Pros And Cons Of Occupational Therapy

The profession of occupational therapy is often mistaken for a job in which the therapist is a career counselor. This is the exactly what my dad had thought when I told him that I wanted to pursue a career in occupational therapy. I explained to him that occupational therapists are not concerned with career counseling; instead, they are focused on daily activities that give meaning to live. The goal of occupational therapy is to help patients regain or develop skills that are necessary for the activities of daily living. Occupational therapists have the option to work in a variety of settings including hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation centers, schools, and with patients in their own homes.

Growing up, I have been an individual who has pushed myself beyond the minimum requirements in order to succeed. In high school I excelled in both academics and athletics. I graduated in the top 10% of my class and lettered in hockey and tennis my sophomore, junior, and senior year. I worked hard and put in extra time in order to set myself apart from others. Succeeding in both school and athletics made me a responsible, reliable, and an organized individual. These experiences made me a versatile individual and have given me a work ethic that has benefited me with my academics in college and with my work and volunteer experiences.

As an Occupational Therapy Assistant, I will work alongside an Occupational Therapist and work directly with patients. The difference between an OT and an OTA is that OT’s set up treatment plans and perform medical assessments while OTA’s carry out the treatment plans with the patients. In volunteering at rehab clinics, I’ve learned that Occupational Therapists often spend much of their time dealing with paperwork while OTA’s are performing more hands on work with people. Their day includes helping patients in performing rehabilitative exercises within a treatment plan. Occupational Therapy Assistants help people to regain their ability to perform activities of daily living, or ADL’s. These are the core aspects which

My personal experience with Occupational therapy is watching my grandpa go through it; he had fallen in a parking lot and had sustained a traumatic brain injury. He had surgery but then had a long road of recovery ahead of him. He had gone from not being able to get out of a chair to being able to hold a toothbrush and brushing his teeth again over a few months. I would go visit him and would watch the occupational therapists work with him so he could gain some of his independence back. They would help show him tools to make things like putting on his socks easier for him. Once he was home he still needed to do exercises like walking, so I would put the gait belt on him and walk with him so he would not get hurt again. He also developed Parkinson’s and dementia so there were times that he struggled with understanding what to do so I have also had experience working with the mental aspect. Working with him and watching him recover is such a great and rewarding feeling and I want to experience that with my career. I know becoming an Occupational Therapist Assistant is what I am meant to

Occupational Therapist – Works with people with disabilities to achieve as much independence as possible. They assess the need for any equipment e.g. Wheelchairs, and walking aids. The OT at school monitors and assesses the needs of individual pupils. They provide equipment and advise on activities. One pupil was having postural problems and the OT provided a moulded cushion for his use which greatly improved his posture.

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.

I chose occupational therapy as a career for many reasons. I feel fulfilled when I help others. I want to enjoy my job and not work for money. Moreover, I want to help patients reach their goals because the outcomes make me feel proud. When my brother was little, he had a hard time grasping the pen to write. An Occupational Therapist used to come to our house a few times a week. I would see the therapist try to help my brother write. My mother recently told me that when I was younger, I said, "I want to be just like that therapist."

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.

An Occupational Therapist is a individual that can evaluate, develop, and help people regain and maintain daily living skills. Occupational Therapist work with people that have physical, mental and developmental conditions. The goal of the Therapist is to offer intervention that focus on teaching skills and helping the patient as well as the family on how to adapt and strengthen themselves so that they might be able to overcome physical obstacles. Occupational Therapist work with other health professionals in speech therapy, nursing, physical therapy and social work to ensure that the patients course of treatment aligns with the other areas.

Many times when a people think of an occupational therapist, they might think of a career counselor and personality tests. They might think of a therapist telling that this job would be “the perfect fit with their personality”. But that is far from what occupational therapy is. Occupational Therapist work with people recover and learn skills that are valuable to be part of society. Occupational therapists work with all age groups of people. They work with people who need assistance due to serious health problems (stroke heart attack amputation), delay in growth (mainly in children), or pyschological problems (Alzhemier’s, PTSD) (“Modern occupational thereapy”). They teach patients the

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.

Occupational Therapy is a type of therapy that works on everyday skills like writing and reading, and also they help with kids who need assistance walking and talking. Most occupational therapists can be found in schools, doctors, and hospitals. Their goal is to help kids live a better and more effective life. School occupational therapist, like the one I am job shadowing, she works with mostly with young special needs children ages ranging 4 to 6 years old. Occupational therapy can be found with all ages ranging from young to old. I personally would love to pursue a career as an occupational therapist that works with smaller kids and special needs kids in schools.

Developmental Therapy Developmental therapy is a profession that precisely looks at how children develop during the most substantial period of development from birth through 5 years (Health School Guide, 2016). Developmental therapists measure a child’s global development and identify specific areas of need and strength (Health School Guide, 2016). The aspects that developmental therapist look for in children include cognitive skills, language and communication, social-emotional skills and behavior, gross and fine motor skills, and self-help skills (Health School Guide, 2016). Furthermore, they develop play activities aimed to help a child overcome their encounters and improve the quality of their interactions in order to help them gain

Occupational therapy combines my two loves the medical field and working with special needs children. While being employed in the school system as an occupational therapist, I will be interacting and working with many different people on a daily basis. We will all be considered part of the support staff and will work together to help the children achieve their goals. I will also be keeping the parents updated on a weekly basis of their child’s progress, along with attending each child’s IEP (individual education plan) conference. Becoming an occupational therapist is a very long and hard journey. During the process I will be taking many difficult classes, learning about numerous disabilities, taking lots of tests, learning how to use adaptive

An occupational therapist is a trained and licensed health care professional who can make a complete evaluation of the impact of disease on the activities of the patient at home and in work situations. Hobbies and recreational activities are considered when an assessment is made. The most generally accepted definition of occupational therapy is that it is an activity, physical or mental, that aids in a patient’s recovery from disease or injury.