Dr. Linda Tickle-Degnen Presents at American Parkinson Disease Association Massachusetts Chapter for their Educational Series

My recent webinar on Social Self-Management of Parkinson’s Disease was invited by the APDA Massachusetts Chapter for their Educational Series.  This series is available at APDA_MA website and includes webinars by other OT’s (about work and driving), PT’s, SLP’s, MD’s and others in our  neurorehabilitation team. In my talk, I highlight the importance of social life for supporting biopsychosocial resilience (“bounce back”) from the many difficult transitions and challenges of living with an unpredictable and individualized progressive condition such as Parkinson’s.  I define social life in a manner that is not the typical way we think about it, which is interpersonal interaction in-person or remotely. In fact, social life can be experienced in solitude, as when one does activities in solitude with an intentional social purpose or from imaginative social memories.  I demonstrate strategies for pursuing wisely selected occupations by showing how occupational therapists problem-solve and reason. Specifically, I showed how our Person-Environment-Occupation and activity analysis paradigms can be put to use by people living with Parkinson’s.  I drew upon our latest research evidence in the Tufts Health Quality of Life Lab as well the broader healthy aging literature, and feedback from my many support group talks. At the end of the webinar is a Q&A with great questions from the audience. I welcome hearing any of your thoughts about the content — I’m always looking for ways to enhance my own understanding of how to support our clients’ resilience and wellness through clear and helpful communication.  Please feel free to contact me at: Linda.Tickle_Degnen@tufts.edu

The webinar can be found at: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzGkXwDMkjfCzkgdlmdQszrbCZMR?projector=1