What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a person-centered health profession aimed at improving health and well-being through meaningful and purposeful activities.
Who is an Occupational Therapist?
An occupational therapist is someone who has graduated from the Occupational Therapy program at a university's Faculty of Health Sciences.
Who Can Occupational Therapists Work With? What Are Their Areas of Practice?
Occupational therapists can work with individuals who face difficulties participating in daily life. For example, they can work with:
- A child with autism who struggles with peer communication due to sensory sensitivities
- A child with ADHD who has difficulty focusing and thus is reluctant to study
- An adult with post-stroke hand impairments who struggles to maintain their roles
- An elderly person with dementia who confuses or forgets daily activities, leading to feelings of unhappiness and helplessness
Areas of Practice:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Neurological Rehabilitation
- Geriatric Rehabilitation
- Hand Rehabilitation
- Cognitive Rehabilitation
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Oncological Rehabilitation
- Vocational Rehabilitation
After graduation, occupational therapists determine their areas of practice based on their interests. For instance, if someone wishes to work with children, they may focus on individuals aged 0-14. My training and specialization thesis also pertain to children.
Is the Awareness of Occupational Therapy Sufficient in Our Country?
Since the opening of the Occupational Therapy Department at Hacettepe University in 2009, occupational therapists have started to be trained in our country. While occupational therapy is recognized as a new profession, its history is quite old. In the 1960s, occupational therapists were referred to as the "miracle of modern medicine." Over time, other specialists have begun to recognize the effects of occupational therapy. However, its awareness in our country has not yet reached the desired levels. Nevertheless, many specialists who refer clients to occupational therapists observe positive developments. Occupational therapists collaborate with other specialists, including doctors, child development specialists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, special education teachers, psychologists, and other relevant professionals. Effective communication and planned cooperation among these professionals yield better outcomes.
What Does an Occupational Therapist Aim For?
The goal of an occupational therapist is to enable individuals to participate in daily life with maximum independence. Identifying the factors that affect a person's participation is crucial for the occupational therapist.
How is the Occupational Therapy Process Determined?
For the occupational therapy process to progress effectively and healthily, proper assessment is vital. This assessment is conducted through observation, gathering information from caregivers, and using standardized tools.
- Individual: Struggling with participation in daily living activities.
- Activities of Difficulty: Identifying which activities are challenging.
- Reasons for Difficulty: Factors may include physical, environmental, or psychological aspects.
The analysis of the activity in which the individual is struggling is conducted.
Occupational therapists assess the individual within the biopsychosocial model, taking into account various problems that may affect activity participation (e.g., sensory profile, anxiety level, negative social factors). This holistic assessment provides a more accurate understanding. Following the evaluation, an intervention program is developed based on the expectations of the individual and caregivers, the therapist's observations, and data results. For instance, if the assessed individual is a child, the therapist will clearly and simply explain to the family the areas where support is needed and how they can provide that support. Family involvement is invaluable, as families contribute more actively to their child's daily life than any other professional. Therefore, effectively informing families about their child and how to support them is crucial. Similarly, families should communicate relevant information to professionals, emphasizing the importance of collaboration.
Individualized Intervention Plans
Occupational therapists create intervention plans tailored to each individual. The same intervention is not applied to everyone; each individual's progress rate will vary. In creating the intervention plan, meaningful and purposeful activities for the individual are employed. The chosen activities should appeal to the individual's age and interests and should be enjoyable for them. For children, play is often the meaningful and purposeful activity used, which is why pediatric occupational therapy rooms resemble play areas. Every toy we use has significance for both us and the child's development, as we utilize play as a tool in occupational therapy.
The Difference Between Sensory Integration and Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy is a health profession taught at the bachelor's level in universities' Health Sciences departments, while sensory integration is one approach within occupational therapy. If an occupational therapist identifies a sensory integration problem that affects a child's participation in daily life, they will use the sensory integration approach. Occupational therapists gain knowledge about sensory integration during their training, meaning they are practitioners of sensory integration, which is just one of the many approaches they may employ.
OT. Hande ÇELİK BERBEROĞLU
