Occupational therapy (OT) is a profession within healthcare. It is the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations of an individual. OT practitioners have a holistic perspective, in which the focus is on adapting the environment to fit the person, and the person is an integral part of the therapy team. Occupational therapy is the art and science of helping people do the day-to-day activities that are important and meaningful to their health and well-being through engagement in valued occupations.
The occupational therapist often collaborates with people with impairments, disabilities, mental health problems, injuries. An occupational therapist helps people across their lifespan to participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in home, school, and in other social situations, injury rehabilitation, and providing support for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. Occupational therapists often work out close with pediatricians, physiatrists, speech therapists, audiologists, psychologists, physiotherapists, and rehabilitation nurses.
IMPORTANCE OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Occupational therapy focuses on making an individual as independent as possible to his physiological and cognitive levels. It helps with the obstructions that affect a person's emotional, social, and physical needs.
OT helps kids play and improve their school performance and promotes their daily activities. They help in enhancing the children's self-esteem, self-confidence and provide them a sense of accomplishment.
BENEFITS OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Improves individual's independence.
Improvement in Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Individuals can master the basic life skills such as brushing, toileting, bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, and drinking.
Improvement in sensory processing problems.
Improvement in cognition (attention, thinking, problem solving, memory, etc.).
Improvement in motor skills - gross and fine motor skills.
Improvement in eye hand coordination so they can play and do necessary school skills.
Learn positive behaviors and social skills by practicing how they manage frustration and anger.
Improvement in visual skills (processing and perception).
Get adaptive strategies, equipment, and home modifications.
Caregiver training.
NEED FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Birth injuries or birth defects
Birth injury is damage that occurs as a result of physical pressure during the birthing process, usually during transit through the birth canal. Many newborns have minor injuries during birth. Infrequently, nerves are damaged or bones are broken.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person's life. It affects how a person acts and interacts with others, communicates, and learns. It includes what used to be known as Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorders.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood.It includes a combination of persistent problems, such as difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior.
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a problem that affects muscle tone, movement, and coordination. It is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. It is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain that affects a person's ability to control his or her muscles.
Intellectual disability (ID)
Intellectual disability is a term used when a person has certain limitations in cognitive functioning and skills, including communication, social and self-care skills. Intellectual disability affects about 1% of the population, and of those, about 85% have a mild intellectual disability. Males are more likely than females to be diagnosed with intellectual disability.
Sensory processing disorders
Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a condition that affects how your brain processes sensory information (stimuli). Children with sensory processing disorder have difficulty processing information from the senses (touch, movement, smell, taste, vision, and hearing) and responding appropriately to that information.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
ADD is the term commonly used to describe symptoms of inattention, distractibility, and poor working memory.
Symptoms of ADD
Being easily distracted.
Forgetfulness.
Losing personal items such as keys or books.
Not paying attention to details.
Problems staying organized.
Short attention span.
Down syndrome
Down syndrome is a condition in which a baby is born with an extra chromosome. A genetic chromosome 21 disorder causing developmental and intellectual delays.
Developmental delays
A developmental delay refers to a child who has not gained the developmental skills expected of him or her, compared to others of the same age. The most common developmental disability is intellectual disability. Cerebral palsy is the second most common developmental disability, followed by autism spectrum disorder.
Traumatic injuries to brain and spinal cord
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a disruption of the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury. Traumatic brain injury usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body. An object that goes through brain tissue, such as a bullet or shattered piece of skull, also can cause traumatic brain injury.
Learning problems
It is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors.
Muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. In muscular dystrophy, abnormal genes (mutations) interfere with the production of proteins needed to form healthy muscle.
Types of Muscular Dystrophy
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Becker Muscular Dystrophy.
Congenital Muscular Dystrophy.
Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy.
Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy.
Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy.
Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy.
Distal Muscular Dystrophy
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of arthritis affecting children. It is a swelling of the joints that is characterized by heat and pain. Arthritis can be short-term, lasting just a few weeks or months and then disappearing - or it may be chronic and last for months, years or even a lifetime.
Mental health or behavioral problems
Mental Health concerns include psychiatric disorders and other problems with mental and social well-being such as problems with adjustment, anxiety, depression, coping, behavior etc. Behavioral disorders involve a pattern of disruptive behaviors in children that last for at least 6 months and cause problems in school, at home and in social situations.
Orthopaedic injuries
Orthopedic injuries include any injury to the musculoskeletal system. Often, these injuries relating to the bones and joints are a result of an accident or trauma to the body.
Most Common Orthopedic Injuries
Torn Meniscus
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Torn Rotator Cuff.
