Does the phrase "Occupational Therapy" sound familiar?
I'm curious because not many people have even heard of this particular medicinal industry.
For example, many have heard of the more mainstream practice of physical therapy.
Hopefully I've made my point, most people are familiar with the common treatment known as physical therapy.
However, OT, or occupational therapy, is a different lesser known practice even though it sounds similar.
What is OT?
OT is a type of therapy, for patients with both physical and mental conditions, that assists and rehabilitates patients in their daily lives to help increase their independence.
Who Gets Assistance from OTs?
Occupational Therapists assists patients with many conditions ranging from young to old. Here are just a few of the types of patients who are assisted by Occupational therapy professionals.
Why use Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy is used for a number of reasons.
A segment of OT patients are temporarily using OT while recovering from trauma or surgery. Another segment of patients are dealing with permanent conditions requiring lifelong OT assistance.
All OT patients are engaged in therapy to receive assistance with their weaknesses from their conditions.
I'm curious because not many people have even heard of this particular medicinal industry.
For example, many have heard of the more mainstream practice of physical therapy.
- In high school when an athlete that gets injured they typically go through physical therapy.
- Often times victims of car accidents use physical therapy treatment to heal pain and recover from injury.
- Practically all surgery patients nowadays will utilize physical therapy after their surgery.
Hopefully I've made my point, most people are familiar with the common treatment known as physical therapy.
However, OT, or occupational therapy, is a different lesser known practice even though it sounds similar.
What is OT?
OT is a type of therapy, for patients with both physical and mental conditions, that assists and rehabilitates patients in their daily lives to help increase their independence.
- Often times OTs work in skilled nursing facilities or hospitals where they rehab and assist surgery patients.
- You can also find Occupational Therapists working in their patient's homes offering daily assistance.
- Pediatric OTs work in grade and pre schools with children.
- Lastly, you will come across occupational therapists working in nursing homes with dementia patients.
Who Gets Assistance from OTs?
Occupational Therapists assists patients with many conditions ranging from young to old. Here are just a few of the types of patients who are assisted by Occupational therapy professionals.
- Occupational Therapists work with children experiencing fine motor skill development, sensory processing disorders, autism, dyspraxia, handwriting problems, down syndrome, cerebal palsy, and more.
- Grown-ups with serious injuries, such as quadriplegics, often times utilize OTs to assist them in regaining functions needed for their daily activities as well as regaining motor skills lost.
- Senior citizens with alzheimers, or dementia, often need occupational therapists to help them throughout their daily activities.
Why use Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy is used for a number of reasons.
A segment of OT patients are temporarily using OT while recovering from trauma or surgery. Another segment of patients are dealing with permanent conditions requiring lifelong OT assistance.
All OT patients are engaged in therapy to receive assistance with their weaknesses from their conditions.
Increasing OT Awareness
If before reading this post today, you thought that occupational therapists helped people find jobs.. you were wrong.
And this is why we are spreading awareness of OT :)
There are two main reasons to increase awareness for the occupational therapy profession. For starters, OT is an extremely fulfilling career as OTs are improving patients lives on a daily basis.
Also, demand for occupational therapy professionals is growing rapidly. As baby boomers age they are quickly increasing the number of referrals to occupational therapists.
This environment has created an awesome job opportunity for anyone considering occupational therapy as a career.
We hope this was a good intro to occupational therapy and we encourage you to continue researching the field.
Occupational Therapist Assistants can learn all about the profession here: http://occupational-therapy-assistant.org/
We have other posts and resources on OT that you can start with. And don't hesitate to drop us a comment if you ever have questions :)
If before reading this post today, you thought that occupational therapists helped people find jobs.. you were wrong.
And this is why we are spreading awareness of OT :)
There are two main reasons to increase awareness for the occupational therapy profession. For starters, OT is an extremely fulfilling career as OTs are improving patients lives on a daily basis.
Also, demand for occupational therapy professionals is growing rapidly. As baby boomers age they are quickly increasing the number of referrals to occupational therapists.
This environment has created an awesome job opportunity for anyone considering occupational therapy as a career.
We hope this was a good intro to occupational therapy and we encourage you to continue researching the field.
Occupational Therapist Assistants can learn all about the profession here: http://occupational-therapy-assistant.org/
We have other posts and resources on OT that you can start with. And don't hesitate to drop us a comment if you ever have questions :)