Neuro Note 4 -- Simple Hacks For Life With Parkinson's

The neuro note I chose to watch is the TED talk by Mileha Soneji called Simple Hack's for Life with Parkinson's. I chose this video because I am passionate about working in the geriatric field of OT as a future practitioner, therefore I will most likely interact with multiple clients who suffer from Parkinson's. In watching this video I have gained insight about some techniques that I might use with my future clients to make them feel more comfortable with their disease. 

In this video, Mileha Soneji explains her two hacks that she created for her uncle who was diagnosed with Parkinson's. She explains that Parkinson's is a disease that causes degeneration of the nervous system that causes an individual to lose independence. She understood that there is no none cure to Parkinson's, but she can target simple problems and create small solutions to eventually make a big impact. To target tremors, she designed the no-spill cup that works purely on its form. The curve on top deflects the liquid back inside every time they have tremors. This cup makes it much more comforting for clients with Parkinson's to use and blend in. To target unsteady walking on flat land, Soneji researched why this task is so hard compared to climbing stairs. She realized that it's because climbing stairs is a continuous motion. The key to combat this was to translate this feeling of walking on a staircase back to flat land. Therefore her hack was to create a staircase illusion that flows through all the rooms to make the individual more confident with walking on flat land. This print could even be taken into hospitals to make them feel much more welcome.

As I'm sure everyone has heard of the famous actor and author Michael J. Fox. However what people might not know is that Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease at age 29. Therefore, to dive deeper into this disease I visited the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research that he founded in 2000. What I have learned is that about 10 to 20 percent of people with Parkinson's experience symptoms before age 50, which is called "young onset." While treatments are the same, younger people may experience the disease differently and the diagnosis may actually be missed or delayed until later years. As we know from our neuro aspects class, genetic changes and environmental factors likely contribute to this disease. Some common symptoms that are likely to occur with YOPD are dystonia and dyskinesia and the progression of disease over time is, in general, slower. There is much more information about Parkinson's and young onset Parkinson's on the Michael J. Fox Foundation website, so if you are interested in learning more or you are like me and want to discover some hacks to help your future Parkinson's clients definitely check out these two resources linked below! 

Soneji, M. (n.d.). Simple hacks for life with parkinson's. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/mileha_soneji_simple_hacks_for_life_with_parkinson_s/up-next.

The Michael J. Fox foundation for Parkinson's research. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research | Parkinson's Disease. (n.d.). https://www.michaeljfox.org/.