Occupational Therapy

Deborah Rubin Labovitz, 63, an author and professor of occupational therapy at New York University, died of brain cancer Friday at her home in Elkins Park, where she lived since 2004. Dr. Labovitz wrote Ordinary Miracles: True Stories About Overcoming Obstacles and Surviving Catastrophes, a collection of essays about occupational therapists working with accident victims, the disabled, the sick and elderly. The book was published by Slack Inc.'s professional book division in 2003.

Erin Cann of Bordentown, The Inquirer's South Jersey girls' soccer player of the year, has signed a letter of intent with East Carolina. Cann, a four-year starting midfielder, said she will receive a partial soccer scholarship. She made her decision late last week. Cann chose East Carolina over the College of New Jersey. "East Carolina has an excellent academic reputation and also offers my major, occupational therapy," Cann said. "I had a good visit three weeks ago and thought I would fit in well.

What does it feel like to be 100 years old? "Just like it does to be 99," said a smiling Grace Monteith, her hands folded firmly across the pocketbook in her lap. "I don't feel any older, unless I'm trying to get in and out of a car. " Monteith, who will celebrate her 101st birthday in July, was the guest of honor yesterday at the National Park Service's annual gathering of volunteers, held at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church on Columbus Boulevard. She has devoted as many as 2,000 hours of volunteer service to the Deshler Morris House in Germantown and may be the country's oldest volunteer, said Stephen Sitarski, VIP coordinator for the Park Service.

Mary Lame, 80, an occupational therapist-turned-volunteer who taught children to read and to know nature during three decades of community work, died Wednesday at the Waverly Heights retirement center in Gladwyne, where she had lived for three years. She was previously a lifelong resident of Germantown and Chestnut Hill. A 1927 graduate of Springside School in Chestnut Hill, Mrs. Lame had gone on to attend Smith College, but after two years her education was cut short by the Depression.

She had him at do-si-do. The end of World War II set off a square-dancing craze, and Elizabeth Moses, an occupational therapy student of Quaker stock, kicked up her heels, twirled her pettiskirts, and joined in. At a hoedown in Philadelphia, she circled left and circled right into the path of her future husband. She and lawyer Charles Thomas later settled on a 13-acre Deptford farm and turned it into a square-dance Xanadu. Hoedown Hall opened in the early 1950s, first in the Thomases' barn and then in an outbuilding with a floor reinforced to take a pounding from 150 or more feet on Saturday nights.

THE TWO GROUPS could hardly have been more different. One group included graduate students from the Jefferson University Hospital School of Health Professions, working on their master's degrees in occupational therapy - educated, optimistic, confident of the future. The other group included employees of Baker Industries, a nonprofit that helps its participants transition from down-and-out to up-and-coming. Many Bakerites lack life skills and confidence. The 10 Jeff students have excellence stamped on their resumes.

A groundbreaking ceremony next Wednesday off Knights Road next to Frankford Hospital will mark the beginning of a major expansion of the Kardon Institute of Music for the Handicapped. The building, scheduled to be completed in December, will provide much needed space for the institute, which is quartered at Settlement Music School's Clarendon Avenue branch. The new facility, to be built adjacent to the Settlement school, will contain music rooms and dance studios with observation rooms for parents and staff to watch classes without disrupting them.

A delightful, affectionate and active 6-year-old, Daniel amazes everyone he meets. If he had his way, he would be outside all the time - sliding, climbing on a gym set, or playing tag with his foster brother, despite the fact that he is legally blind, developmentally delayed and wears braces on his legs. Daniel likes to dance and to sing nursery rhymes or the ABCs. But his favorite activity is playing with musical toys, especially those that light up. He also enjoys hugging and petting his foster family's dog. When he is frustrated, he is easily soothed by listening to music, lying down with a soft blanket and having his back rubbed.

Dontaye is a happy, energetic, affectionate and fun-loving 6-year-old who delights in exploring the world around him. Whatever activity he is involved in, he does it with great enthusiasm, giggling and smiling. He enjoys playing with other youngsters and has a healthy appetite. His favorite activity is playing with wagons and cars that make sounds. He also likes arts and crafts, listening to music, and dancing. Nonverbal, Dontaye uses any means he can to be understood and have his needs met. Although he can be apprehensive when meeting new people, once he gets to know them he will cheerfully greet them.

A'Qwaun is an active 4-year-old who likes playing in the park, riding his bike, dancing, listening to music, coloring and being on the computer. He loves to have fun and enjoys pleasing others. A'Qwaun's special pleasure is walking the dog at his foster home. He is so enamored of dogs that he pretends to walk his classroom's stuffed dog on a leash. A'Qwaun receives special education services. His teachers are pleased with his progress in increasing his language skills and focusing on tasks.

