Lives Well Occupied: Part 1 of a Conversation with Rhoda Erhardt

Rhoda Erhardt

A conversation about her many roles which among others include: Consultant, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother

Note: This interview is being released in two parts.

Introduction
0.00: Today’s interview is with Rhoda Erhardt. Rhoda is a consultant, pediatric occupational therapist, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Rhoda shares with us the many ways in which she embraces the flow of life.

This interview is delivered to you as a labor of love created in collaboration with the future OT professionals both in the background and foreground. The newest OTA students, Abby Pariseau, Hanna Rustin, and Silas Hale contributed to creating this OT recap and the interview itself was completed in collaboration with past students, Emily Otremba, OTA student, and Peter Simon, OTD student.

Together with Rhoda, you will hear us talk about what one of occupational therapy’s most cherished pediatric occupational therapist’s in the US has to say about daily occupations— including occupations such as rest and leisure activities, as well as how adaptation is an ongoing process as an OT and as a human being.

We’ll hear her sage wisdom for the questions on the minds of those at the beginning of their OT paths, and the joy of taking time to have meaningful conversation.

One hour is never enough to spend with Rhoda so we are sharing this in 2 parts— as everyone from the blog has always said after spending time with Rhoda, we could listen to her for hours.

So pour a cup of something warm, cool, and sit back or go for a walk— and let’s listen in to her wisdom. Here’s Rhoda.

01:46: Interview

OT Recap

53:00 At this point, we usually do an OT recap but because this is in two parts, we’ll keep this brief.

So far you’ve had the chance to hear Rhoda reflect on 89 years of life (and on the day we are publishing this, we celebrate Rhoda’s 90th birthday!) — that’s a lot of territory to cover in a short time but she gives us a behind the scenes look at what occupational adaptation looks like at several junctures in her life.

There are several things that we will come back to at the end of part two— for now, we want to point out how things like risk taking, staying open to possibilities, and curiosity are just a few of the things that motivate Rhoda and facilitate ease during challenging times.

Second, Rhoda talks about if she could have everyone understand one concept from occupational therapy it would be self-regulation. Our sensory and nervous systems and the role that plays in our every day interaction and daily function is a topic worthy of more in depth discussion. As Rhoda points out— even realizing that is a factor influencing us is key navigating our choices.

Third— rest— we hear the various ways Rhoda rests and this ties in so well to what she says about self-regulation. If our bodies can’t get to stillness or what she calls homeostasis, then rest is hard to come by.

Lastly— we hear her talk about community in various forms, the role connection and belonging play in our well being is an important topic for further conversation.

Thank you for being part of this community and for inviting others to join us. We will release part 2 soon. For now, we ask what resonates most with you in Rhoda’s words so far?

Until next time— enjoy.