Definition and scope of occupational therapy

Occupational Therapy 4 Contextual Definitions

Define occupational therapy to a friend.

Occupational therapy is a combination of therapeutic treatments that try to help a person gain a maximum level of independence in their daily lives. It is based on the idea that occupations provide structure and organize time. Take a child with attention deficit disorder, for example. The occupational therapist would try to break down activities into achievable components and try to increase the kid's ability to perform daily tasks. It addresses the problem by directly performing the occupations that affects the child the most in living a normal life. An occupational therapist may work with the child to improve his/her performance in school and assignment completion. An important part of occupational therapy is to constant reevaluate the treatment. This focuses not only on the actual improvements in attention span but also on the child's level of satisfaction with the treatment. The therapy is very much focused on the child and tries to improve the patient's confidence in performing every-day tasks.

2. Describe occupational therapy to a family member.

Occupational therapists work with people who are having a difficulty achieving the routine tasks of their daily lives. They may work with a war veteran or someone suffering from depression that is having problems engaging fully in life. For a soldier with post-traumatic stress syndrome, an occupational therapist may create a treatment plan based on occupations that helps that person get used to living his normal life again. Therapists also work with people recovering from the death of a relative by helping them overcome the loss. The idea behind the treatment is that routine occupations give a person purpose and direction in life and improve their health and well-being.

3. Describe occupational therapy to a co-worker (medical).

Occupational therapy believes in the importance of holistic health. The treatment plans address behavioral, physical and psychological issues that may hinder a patient's ability to perform the routine occupations of life. It addresses performance deficits in daily life activities by teaching new ways of approaching tasks and strengthening the patient's self-confidence. The occupational therapy field addresses many medical and social diagnoses. A therapist may work with a patient recovering from traumatic brain injury or someone suffering from Alzheimer's. Using remedial and compensatory strategies, the ultimate goal of the treatments is to maximize the patient's ability to live independently at home and perform the occupations of their daily lives.

4. Describe OT to a college student (sociology).