Common Occupational Therapy

As an occupational therapy practitioner, I will encounter families and children from different cultural and ethnic groups. Somalis is one culture that I could encounter during my practice. Minnesota has the largest Somali community.

Occupational Therapy has played a role in helping those with Mental and physical disabilities in the United States since 1917. Before that time, Occupational Therapy was used solely in mental institutions to help people that were "more normal" and able to function in a social status. These patients enjoyed things like arts and crafts. It seemed that those who engaged in such activities where perceived as "more healthy". These findings lead Drs. to encourage patients to engage is such activity to improve there overall health. (http://quoccupationaltherapy.weebly.com/history-of-occupational-therapy.htmlhistory-of-occupational-therapy.html)

Within four weeks of fieldwork, occupational therapy students got to know most of the residents at Ruth’s House (dementia unit). The residents have various medical conditions that limit their physical and mental capabilities. Anita, one of the residents in the facility exhibited a range of physical, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms. Based on direct observation, Anita demonstrated fluctuating alertness periods. With no evident trigger, Anita had multiple acute episodes of confusion, irritability, and agitation. In a several group sessions, she was restless and was very difficult to redirect. She kept standing up despite being told to take a seat so she does not fall. She was verbally disorganized. In addition, during the 2-week fieldwork,

Occupational therapy is a profession that is currently growing faster than anyone would have expected. Because of the increase in demands for occupational therapy services, therapists are having larger caseloads, needing the help of more occupational therapists. Occupational therapy in the mental health setting is one environment that has grown in popularity over the last decade. Knowing the benefits of occupational therapy in this setting, and the expansion of clients needing occupational therapy services, more funding needs to be established in this setting.

Purpose: Each biennium and upon initial licensure clinicians are required to take a course related to the Laws and Rules of Practice for Occupational therapy. Through this course clinicians will increase awareness and understanding of the laws and rules that direct licensure as a provider of occupational therapy services.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a commonly recognized stress disorder found in many combat soldiers after exposure to life-threatening and traumatic experiences. Since 2001, the prevalence of PTSD has increased with over 2.4 million troops deployed to warzones in Afghanistan and Iraq (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012). Although researchers and civilians commonly understand symptoms of PTSD, they often fail to recognize the difficulties veterans’ face- reintegration into civilian society, alienation, and identity crises (Demers, 2011). Currently there exist two major sources for best practice guidelines in the management of PTSD. They include the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Post-traumatic

In order to drive the change, it is necessary to create a sense of urgency among the stakeholders, such as occupational therapists, educators, OT students, and parents. The sense of urgency can be established by pointing out possible consequences of not specifying OTs as school mental health providers under the NCLB. It is necessary to convey to stakeholders that the current trends will continue to restrict the role of OTs to the special education population. In the long run, this trend will further limit OT services to address sensorimotor skills as schools are increasingly hiring different disciplines to support students’ compliance and behavioral issues. Similarly, in the case of budget constraints, schools are likely to eliminate or reduce the scope of OT services to redirect funds to address the needs of the larger population. At the proximal level, the leading school therapists can use team meetings and newsletters to create the sense of urgency. At the societal level, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) can use various platforms, such as OT Pulse and OT connection, newsletters, online blogs, conferences, and Linked in or Facebook forums to create the sense of urgency.

One scholar that has contributed a substantial amount of research that has impacted the occupational therapy profession and clients within the occupational therapy services is Dr. Tracy Chippendale. Dr. Chippendale is an occupational therapist that received her Masters and PhD at New York University. Dr. Chippendale is currently an assistant professor teaching courses on human development, research, and occupational therapy practice with older adults in the occupational therapy department at New York University. Dr. Chippendale has over seventeen years of experience working with older adults, which has influenced her research that focuses on geriatrics. This research places emphasis on intervention methods that allow elderly individuals to

An occupational therapist helps people who struggles to do their day to day activities. It can range from kids to elderly. They help kids to improve on their skills that they are developing like motor, physical, sensory, cognitive, and more. They also help elders who can't do their normal activities due to their conditions. It takes a lot of time and effort to become an occupational therapist. Their goal for the patient is to reach the patient’s goal and become more independent when it comes to their daily activities.

I spoke with Mr. Naranjo many times since the last reporting period regarding scheduling of occupational therapy and also the MRI. Once the MRI and x-ray were done he declined going back to Dr. Branch for a follow-up appointment on 1/31/8. He has requested to see his primary care doctor’s office.

Admission into SUNY Downstate will allow me to pursue a degree in Occupational Therapy. I believe that admission into your school will provide a great start to my occupational therapy career. Acceptance to this school is important to me because of these different factors that could be beneficial to me such as the experienced professors, class environment, school location and reputation of the facility. I have decided to pick a career in the health field because of the environmental influences that directed me towards my choice. SUNY Downstate has many different factors that could benefit me when it comes to being accepted into the school.

Physical therapy and occupational therapy form an important pillar of complementary medicine that improves functional, muscular and structural stability in individuals; however, it is noteworthy that occupational therapy and physical therapy are entirely different and distinct tools of rehabilitation. Physical therapy deals with improving the muscular and structural support of the tissues and tendons after an acute or chronic insult. The aim of physical therapy is to restore activity without affecting the normal healing process. Occupational therapy deals with helping individuals in adapting to their injuries in order to maximize productivity and functional independence.

The purpose of this study is to see the effect of a novel occupational therapy intervention program on cognition, activity of daily living, physical performance, depression, psychological and behavioral symptom and quality life of patients with mild to moderate dementia. Total of 263 older participates were included in this intervention, the intervention was developed according to client-centering occupation therapy guideline for patient with dementia. Participates in the experimental group completed 5 weeks long of study which has total of 10 sessions with duration of last one hour and ten minutes. Each session consists different activities, including relaxation, physical exercises, personal activates, cognitive exercise, and recreational

Aline’s doctors gave the recommendation for occupational therapist three times a week for two weeks. After the set-up time the occupational therapist with the client decided for extension time for the therapy. The

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (2010) has defined occupational therapy as a “client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation” (p.1). I have defined occupational therapy as a process in which a therapist and a client form a therapeutic relationship in order to increase participation in meaningful and functional occupations. An occupation is any action that increases quality of life, supports self-maintenance, and supplements work and leisure activities. The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (2012) states that the focus of practice is maintaining a balance of person, occupation, and their environment in order to facilitate occupational performance. I have reached a similar conclusion that the focus of occupational therapy is to facilitate synergy between the client and their environment. The result of this synergy will be occupational performance. Occupational therapists are keen to the needs of the client as they relate to completing occupations within a given environment utilizing the client’s capabilities.