Health Benefits Of Occupational Therapy

I have a strong academic background with studies in a variety of subjects, such as sciences, the arts, and my B.A. in Intercultural Studies. Over the years I have worked and volunteered with preschoolers, youth groups, the elderly, people of different ethnic backgrounds, and people with disabilities. I've worked hard to get here and with OT, it seems that my skills, experiences, and interests are coming together in a unique way. Going to school and getting the formal education needed to become a licensed therapist is the next step in achieving my goals. I am ready for the challenges of classroom and clinical training, and excited about going in depth with this study. I am eager to work on specialized skills that will help me better understand and assist people. I am looking forward to being part of a recognized profession with specific standards and practices. In the future, I hope to collaborate with clients, other specialists, family and community members, and to promote the profession. I'm enthusiastic about OT not just because I think it's a great career and a good fit for me, but also because it addresses major needs in our society. Everyone deserves the chance to participate in their desired activities and live their desired lifestyles. There is a growing demand for occupational therapy services, and I aspire to help in meeting that

Fundamentally, occupational therapy is about using meaningful activities to improve a person’s quality of life. It is the role of the therapist to meet people where they are in order to help them reach their fullest potential. Across the board, occupational therapy is about holistic functionality. That is, treating the whole person, not just a set of symptoms, in a way that is evidence-based and supported. Not a single component of the person is neglected; treatments take into account the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of the patient, while engaging them in the healing, therapeutic power of occupation.

Occupational therapy was founded on the principle that participation in meaningful activity is important to the health of individuals. Mental health is very important to the well-being of an individual and those around them. 450 million people experience mental and neurological disorders around the world. These disorders are the leading 5-10 causes of disability worldwide. As services for individuals with mental illness have shifted from the hospital to the community, there has also been a shift in the philosophy of service delivery. In the past, there was an adherence to the medical model; now the focus is on incorporating the recovery model. (2) Occupational therapy’s focus that taking part in engaging and meaningful activities benefits the mental well-being of the individual.

Occupational therapy is much more than enhancing activities of daily living to me. I see occupational therapy as helping people achieve daily freedom and making attainable goals to improve their physical and mental health while providing a professional relationship to encourage trust and reliability throughout treatment. Something as simple as tying shoes or being able to grab a fork to eat can make all the difference in the world to the patients an occupational therapist will treat. I have been working at a hand clinic since September and have seen that the small achievements like the tying of the shoes of the ability to bend the finger 10 more degrees puts a big smile on the faces of the patients and improves their outlook and demeanor towards their injury. Encouraging home exercise, helping with self cares, teaching writing skills and helping provide custom splints are all aspects that I have seen with my job and observation of occupational therapy as a whole. When I started my job at the hand clinic a therapist told me that the most basic occupational therapy explanation she could provide me is that occupational therapy is a way of helping others achieve a better level of daily living for things that they want and or need to do in life than when they sought help from therapy.

Occupational Therapy is a vital segment of the health care field. Individuals in this profession make a difference in the lives of others by helping their patients function effectively despite their disability, illness, or injury. They help by teaching patients many activities of daily living tasks which can include, grooming, toileting, dressing, eating, mobility, and much more! Along with the daily living tasks, Occupational Therapy helps individuals to be productive and successful in ways they want to be, like going school, taking care of others, managing their homes, preparing meals. Most importantly, they help their patients adapt to their environments and increase their independent function by helping them perform tasks with as little help from others as possible. Without Occupational Therapy, some patients with temporary disabilities could have a permanent disability. If individuals receive the Occupational treatments, they can prevent the loss of function.

Seeing and feeling like you have cured or helped someone is a very rewarding feeling. Occupational therapists fall under the health science career cluster. OT’s help troubled patients with their fine motor skills through therapeutic activities.

