Reflection

On reflection this is a topic I have researched extensively due to it being a relatively new intervention tool occupational therapists can use. I have also gained significant knowledge and understanding from the literature, speaking to an occupational therapist that uses Wii games in practice and drawing on my personal experiences.

Looking back I felt very lucky to have experienced my placement in a stroke rehabilitation ward that incorporated Wii games into patient’s everyday treatment. I felt privileged to be able to facilitate and participate in therapy sessions. I was fortunate to see patients, increase their upper limb arm function, standing tolerance, co-ordination and increased socialization between patients. Patients understood that Wii games were transferable to their activities of daily living. A vivid example on my placement was, I observed one patient develop and improve his upper arm movements through playing Wii games, and having regular occupational and physiotherapy sessions to enable him to play Petanque. I felt proud to have contributed partially to increasing different patient’s upper limb functional movements. I encourage occupational therapists to do a little research of their own if they plan to use Wii games with patients, as this is not appropriate for all patients.

Thank you for reading my blog. I have really enjoyed the research into this area, as this is one area I would love to specialize in being an occupational therapist. I hope you feel informed and encouraged to explore using Wii games as an intervention in the future.