Occupational Therapy
What is Occupational Therapy? |
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therapy (OT) is a goal-directed profession that promotes
independence in function. To promote functional independence,
occupational therapists evaluate the illness or disability
of a patient in relation to how it affects the daily
routines that make up a life. Occupational therapists
ask a variety of questions:
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How do you get up and get ready in the morning?
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How do you prepare your breakfast?
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How do you get to work, school, etc.?
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What do you do for fun?
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What skills do you need for your occupations of
self-care, work and leisure/play?
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What do you want to work on? What is most important
to you?
Evaluation and Treatment Skills
Occupational
therapists use their evaluation and treatment skills
to work with the client to achieve the client's goals. For the person with a stroke, intervention may focus
on regaining function in the weak or paralyzed arm;
teaching new or adapted ways to accomplish self-care
skills like bathing, dressing, eating; providing adaptive
devices or adaptations to the home or work environment
to accommodate the individual’s new status. The
OT will also work with the client and health care team
to promote health and wellness, identifying risk factors
for future strokes, and working with the client to minimize
these factors while promoting healthy life choices.
More Information
Find out more about Occupational Therapy from these resources:
From the American Occupational Therapy Association:
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"Occupational therapy is the therapeutic use of self-care, work and play activities to increase independent function, enhance development, and prevent disability; may include adaptation of task or environment to achieve maximum independence and to enhance quality of life."
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"… the art and science of directing man’s participation in selected tasks to restore, reinforce, and enhance performance functions that are essential for adaptation and productivity, diminish or correct pathology, and to promote and maintain health."
Where will you work?
Agencies employing Rockhurst OT Program graduates as clinicians, administrators, researchers and educators include:
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