8 Fun Facts About Occupational Therapy
1. Occupational therapists (OTs) help patients to participate in every day occupations. What’s an occupation, you ask? “Occupations” include all meaningful activities a person desires and needs to participate in for daily life, not only those done as paid employment.
For children, an occupation may include things like getting dressed, writing their name, carrying books to class or playing.
2. Occupational therapists are experts in activity analysis. We use our observation skills to evaluate all areas o a persons life, identifying personal and environmental strengths and obstacles that may interfere with performance. We then play detective to select the appropriate match of an individual treatment plan to best meet a persons needs to achieve optimal functional outcomes.
3. Work settings for OTs include early intervention, schools, hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, private practice, Chiropractic settings, home health care, and in/outpatient mental health facilities.
4. Occupational therapists are trained to work with a variety of diagnoses and conditions, including traumatic brain injury, autism spectrum disorder, stroke, cerebral palsy, burns, fractures, spinal cord injury, soft tissue tears, tendinitis, orthopedic impairments, sensory processing disorders, developmental delays and so much more. We help people in all stages, ages, diagnoses and functional levels.
5. Occupational therapy was founded in 1917, three years before women even had the right to vote.
6. Occupational therapists first established a role in pediatrics in 1919 – and have been helping children now for over 100 years.
7. Since 2007, occupational therapists must earn a Master’s degrees to become licensed therapists and practice. Advanced training and specialty practice areas include sensory integration, feeding, eating and swallowing, assistive technology, hippotherapy, aquatic therapy, hand therapy, seating and mobility, low vision and environmental modifications.
8. Occupational therapists treat the whole person, utilizing holistic approaches combined with scientific evidence-based practice and current research to provide comprehensive treatment and optimal functional outcomes.