What Is Occupational Therapy According to Our Family and Friends "Occupational Therapy is helping individuals with disabilities or injuries perform their dailyand on the job activities. OT also helps older adults who are experiencing physical changes"Mary, 67 "OT helps people develop/fine tune skills necessary to function in everyday life" Kathy, 34 "I think OT helps people learn how to hold their pencil and speak". Ryan, 8 "I think OT is a program where adults help children learn to write and tie their shoes". Erin, 11 "Occupational therapists help kids with their special needs and help kids break habits like holding a pencil incorrectly." Myah, 8
Our profession isn't always the easiest to define. Some people have difficulty even saying the words 'Occupational Therapy'.
A Visual Description of Occupational TherapyThis video describes our profession clearly, and demonstrates why we love what we do! What is Occupational Therapy: A Video Story (Be sure to use the back arrow to return to this wiki site) _What is Occupational Therapy According To Our Profession?
Occupational Therapy (OT)
· Is: A health profession · Focuses on helping people participate in activities, hobbies and interest that are meaningful to them · Is: Holistic. Meaning members of our field believe that it is important to address the whole person, not just one specific need · Professionals receive specialized training to treat the physical and emotional needs of our clients, as well as how to modify the surrounding environment in order to help our clients become successful · Is: Helping people live life to the fullest!
Occupational therapy professionals work with:
· Individuals of all ages with a variety of needs
o Children: OT's may help children with disabilities fully participate in school activities. o We help adults recover from injuries (i.e. strokes and traumatic brain injuries) and regain skills such as strength and endurance o We also offer support to elderly clients who may experience cognitive or physical changes, such as dementia.
Occupational Therapy Professionals can provide:
· Evaluations of their clients in their natural environment · Recommendations on how to adapt your environment to provide you with increased independence · Recommendations for adaptive equipment. · Unique and personally tailored treatment plans with goals that the client, family and caregiver have input in creating.
For more information on Occupational Therapy, please visit the American Occupational Therapy Association's website at: http://www.aota.org/ Occupational Therapy in the Promotion of Health
The World Health Organization defines "health" as "the complete physical, mental, and social functioning of a person and not merely the absence of disease." In this definition, a person's ability to function,as classified in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, is an essential component of health (ASHA, 2013).
Our goal is to improve the functioning of young children by helping families learn about fine motor skills and the importance of age-appropriate play. Our plan is to be proactive and help set the foundation for future academic and social success. We have taken into consideration all aspects of the ICF.
The Child, Caregiver, and Environment-
Working Together To Promote Success!
Occupational therapy practice is driven through research, observations, clinical experience and professional models that guide our treatment planning and treatment related decision making. There are several models within the profession to accomodate the varying clientele we work with. The practice model that best describes how we are promoting health and wellness for caregivers and their children throughout this wiki is termed the Ecology of Human Performance Model (EHP).
The Ecology of Human Performance (EHP) is dynamic model that aligns with this topic of health promotion. Dunn, Brown, & McGuigan (1994) explain that the EHP model considers the person and environment and is concerned with the results: the person's ability to perform tasks successfully. Dysfunction can occur when the person’s abilities and their context do not align. For example, a child may be typically developing up until a certain point in time when the impact of an impoverished environment leads to a developmental delay. The EHP believes that working together is vital and intervention should involve “the person, the family and the occupational therapist” (Dunn et al., 1994, p. 603). Our focus is on sharing our knowledge to prevent delays in child development ,create opportunities for children to play in an age-appropriate way, and adapt the child's surroundings by supplying toys and activities to help develop their skills.
As occupational therapy students we can :
Play a role in monitoring the context and the tasks that are expected for young children
Offer education and suggest activities that help to create a better fit between the child’s skills and the expected task
Create programs that do not operate based on disability, but rather work to encourage wellness and prevent disability
Communicate with parents and day care workers about developmental expectations and appropriate activities in the home and school to enhance the wellness in children age birth through five
Empower parents and day care workers with knowledge about task demands, the child’s abilities, and what the environment has to offer
This type of wellness and prevention program can have long-lasting and powerful outcomes for the child’s life skills and potentially have a positive impact on their emotional well-being and relationships.
Occupational Therapy CAN Make A Difference!
As occupational therapy professionals and students:
·
We understand fine motor developmental norms and expectations and consider the interplay between body systems, performance demands and the environment.
We understand that fine motor readiness is based on underlying skills (such as posture, muscle control, eyes working together with the hands, attention, use of both hands working together or having one hand do the work while the other hand holds an object still).
We are also aware that every child develops differently; at their own pace and has varying access to play opportunities within their home.
We take all of these factors into consideration when we identify and recommend motor activities. It is our goal to challenge children at a level that is not too easy or too hard but "just right" in order to promote success while gaining new skills.
It is our objective, through this wiki, to share our knowledge in these areas with you, the caregivers of young children. We expect that this will benefit you, and therefore, your children in a variety of ways:
We expect that you, the caregiver, will have a better understanding of fine motor development after exploring this wiki.