An occupational therapist says his former employer owes tens of thousands of dollars in back wages plus other damages because company officials did not pay him for the time he spent traveling between clients. In a suit moved to federal court in Camden last week, Omar Graham of Sicklerville says his supervisor at SunDance Rehabilitation Services Inc. deleted his travel time from his time records "to prevent [him] from being paid for travel time and overtime. " "We are looking into the allegations," said Jeanne Moore, a company spokeswoman.

THE TWO GROUPS could hardly have been more different. One group included graduate students from the Jefferson University Hospital School of Health Professions, working on their master's degrees in occupational therapy - educated, optimistic, confident of the future. The other group included employees of Baker Industries, a nonprofit that helps its participants transition from down-and-out to up-and-coming. Many Bakerites lack life skills and confidence. The 10 Jeff students have excellence stamped on their resumes.

She had him at do-si-do. The end of World War II set off a square-dancing craze, and Elizabeth Moses, an occupational therapy student of Quaker stock, kicked up her heels, twirled her pettiskirts, and joined in. At a hoedown in Philadelphia, she circled left and circled right into the path of her future husband. She and lawyer Charles Thomas later settled on a 13-acre Deptford farm and turned it into a square-dance Xanadu. Hoedown Hall opened in the early 1950s, first in the Thomases' barn and then in an outbuilding with a floor reinforced to take a pounding from 150 or more feet on Saturday nights.

DON McMULLIN doesn't remember the shot, the bullet piercing near his right eye, scorching through his brain, then rattling to a stop at the back of his skull. But he can't forget the months of struggle that came after. Physical therapy. Occupational therapy. Speech therapy. Recreational therapy. Long hours of repetitive acts and actions as he learned that life as he knew it was no more. "There was a period when I first thought I was walking and they were actually dragging me," McMullin said.

Dontaye is a happy, energetic, affectionate and fun-loving 6-year-old who delights in exploring the world around him. Whatever activity he is involved in, he does it with great enthusiasm, giggling and smiling. He enjoys playing with other youngsters and has a healthy appetite. His favorite activity is playing with wagons and cars that make sounds. He also likes arts and crafts, listening to music, and dancing. Nonverbal, Dontaye uses any means he can to be understood and have his needs met. Although he can be apprehensive when meeting new people, once he gets to know them he will cheerfully greet them.

Grace C. Monteith, 107, an early occupational therapist who lived in three centuries, died Jan. 21 at the Stapeley retirement home in Germantown, where she had lived since 1990. When an Inquirer reporter asked in 2000 how it felt to be 100, she smiled and responded: "Just like it does to be 99. I don't feel any older, unless I'm trying to get in and out of a car. " "It's been a good life," she said. "You try to forget the bad ones and don't knock yourself out over the good ones.

Deborah Rubin Labovitz, 63, an author and professor of occupational therapy at New York University, died of brain cancer Friday at her home in Elkins Park, where she lived since 2004. Dr. Labovitz wrote Ordinary Miracles: True Stories About Overcoming Obstacles and Surviving Catastrophes, a collection of essays about occupational therapists working with accident victims, the disabled, the sick and elderly. The book was published by Slack Inc.'s professional book division in 2003.

A'Qwaun is an active 4-year-old who likes playing in the park, riding his bike, dancing, listening to music, coloring and being on the computer. He loves to have fun and enjoys pleasing others. A'Qwaun's special pleasure is walking the dog at his foster home. He is so enamored of dogs that he pretends to walk his classroom's stuffed dog on a leash. A'Qwaun receives special education services. His teachers are pleased with his progress in increasing his language skills and focusing on tasks.

About nine months ago, Stacey Bittmann and Bridget Cella, two Washington Township women with special-needs children, were talking over coffee. "I said to Bridget [that] it would be nice to have a place where our children could play," Bittmann recently recalled. She said it would be great to have a facility where their children fit in and were comfortable. They were so much in agreement, "the conversation was kind of like one. " Thus was born the Sensory Playhouse, designed specifically for special-needs children, although other children are welcome.

On a pleasant day in 1910, Seymour DeWitt Ludlum set out from his home in Merion for a horseback ride along Mill Creek. At the corner of Rose Glen and Mill Creek Roads, he came across a deserted mill hamlet in remote hollow in the wooded hills of Gladwyne. To Ludlum it seemed to be "a little village out of yesterday" and it was just what he was looking for. At this time, Ludlum was chief of staff to the Neuropsychopathic Department at the old Philadelphia General Hospital and he was looking for a site where he could both treat patients and do experimental study in a noninstitutional environment.