how she overcame the news that she is genetically predestined to develop HD. First, she gave a powerful recap of her mother's journey living with HD before she eventually died before Valenti turned 30. After her mother's death, she made the decision to get tested to see if she had inherited the defective gene from her mother. She was faced with the news that she would too inevitably develop HD and possibly suffer the same fate as her mother had. The main focus of her talk was how she managed the news and stayed optimistic about life knowing what her future held.
She spoke about the importance of giving oneself time to process and possibly greave their situation. This period is what allows one to realize there is light at the end of the tunnel and adapt to their situation, which she called "creating a new norm". Valenti also mentioned the importance of finding things that made her happy and that gave her hope. Finding those happy things was motivating for her and showed her that she still had things to live for despite her future. Hearing how powerful of an impact these techniques had on her I thought they'd be beneficial for an OT to utilize. It is important for us to acknowledge a client's situation and to allow them time to process. After that period we can help clients to figure out what that new norm looks like for them. Encourage clients to see that they still have positive things in their lives to live for and cherish. They should commit to looking for happiness in their lives despite their current situation.
References:
Valenti, D. (2015, December 04). Facing Death Full of Life | TEDxBerkshires. Retrieved August 1,
2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JRwCdmewl0
She spoke about the importance of giving oneself time to process and possibly greave their situation. This period is what allows one to realize there is light at the end of the tunnel and adapt to their situation, which she called "creating a new norm". Valenti also mentioned the importance of finding things that made her happy and that gave her hope. Finding those happy things was motivating for her and showed her that she still had things to live for despite her future. Hearing how powerful of an impact these techniques had on her I thought they'd be beneficial for an OT to utilize. It is important for us to acknowledge a client's situation and to allow them time to process. After that period we can help clients to figure out what that new norm looks like for them. Encourage clients to see that they still have positive things in their lives to live for and cherish. They should commit to looking for happiness in their lives despite their current situation.
References:
Valenti, D. (2015, December 04). Facing Death Full of Life | TEDxBerkshires. Retrieved August 1,
2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JRwCdmewl0
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