You will have access to a variety of developmentally appropriate activities for the children in your care, and are encouraged to use these activities frequently.
Through use of the information and activities provided, your children will enhance the development of fine motor/hand skills, strength, and their ability to participate in school-based activities. This in turn will increase their social success, self esteem and sense of well being.
We, as occupational therapy professionals and OT students, can provide developmentally appropriate options for you and your children while encouraging them to use their body and mind. With health promotion and wellness as the focus of our profession who better than an occupational therapist to help you and your children succeed in school!
What Is Occupational Therapy
According to Our Family and Friends
"Occupational Therapy is helping individuals with disabilities or injuries perform their dailyand on the job activities. OT also helps older adults who are experiencing physical changes"Mary, 67
"OT helps people develop/fine tune skills necessary to function in everyday life" Kathy, 34
"I think OT helps people learn how to hold their pencil and speak". Ryan, 8
"I think OT is a program where adults help children learn to write and tie their shoes". Erin, 11
"Occupational therapists help kids with their special needs and help kids break habits like holding a pencil incorrectly." Myah, 8
Our profession isn't always the easiest to define. Some people have difficulty even saying the words 'Occupational Therapy'.
A Visual Description of Occupational TherapyThis video describes our profession clearly, and demonstrates why we love what we do!
What is Occupational Therapy: A Video Story
(Be sure to use the back arrow to return to this wiki site)
_What is Occupational Therapy According To Our Profession?
Occupational Therapy (OT)
· Is: A health profession
· Focuses on helping people participate in activities, hobbies and interest that are meaningful to them
· Is: Holistic. Meaning members of our field believe that it is important to address the whole person, not just one specific need
· Professionals receive specialized training to treat the physical and emotional needs of our clients, as well as how to modify the surrounding environment in order to help our clients become successful
· Is: Helping people live life to the fullest!
Occupational therapy professionals work with:
· Individuals of all ages with a variety of needs
o Children: OT's may help children with disabilities fully participate in school activities.
o We help adults recover from injuries (i.e. strokes and traumatic brain injuries) and regain skills such as strength and endurance
o We also offer support to elderly clients who may experience cognitive or physical changes, such as dementia.
Occupational Therapy Professionals can provide:
· Evaluations of their clients in their natural environment
· Recommendations on how to adapt your environment to provide you with increased independence
· Recommendations for adaptive equipment.
· Unique and personally tailored treatment plans with goals that the client, family and caregiver have input in creating.
For more information on Occupational Therapy, please visit the American Occupational Therapy Association's website at: http://www.aota.org/
Occupational Therapy in the Promotion of Health
Our goal is to improve the functioning of young children by helping families learn about fine motor skills and the importance of age-appropriate play. Our plan is to be proactive and help set the foundation for future academic and social success. We have taken into consideration all aspects of the ICF.
The Child, Caregiver, and Environment-
Working Together To Promote Success!
Occupational therapy practice is driven through research, observations, clinical experience and professional models that guide our treatment planning and treatment related decision making. There are several models within the profession to accomodate the varying clientele we work with. The practice model that best describes how we are promoting health and wellness for caregivers and their children throughout this wiki is termed the Ecology of Human Performance Model (EHP).
The Ecology of Human Performance (EHP) is dynamic model that aligns with this topic of health promotion. Dunn, Brown, & McGuigan (1994) explain that the EHP model considers the person and environment and is concerned with the results: the person's ability to perform tasks successfully. Dysfunction can occur when the person’s abilities and their context do not align. For example, a child may be typically developing up until a certain point in time when the impact of an impoverished environment leads to a developmental delay. The EHP believes that working together is vital and intervention should involve “the person, the family and the occupational therapist” (Dunn et al., 1994, p. 603). Our focus is on sharing our knowledge to prevent delays in child development ,create opportunities for children to play in an age-appropriate way, and adapt the child's surroundings by supplying toys and activities to help develop their skills.
As occupational therapy students we can :
- Play a role in monitoring the context and the tasks that are expected for young children
- Offer education and suggest activities that help to create a better fit between the child’s skills and the expected task
- Create programs that do not operate based on disability, but rather work to encourage wellness and prevent disability
- Communicate with parents and day care workers about developmental expectations and appropriate activities in the home and school to enhance the wellness in children age birth through five
- Empower parents and day care workers with knowledge about task demands, the child’s abilities, and what the environment has to offer
This type of wellness and prevention program can have long-lasting and powerful outcomes for the child’s life skills and potentially have a positive impact on their emotional well-being and relationships.Occupational Therapy CAN Make A Difference!
As occupational therapy professionals and students:
·It is our objective, through this wiki, to share our knowledge in these areas with you, the caregivers of young children. We expect that this will benefit you, and therefore, your children in a variety of ways:
We, as occupational therapy professionals and OT students, can provide developmentally appropriate options for you and your children while encouraging them to use their body and mind. With health promotion and wellness as the focus of our profession who better than an occupational therapist to help you and your children succeed in school!