Our lives are
comprised of hundreds of activities that occupy our waking
hours. These "occupations" have a profound impact on how we
feel physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. They can
provide a sense of satisfaction and well-being, or they can
create stress, imbalance, and dissatisfaction. The study of
the nature, function, and meaning of human activities is the
main focus of Occupational Science. The application of
activities to promote health and well-being is the primary
pursuit of Occupational Therapy.
Occupational
Therapy
Occupational Therapy is a health care profession aimed at
improving performance, preventing illness and disability,
and promoting adaptation to life changes. In this
interdisciplinary field, occupational therapists help
people, including those with disabilities, live healthier,
happier, and more productive lives.
What Do
Occupational Therapists Do?
Occupational therapists assess, utilize, and adapt everyday
activities to improve function, enhance performance, promote
health, prevent illness, and increase independence in those
persons to whom they provide services. They work
collaboratively with their clients to identify areas of need
and to develop creative solutions to address these areas
while respecting clients' background and culture and valuing
their quality of life.
Who do Occupational
Therapists help?
- Help senior
citizens re-engage in activities they love but now refrain
from doing because of physical limitations or fear of
injury.
- Coach corporate
executives on the use of work and leisure to reduce stress
and maximize health or help them create office spaces
based on ergonomic principles.
- Work in private
practice with children with developmental delays to help
them experience the joy of success in play, self-care, and
social occupations.
- Create community
programs and cultural interventions for immigrants, school
children, or people with emotional or mental disabilities.
- Teach adults with
spinal cord injuries how to use assistive technology that
will enable them to live productive and meaningful lives.
- Assist teachers in
redesigning classroom environments so children with
attention deficit disorders are less easily distracted.
- Develop
multifaceted weight loss programs that emphasize the
interplay of healthy eating, meaningful activity, stress
reduction, and physical exercise.
- Provide programs in
prisons and for at-risk youth and young adults that
address community building and skill acquisition as
alternatives to gang membership.
- Help an adult
suffering from depression to reclaim his life by
recommending a series of graduated activities through
which he can experience success.
- Devise a substitute
method for holding a fork to enable a person who has lost
grip strength to feed himself independently.
