What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy (OT) is a health profession that empowers people of all ages to overcome barriers in their everyday lives so they can do all the activities they want and need to do.
OTs believe that people experience life to the fullest through the things they enjoy everyday – play, work, school, home, & community. Through a collaborative, client-led approach OTs help people understand their strengths and develop the skills needed to reach their activity (occupational) goals.
OTs have a wide lens to support people reaching their goals. By examining the person, activity, and/or environment the OT is able to understand where the challenges are and develop recommendations and goals that are individualized. OTs are able to support physical, mental, emotional, and cognitive health as well as assess environmental/societal/systemic barriers impacting an individual’s overall health and wellbeing.
OTs can assist in maintaining function, regain skills, develop new skills, or compensate for various challenges.
This can be attained through a wide variety of ways:
1-to-1 or group therapy
Home programming
Teaching new skills or ways of doing things
Prescribing products/equipment/technology
Making changes within the environment
Consulting with families, caregivers, friends, school and community
System navigation – accessing community resources or other healthcare providers as needed.
At the end of the day, OTs are hear to support you become the best you possible! We are your champion!
Assessment
The goal of our Occupational Therapy assessments are to determine both an individual’s occupational strengths and areas for improvement. The assessment process varies depending on areas of concern, and your Occupational Therapist may use formal (standardized testing) or informal (observation; questionnaires; play-based activities) to evaluate an individual’s occupational therapy skills – play, leisure, work, school, community and home needs. .
Following an assessment, the Occupational Therapist will work with the individual or individual’s family to determine which areas to target in treatment. Treatment goals will be agreed upon by client, family and OT prior to treatment.
Treatment
As a follow up to your assessment, treatment is typically provided at regular intervals (weekly, biweekly, or monthly) for a period of time (that has been agreed upon in advance). During treatment, we will work on the goals that were identified during the initial assessment.
Consultation & Training
Families with specific concerns may request consultation services. This allows you to receive specific recommendations for interventions that they can implement between their regular treatment sessions.
Training sessions may also be requested (e.g., for school boards, organizations, etc.) for any of our treatment areas. Please inquire for more information.
