What to know more about Occupational therapy??

By Zulfiqar Ali , Paediatric Occupational Therapist, Dubai

Occupational therapy, as client-centred health profession, is concerned with promoting health and well-being through Occupation. Here, Occupation does not stand for general meanings of profession. In fact, in terms of occupational therapy, all those everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families and within communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to their lives are occupations. All those things which people need to, want to and expected to do are included.

Enabling people to participate in the activities of everyday life is the primary goal of every occupational therapist. Which is achieved by working with people and communities to enhance their abilities. This helps in engaging them to the occupations they want to, need, or are expected to do. For their better occupational engagement, occupational therapist modify the occupation or the environment. Occupation can be Active Daily Living, Work or Play/Leisure 

ACTIVE DAILY LIVING (ADL)

This includes two main categories BADL & IADL

BADL includes: 

• Bathing/showering
• Toileting and Toilet hygiene
• Eating and swallowing
• Feeding
• Functional mobility
• Personal hygiene

IADL includes:

• Care of other and pets
• Child rearing
• Communication management
• Driving and community mobility
• Financial management
• Health management and maintenance
• Home establishment and management
• Meal preparation
• Religious and spiritual activities
• Safety procedure and emergency response
• Shopping

Work Includes:

• Work habits
• Work behavior
• Performance

Play Includes:

• Space management
• Material management
• Stages of Play
• Participation

Leisure Includes:

An intrinsically motivated nonobligatory activity that engaged in during discretionary time. This is the time when person is not committed to obligatory occupations such as work, self-care, or sleep. The acknowledgement of the leisure importance as a state of mind underscores the value of creating meaning with in the occupations.

Now where Occupational therapist can help you?  Yes, you can find a long list of the areas of their work. As discussed before, they work to help patients participate in the tasks that they need and want to do, through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. They also help patients function in all of their environments (Home, School, and Community) and address the physical, psychological and cognitive aspects of their well-being through the engagement in occupations.

Find some specific areas where Occupational Therapists can help you

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Adult Mental Health
• Old Age Psychiatry
• Alcohol and substance abuse
• Neurology
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Brain Injury Rehabilitation
• Hand Therapy and Rehabilitation
• Older Persons Healthcare
• Paediatric Healthcare and Rehabilitation
• Intellectual Disability
• Palliative Care and Oncology
• Orthopaedics
• Musculoskeletal Disorder
• Rheumatology
• Pain Management
• Housing Adaptations
• Specialist seating
• Ergonomics
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Acute Hospital Healthcare
• Nursing Home and Residential Care
• Primary and Community Care
• Private Healthcare
• Schools and Universities
• Healthcare Management

There are many Treatment Approaches for patients, that includes 

• Neurodevelopmental Techniques
• Sensory Integration
• Splinting and Casting
• Postural Management (Positioning and seating)
• Cognitive Rehabilitation

The primary Occupations of babies in the NICU includes Sleeping, feeding, interacting with their parents and the use of their eyes and hands to explore their environment. OT treatment includes:

• Optimal Positioning, Kangaroo Mother Care (Neuro-motor development)
• Splinting (Management of Muscle tone and ROM)
• Sensory Regulation (Touch, Sound, Light)
• Feeding (Co-Rx with SLP)
• Caregiver Education
• Follow up regularly to monitor the development

In PICU, the primary Occupation is playing and through that, they facilitate development. The goal would be to increase participation in everyday activities. OT Treatment includes:  

• Positioning
• Splinting
• Preventing loss of function
• Assistive devices
• Encouraging participation and Independence in ADL’s
• Functional Mobility
• Facilitation of Developmental Milestones
• Use of assistive devices
• Education for adapting the environment

In REHAB WARD, Sub-acute patients who require intensive rehabilitation in an in-patient setting. Depending on the diagnosis and prognosis, treatment will focus on:

• Improvement of function and skills                                                               
• accommodating for the loss of function
  • by adapting the environment,
  • providing assistive technology (wheelchair, positioning equipment, other devices)
  • Teaching new skills

In OPD

• Patients who are medically stable and have the means to attend Occupational Therapy on an outpatient basis.
• After the initial assessment, the therapist determines goals together with the parents and decide on a treatment plan.

• Depending on the patient, a treatment plan usually lasts between 6 -12 weeks after which they are put on hold for 1-3 months. In this time, they have the opportunity to carry over the skills they have acquired to their home/school environment.

If you want to know more about Occupational therapy , you can write below in comments.