Jaynee Taguchi-Meyer, OTD, OTR/L

has expertise in acute rehabilitation, physical disabilities, and fieldwork education. She earned a BS in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University and an MA in Occupational Therapy from USC. Her thesis research examined factors influencing practitioners' participation in fieldwork education. Serving as a Regional Fieldwork Consultant for the American Occupational Therapy Association, Jaynee educated occupational therapy practitioners in CA, NV, and HI, and at national level conferences. She is the author of "Managing a Fieldwork Program," a chapter in the AOTA Self-Study Series Meeting the Fieldwork Challenge, originally published in 2000. Emerging interest areas include development of innovative practice arenas for occupational therapists and utilization of cutting-edge technology to assist older individuals' participation in meaningful occupations and daily life.

Biography
Occupational therapy is a profession grounded in helping people engage in meaningful occupation and their daily lives. Occupational therapists are concerned with the intimate relationship between life participation, health, and happiness. I am increasingly interested in examining people's daily life interaction with technology. In my practice as an occupational therapist, I assist adult clients to adapt and participate in occupations, either by enhancing their skills or modifying the equipment they use or the environment in which they use the technology. An elderly gentleman experienced a brain injury and was unable to recall how to use his cellular telephone to talk to his wife, children and grandchildren. This was a tremendous loss. As his occupational therapist, I worked together with him to develop a cueing system to help him remember the steps and complete the tasks. Being able to call his family independently again helped him reconnect with them, but also gave him confidence in his abilities to confidently perform daily activities.
While advances such as e-mail, cellular phones, the Internet, and other technologies enhance the way we live, they bring new challenges for many people. For example, while e-mail and the Internet may enable older adults to maintain contact with loved ones and gather information on health care and other issues, older adults who experience visual, hearing, movement, and other changes may find computer use (i.e., reading smaller fonts and navigating web sites) difficult. Understanding the specific challenges which varying abilities present, occupational therapists can also work with website designers, hardware designers and manufacturers to ensure that webpages and equipment contain features that enable those with disabilities to view and navigate programs and websites. These are not traditional practices for occupational therapists; however, they are but a few of the ways occupational therapists can creatively utilize their skills and knowledge in innovative practice arenas in order to improve the quality of life for a variety of individuals. Occupational therapy is a field that thrives today and will continue to thrive so long as people strive to live meaningful, productive, and happy lives. I am excited and invigorated by these and other fresh new professional opportunities, and so thoroughly enjoy helping occupational therapists and occupational therapy students achieve their professional dreams.