Plantar Fasciitis.
Torn ACL.
Tennis Elbow.
Ankle and Foot Sprains.
Stress Fractures.
Post - surgical conditions
Surgery is an invasive intervention in a patient's body. It is performed by a surgeon. The reason for surgery varies from an injury, aesthetic surgery or other reasons. The condition post-surgery is affected by both the success of the surgery itself and by post-operative care.
Burns
A burn is an injury to the skin or other organic tissue primarily caused by heat or due to radiation, radioactivity, electricity, friction or contact with chemicals.
Spina bifida
Spina bifida is a condition that affects the spine and is usually apparent at birth. It is a type of neural tube defect (NTD). Spina bifida can happen anywhere along the spine if the neural tube does not close all the way.
Cancer
Cancer is a disease in which some of the body's cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. Cancer can start almost anywhere in the human body, which is made up of trillions of cells.
Head injuries
A head injury is any trauma to the scalp, skull, or brain. The injury may be only a minor bump on the skull or a serious brain injury. It can be either closed or open
Communication problems
Communication problems are usually seen in co-relation with other disorders like autism, developmental delay etc. Being an effective communicator is important to be self-reflective because this allows you to modify your behavior so you can more effectively communicate your thoughts and ideas.
Behaviour disorder
Occupational therapists help with barriers that affect a person's emotional, social, and physical needs. It involve a pattern of disruptive behaviors in children that last for at least 6 months and cause problems in school, at home and in social situations.
Visual/ Auditory Problems
Deafblindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss that affects a person's ability to communicate, access information and get movement.
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)
Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is the medical term for a stroke. A stroke is when blood flow to a part of your brain is stopped either by a blockage or the rupture of a blood vessel.
At Dr.KMH the following services and interventions are offered,
Early Intervention
In early intervention, our occupational therapist promote the function and engagement of infants and tod- dlers and their families in everyday routines by addressing areas of occupation, including activities of daily living, rest and sleep, play, education, and social participation.
Play Therapy
The primary goal of play therapy is to help children who might struggle with expressing themselves or their emotions to express themselves through play. Our therapist will guide a person through play therapy in a free and safe environment where they feel most comfortable expressing themselves
ADL training
Individuals typically seek occupational therapy intervention when they are unable to carry out tasks that are important to them in their day-to-day lives. These activities of daily living (ADLs) can include grooming, dressing, feeding, toileting, bathing, or transferring from surface to surface.
IADL training
INSTRUMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING (IADLs) Activities to support daily life within the home and community that often require more complex interactions than those used in ADLS.
Sensory integration therapy
Sensory integration involves perceiving, modulating, organiz- ing, and interpreting the sensations to optimize occupational performance and participation.
Motor skill training
Motor Skill training is about improving fine motor and gross motor skills. Occupational therapist works on improving the ability to musculature with appropriate strength, dexterity, and coordination
Cognitive therapy
It is relatively short-term form of psychotherapy based on the concept that the way we think about things affects how we feel emotionally. Cognitive therapy focuses on present thinking, behavior, and communication rather than on past experiences and is oriented toward problem solving
Occupations and activities
Occupations are various kinds of life activities in which individuals, groups, or populations engage, including activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation.
Interventions to support occupations
Occupation-based interventions are defined as activities that support performance in the areas of occupation: ADLs, instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation
Neurodevelopmental treatment(NDT)
NDT is a holistic approach used by multiple disciplines to help in the development of children with neurological conditions, such as cerebral palsy. OTs use NDT strategies and therapeutic handling techniques to promote functional movement.
Education and training
Occupational therapy, use of self-care and work and play activities to promote and maintain health, prevent disability, increase independent function, and enhance development. Occupation includes all the activities or tasks that a person performs each day.
Advocacy
The role of advocacy for occupational therapists is to share the distinct value of occupational therapy, speak out to achieve reform in healthcare policies, and help patients receive needed services when they encounter obstacles.
Social skill training (SST)
Social skills training (SST) is a type of behavioral therapy used to improve social skills in people with mental disorders or developmental disabilities.It focuses on the social participation and exploration of the individuals
Communication training
Communication skills in OT are fluid and can always be improved upon. Being an effective communicator is important to be self-reflective because this allows you to modify your behavior so you can more effectively communicate your thoughts and ideas.
Writing skills training
Writing skills are specifics abilities which help individuals to put their thoughts into words to form meaningful sentence.
Feeding intervention
Feeding intervention is to ensure that the child can eat safely without choking or getting food in their airway (aspirating). It also focuses on healthy eating patterns and routine of the children.
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