Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists are often called OTs. They select and direct therapeutic activities designed to develop or restore maximum function to individuals with disabilities. The injured, ill, or disabled patients are appointed by occupational therapists through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. Occupational therapists work with a variety of patients in a variety of settings. Their duties include evaluating a patient’s condition and needs, developing a treatment plan for patients, helping people with various disabilities perform different tasks, demonstrating exercises, and assessing and recording a patients’ activities and progress for patient evaluations (“Occupational” Occupational ). Occupational therapist’s goal is to help a patient become as independent as possible. In the past, occupational therapists taught creative arts such as weaving, clay modeling, leatherwork, jewelry making, …show more content…
Currently, occupational therapists focus more on providing activities that are designed to promote skills needed in daily living, including self-care (“Occupational” Encyclopedia 620). They use a wide variety of activities to help clients attain their goals for productive, independent living (“Occupational” Encyclopedia 621). Patients are shown by an occupational therapist how to use appropriate adaptive equipment, such as leg braces, wheelchairs, and eating aids. With these devices, patients are able to perform a number of daily tasks more independently (“Occupational” Occupational). Although occupational and physical therapy both deal with physical factors, they are not the same (“Occupational” Encyclopedia 620-621).
Physical therapy is concerned with aiding patients that have physical disabilities or injuries to regain functions while occupational therapists work