The Science of Rest

If you know me you know I love easily accessible information and I love supporting individuals to thrive.

When I left my day program, one of the things that I felt sad I couldn’t take with me was the opportunity to supervise Occupational Therapy students in their fieldwork placement. I absolutely loved having students and creating a safe space and opportunity to try and different skills and build confidence in themselves before they dove into graduation and the job search.

Starting my own business where I work one to one with a variety of neurodiverse individuals made me feel overwhelmed around the idea of taking students because many of my clients take a lot of time and specific rapport building to feel safe and connected enough to attend sessions and to grow towards their goals. Often times my clients can even shut down and need extra connection if there is too big of a gap between sessions.

So when I was offered the opportunity to supervise a student as a preceptor off site (aka at a different facility where they have supervision from other professions and I’m the OT connection outside), I was so excited to try it!

My student was absolutely fantastic and it ended up being such a good fit where many of my clients’ needs crossed over with the needs of the clients at the clinic she worked at. One of the major topics we talked about was burnout and rest. This is a huge area that I love focusing on and often is a major part of my client sessions as many of my adult clients are experiencing or have experienced autistic burnout, sensory overstimulation, caregiver fatigue etc.

I have a lot to say about the importance of rest and the idea that rest is not just sleeping a bit or taking a couple days off, but because my student had such a beautiful way of sharing written information and because the clinic she worked at has so many incredible blogs also, why don’t you just click the link below and tell me what you think!

The Science of Rest – by (future OT) Sydney Hillis

What other information about rest might you find helpful?