Tutorial 2: Occupational Engagement , Doing, Being, Becoming and Belonging.

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Walking is define by the Oxford English Dictionary as “ the action of moving or travelling at a regular and fairly slow pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn so that one of the feet is always on the ground; the action of taking exercise or recreation on foot; (also) a person's gait” (2012). I choose walking as my occupational engagement because with dementia clients, physical activity is a very important occupation to keep them their body and mind active. During my placement, the activity coordinator and I would take some residents for a 30 minutes’ walk.

Hammell explains “Being” by defining it to a time for individuals to analyse, think, reflect and experience their life (2004). It is also said to be “concerned with the nature of existence” (Hammell, 2004). Figures 1 to 6 represent the meaning of “being” as they outline human beings within different life stage. I focused on feet to keep the concept in relation to the occupation of walking.

Figures 7-12 focus on the occupational performance which in this case is walking.  Hammell suggests that “doing” includes goal-oriented activities which give purpose to individuals (2004).  The reason I chose figure 12 is to illustrate that walking is an important activity to keep the brain active, especially the slow down the dementia process.

Hammell suggest that becoming is like picturing future selves (2004). It is ideas that individuals vision future opportunities and process ideas and change (Hammell, 2004). Figures 13-18 illustrate the “becoming” aspect of walking. By walking you become more active, your body is revitalised.

Rebeiro et al., stated in Hammell (2004), define belonging as “the necessary contribution of social interaction, mutual support and friendship, and the sense of being included, to occupational performance and life satisfaction” (2001). The feeling of belonging contributes to the enjoyment of an activity (Hammel, 2004). Figure 14-20  are related to the belonging aspect.

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Hammell, K. (2004). Dimensions of meaning in the occupations of daily life Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(5), 296-305.

The first ethical consideration I had to be aware of when taking the photo of the rest home was to respect the privacy of the people passing-by. I waited for them to leave the front property so they would not feel like I was taking photos of them. The second ethical consideration when taking my own photos was to ask my subject for their verbal consent to use the photos on my blog. I made sure that they felt comfortable to participate in my photos and proposed the idea without putting pressure to do it. My third ethical consideration was to appropriately reference the images I chose online. I made sure to keep the “url” to be able to go back to the website if needed.