You may have heard the term before, but what is an Occupational Therapist?

 

If you have never had an injury affecting your daily occupations you may have never encountered an occupational therapist. Actually, some that have even worked with an occupational therapy still struggle with understanding their role. You see, the role of an OT is incredibly broad. Working with all ages on a variety of occupations including bathing dressing, handwriting, fall prevention and safety just to list a few.

You may think, because of the “occupation” in their name, that an OT might focus on something job-related. And we can see why. We tend to think of occupation as what we do for work. But in fact, an OT focuses on all types of occupations. Think more like any activity that occupies your time. This can be so much more than simply going to work. An occupation or activity that occupies your time can be going to school, participating in a hobby, driving, cleaning, or even sleeping. All of these occupations are part of what an occupational therapist examines and focuses their treatments on.

Definition

The American Occupational Therapy Association defines occupational therapy “as the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations).” But what does this really mean? Well, a huge focus in the role of OTs is to regain independence in valued occupations. For instance, if someone has suffered an injury or a setback limiting them from keeping their independence you may want to consult an occupational therapist.

Difference Between PT and OT

You might even think that physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) are the same thing, which many people do. While there are a few places that the fields overlap, PT and OT are very different. Lets use a hip fracture as an example. If you fall and break your hip you are likely to have both a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. A physical therapist might work on strengthening your leg as well as increasing your mobility of the hip. However, an occupational therapist will focus more on your ability to complete your functional activities. Such as putting on your pants, or getting in and out of the shower. They may even help you modify your home setting for increased safety. Or help you maneuver your walker safely in your home. While these may sound like different things, the approach may look similar. For instance both an OT and a PT can work on getting in and out of bed or on and off of a toilet. Specifically, an OT might focus on the aspect of managing your clothing before and after. But a PT would focus on the strength and technique of getting there. 

Who might need an OT?

So does this mean you have to have an injury or a disability to seek out an occupational therapist? No! Although an occupational therapist primarily works with individuals with disabilities and injuries they are also experts in caregiver training and activity analysis. For example, If you are a caregiver you may want to seek out occupational therapy training to see if there is anything that can be modified to make your job easier. Or if your loved one is falling in the home but has not yet injured themselves you may need a home evaluation to identify problems, risks, and a program to reduce falls.

Worried about your loved one falling in the home or looking for a way to keep them safer?

The amazing thing about occupational therapy is how versatile the field is. An occupational therapist can help you with a hand injury, a strengthening routine, a modification to your home, and can even train your loved one to take care of you with increased ease. This is just one of many services an OT can provide. 

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