A Reflection on the Eleanor Clark-Slagle Lecture by Gordon Muir Giles
Each year, a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is chosen to receive the "Eleanor Clark-Slagle" award for their unique contributions to occupational therapy through research, education, and practice. I chose to review the findings of the 2018 award recipient— Gordon Muir Giles.
2018 was a year centered around the highs and lows of leadership around the globe. Donald Trump completed his second year of presidency, and controversy over immigration spiked. Leaders of North and South Korea declared peace after decades of hostility, and Meghan Markle became part of the royal family. In addition to these noteworthy events, psychological research was booming. As we learn more and more about our brain, we learn how to use our mental process toward our advantage. Gordon Muir Giles did just that as he applied research on cognitive processes to those with mental impairments.
Gordon Muir Giles is a professor at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California. He completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology as well as a Doctor of Occupational Therapy. His teaching is centered around neurobehavioral disability, and his research focuses on rehabilitation and assessment of functional cognition. Functional cognition can be defined as "the ability to use and integrate thinking and performance skills to accomplish ADLs and IADLs." In summary, Giles studies the mental processes people with and without cognitive impairments use to accomplish daily tasks.
Giles' work stood out to me because of his emphasis on clients with severe neurological impairment. My older sister suffered from a traumatic brain injury at birth, and her injuries resulted in severe life-long conditions. Her impairments are both cognitive and physical, and learning new skills doesn't always come easy. My sister's circumstances played a large role in my decision to become an occupational therapist. The more I understand about neurological function, the more equipped I will be to help her and others in similar situations.
The main message I received from Giles' article was the importance of adaptation. When working with someone who's brain works differently than ours, we cannot expect them to learn skills the way we may learn them. Everyone has different preferred learning styles, and this applies to those with neurological impairments as well. Furthermore, when a strategy isn't producing the desired result, we must be comfortable with changing our plan of action. I believe Giles said it best when he stated "occupational therapy practitioners are privileged in which we can help others find their way forward, and we can have fun doing it."
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