Occupational therapy works in a different manner than other types of therapy. In most other therapies like physiotherapy, speech therapist etc they work directly on you via medication or physical/mental treatment. Occupational therapy work by modifying your environment or how you interact with your environment. The main goal is to enable a person with a disability to complete everyday activities such as home care, working at a job and even leisure activities. So how exactly do they do this?
What are the goals?
OT will not come in a fix your life. No one can do that. What they can do is help a person get from point A to B. It is up to the person dealing with a disability and their family/caregiver to come up with what is most important for them that they currently cannot do. This can be finding an optimized way to get to/from work or figuring out how to modify a home so that it is functionally usable for a wheelchair user. Before speaking to an OT have a family conversation of what are the big ticket items needed to ensure an independent life.
Getting a baseline
Ok so you have talked with your new OT and explained your goals. Now what? Well, this is where OT begins to get to work. Stage one is getting to know the client (i.e. your loved one that suffers from a disability). This involves getting a baseline. Baseline has two parts. Part one is understanding the person. How does disability affect them in everyday life? What are things that they currently can or cannot do? Part two involves understanding the person’s environment. The environment can be the client’s home, work or just anywhere the client spends a lot of time. During the assessment process OT will speak with obviously the client but also family members, employers and anyone the client deals with on a regular basis (assuming the client has given consent to speak with them). OT will do visual inspection of how the client currently functions in their various environments.
Problem Solving:
So how exactly to OT solve a client’s problems? One method is through education. Let’s say a client works in a warehouse setting and suffers from a back injury. An OT might provide education on proper lifting techniques so the client won’t accident further injure their back while working. Education also does not stop at the client. For example, say a client is paraplegic and needs someone to help them from their wheelchair to their bed. This role may typically be done by the client caregiver or close family member. An OT would provide instruction and coach on proper technique to move the client to avoid injury for both the client and the primary caregiver. Another option available to OT is recommendation of tools. Going back to the example of the person with a back injury. OT can make recommendations on additional lifting devices, step ladder or back braces to help with the warehouse work. A third path an OT can take is modification of the environment. For example say a person is in a wheelchair and OT can help recommending furniture be moved to allow for clear wheelchair mobility within the home. The final way an OT can help and in my opinion one of the best is to link clients to community based services. For example a client with mobility needs might need help getting around. An OT can give a referral allowing for the client to become eligible for wheel trans access in Toronto.
How to get a OT
An OT sounds great! How the hell do I get one? First option is to hire one directly. Going on line and looking one up is probably the fast way to get one. However this is also the most expensive option. A standard OT in Toronto can run you about $100/hour minimum. However there are options for OHIP funded OT. If you have had a stay in hospital it may be part of your treatment plan. Another option would be to talk with your family doctor and have them make the referral for you. You can also look into LHIN or family health teams. Some of them have membership fees and some are free so do your research and find the system that works best for you. Below are helpful links to find OT’s within the Toronto area.
http://www.torontocentrallhin.on.ca/
Great, thanks for sharing this article post. Cool. Wini Skell Olathe