Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy (OT) is the type of treatment that helps if you have pain, injury, illness, or a disability that can make it hard for you to your job or schoolwork, care for yourself, complete household chores, more around, or take part in activities.

The main purpose of OT is to teach adaptation to one's environment when considering their physical limitations. OT can help with performing any kind of tasks at school, work, or in the home. To aid in learning to perform tasks a patient may learn to use tools (assistive devices), if it is needed.

When you first begin occupational therapy you'll meet with a professional called an occupational therapist (OTs) who will come up with ways to change your movements so you can get work done, take care of yourself or you home, play sports, or stay active.

OTs will help you with things like:
Taking part in leisure activities.
Bathing and getting dressed.
Eating without help form others.
Doing laundry.
Cleaning up around the house.

What is an Occupational Therapist?

Occupational Therapists have special graduate level training in the field of occupational therapy. Often they called OTs. They must be licensed and pass a national exam to be certified to practice.

There some OTs who will do more specialized training so they can focus on certain types of treatment, like hand therapy, treating people with poor vision, or working with children or older adults.

OTs will often work with your doctor, physical therapist, psychologist, or other health professionals.

What Do OTs Do?

OTs work with people of all ages, from premature babies to young children, adults in midlife, and seniors. In essence, OTs look at how you do any kind of activity or task. Then they come up with a plan to improve they way you do it in order to make it easier or less painful.

The first thing OTs do will be to assess your needs. They may come to your home or your workplace to observe what you do and what changes you need to make. If they are working with a child they may go to the child's school. Some examples of what they might tell you to do is to move furniture for better convenience or to get an assistive device like a cane or a grabber. They can also show you how to more effectively do daily chores.

Once they have made their observations and made a few suggestions, OTs will come up with a therapy plan that sets goals designed for your own specific needs, disabilities, or limits. Therapy plans may include adapting to movements, improving your motor skills, hand-eye coordination, or doing tasks in a new way. Your OT will be there to help you with all of this.

To do all this your OT may:

Teach you new ways to button a shirt, tie your shoes, get in and out of the shower, or work on you computer.
Prescribe and train you to use assistive devices like a raised toilet seat or a wheelchair.
Help older adults prevent falls in their home or in public areas.
Organize you medications or household tools.
Treat adults who have had a stroke to improve balance, change their home to prevent injuries, build muscle strength, or adapt to their memory or speech problems.
Build hand-eye coordination so you can hit a tennis ball.
Address behavior problems in kids who act out.
Work of motor skills so you can grasp objects, like a pencil.

Who Needs to have Occupational Therapy?

Anyone who struggles with any kind of task may need occupational therapy.

A doctor may suggest occupational therapy if any of these health problems: