Welcome to my ePortfolio

My name is Natalia Munoz. I am from Colombia and have been living in New York  for the past ten years.

I am currently enrolled in my last semester at LaGuardia Community College; my major is OTA (Occupational Therapy Assistant). I will be graduating in March 2011.

The purpose of Occupational Therapy is to help the clients achieve the goal of regaining or improving the ability to participate in daily occupations independently, to perform the desired role, and to be in control of their lives to their maximum capacity.

I hope you enjoy visiting my ePortfolio, thank you for visiting 

My Journey into Occupational Thearpy:   

 OT Journey Video - click here to view               

My name is Natalia Munoz. I am studying Occupational Therapy at LaGuardia Community College since 2006, and this is my journey into Occupational Therapy.

I first learned about Occupational Therapy when I was taking care of a two year old child diagnosed with a developmental disorder, I witnessed the improvement he made once he had started receiving Occupational Therapy. With therapy he was able to express himself much better, he was able to look at the other person in the eye and talk to him/her, the most touching part was that after many months of taking care of him, one day he hugged me and told me that I was his best friend.  This is when I decided to become an Occupational Therapist.

I like Occupational Therapy because it provides therapy so that the patient can overcome any obstacle either physical, or psychological; not only can the client get better, he/she can feel useful, independent and included in his community.

Through my classes and my internship, Occupational Therapy has changed the way I view life and people with disabilities. I have learned that having a medical disability does not mean that there is nothing left in life to live for. I realized that there are other ways of being independent end enjoy life to its fullest; and with the help of Occupational Therapy both the patient and the family can learn how to overcome any type of disability.

After being in the program and learning about all the benefits that each purposeful activity bring I have being able to help my grandmother when she asks me about what can she do when she is in pain, feeling sad or not being able to do things. I have realized that the most simple task such as cleaning or cooking can be meaningful for a person and that this activity can be used in a form of therapy so that the patient can relearn certain skills to become independent and do things on his/her own.

I will graduate in March 2011. Once I graduate, I will work as an OTA for at least a year or two, I would like to do this because I want to gain more experience and practice the clinical knowledge I have gained through these years I have been in school. Then I will continue to pursue Master’s to be an Occupational Therapist. Since I like to work with children, I would like  to work for the Board Of Education… that is my most valued goal, to help the children that need help in life and are thriving to succeed despite their circumstances.