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Occupational Therapy Essay

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Occupational therapy has a major role with Cerebral Palsy patients as it is an important part of the intervention and treatment program. The main goal of occupational therapy is to ensure high quality living and independence for CP patients, so therapists may employ adaptive processes to help in performing different tasks. Occupational therapy can help with every day activities that patients need to learn for daily use such as dressing, eating, and hygiene. Therapists work on enhancing the physical, cognitive, and social abilities as well as fine motor skills and posture.

Daily tasks like hygiene and mobility may become very tough for cerebral palsy patient due to motor skills impairment which lead to limitation in movement. Occupational therapist assesses the child’s movements and coordination and recommends the child's individual needs that can help with motor impairment. For example, activities may include stretching and constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), which is treatment intervention that forces the use of the affected side of the body while restraining the unaffected side by using casts, gloves, mittens, and slings while the child is encouraged to receptively and intensively use the affected limb. Moreover, occupational therapist assesses the child’s cognitive functioning by testing the cerebral activities such as reasoning, attention, and memory. For a child with …show more content…

Parents and caregivers are being under stress and may face difficulties raising a child with cerebral palsy, so therapy enhance the child’s health, independence, and skills required within the environmental sets in order to reduce the pressure on them. Occupational therapists work with families and caregivers to determine the child’s needs and set goals that are important to the child and his/her

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