A second reason for a client to need occupational therapy is due to an illness. Severe illnesses like cancer leaves the client with little energy for leisure, social, or work-related tasks after just doing some daily activities. Occupational therapy practitioners are experts with the knowledge of how to modify activities and environments to allow individuals to do the activities they want and need to do to maintain quality of life. The role of occupational therapy is, “to facilitate and enable an individual patient to achieve maximum functional performance, both physically and psychologically, in everyday living skills regardless of his or her life expectancy” (Newman, “The Role of Occupational Therapy in Oncology.”)

Occupational therapy is an interesting discipline which has its roots in just about every other form of therapy and medicine. Many aspects of occupational therapy are seen in everyday life, yet go unnoticed because of how commonplace they are in our society. When I thought of occupational therapy, before doing research, I thought of specialized equipment such as a modified spoon to help a person who had suffered a stroke can feed themselves once again. This happens to be only one of many skills that occupational therapists employ to assist patients. They also work closely with other medical professionals to give the best care possible to their patients. Throughout this paper I will discuss more in depth what occupational therapists do

As an international student from Taiwan, chances are I already carry different perspectives in terms of what role of an Occupational Therapist is in our daily life or what specialty an Occupational Therapist should possess, let alone the cultural difference. For example, there is a phenomenon, at least in Taiwan, where many people treat medical personnel like a babysitter and lack the ability to distinguish medical personnel’s specialty. As I pursue OT degree with such background, I believe I can enrich the program, and even the entire OT field, by unveiling the issues, taking Taiwan as the reflection, that other countries might undergo likewise or confront someday; the profession can be enhanced by exploring both common and new issues.

Before I started Introduction to Occupational Therapy (OT), I had a vague understanding of what I thought it encompassed, but only on an aspect of some of the services provided. I had an understanding that OT was used to assist people in regaining abilities to help them out in there life where they were having a problem. By this I only understood the problems to be from a recent surgery, or medical problem encountered, such as a stroke. I did not know about the history of OT practices or about any of the organizational structuring within OT. Through this first unit, I have been able to learn how OT is utilized for not only the most identifiable problem it seems a person may be experiencing, but how OT is utilized on a holistic approach to help

Occupational therapy is a field that involves the characteristics of patience, compassion, and sensitivity; all of which I deeply value and have attained from my past

Children with CP may experience decreased sensation or a limited understanding of how the brain interprets what it sees. Occupational therapists may plan and implement sensory-perceptual-motor (SPM) training for children with CP who have sensory impairments so that they learn to take in, understand, plan and produce organized behavior. The SPM training improves the daily, functional abilities of people with CP. Occupational therapists may also use verbal instructions and supplementary visual input, such as visual cues, to help children with CP learn and carry out activities.

The score I got for occupational is 25 I still think that I needed improvement because you want to try and get your occupation as close to perfect so you could get a high-end job and be good in your work field too. Some ways that I can help improve my personal growth for my future career job is by talking to my parents and seeing what they will have to say and take all of the information and breaking it down also put it in my own words after. Also, just getting myself out there in my industry so that I will have a better change of getting the dream job and helping people improve their lifestyles by eating healthy and training hard so that they can reach their goals and I think that everyone on the earth has a propose in life to give knowledge

Occupational therapy is a therapeutic approach that promotes the health, well-being, and spirit of every individual regardless of diagnosis or disability. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process text (2014), defines occupational therapy as, “the therapeutic use of everyday life activities (occupations) with individuals or groups for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation in roles, habits, and routines in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings” (pg. 1). Ever since the 20th century, occupational therapy has focused on the individual on a holistic approach, that encompasses all of the individual (2012, pg. 17). Occupational therapy is client-centered that focuses on the whole individual

One of the important aspect of Occupational Therapy is to write goals that are attainable, measureable and related to client’s need. As an OT, we assess patient’s needs, make clinical judgments and use clinical reasoning to write goals that are important for the patient’s to attain their occupation. As a COTA, I only have chance to update goals that were written by my OT. However, with each passing semester we had many opportunities to practice and write goals that has helped sharpen my writing skills. I feel more confident and understand the process of writing goals better. It has undeniably helped me refine my professional skills. I continue to learn and take advantage of every opportunity to assist my OT during goal writing in my workplace.