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Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is a key component in proper recovery. After a serious injury or illness, people can experience loss of their fine motor skills and mobility. All the daily activities, like making the bed or putting clothes on is not something we think about when we are healthy. But, for those recovering from a serious disease or an injury, particularly stroke, they have to re-learn these basic abilities to live a normal life. This is a detailed guideline on occupational therapy and what patients can expect.

Table of Contents

What is Occupational Therapy ?

This therapy is designed to help patients restore their gross motor skills, regain their independence, and improve the way they complete their daily activities. That means helping patients get back their competence to prepare a meal, take medications, care better for themselves, their pet, or child.

One of the most common interventions includes regaining fine motor skills activity, improving quality of life, supporting cognitive and physical changes, and aiding children with disabilities to develop social and school skills.

How Does Occupational Therapy Affect Quality of Life ?

This type of therapy takes on a holistic approach, in which its main purpose is to adapt a task or the environment to fit the patient. Its primary goal is rehabilitation to enhance the patient’s ability to do basic things in life. That includes anything from bathing, drinking, eating, grooming, moving, etc.

The various therapy programs can help relieve the pain, disease, injury, or disability that hinders your ability to live your life to the fullest—therefore making it easier to complete everyday activities such as chores, self-care, homework, projects, etc.

In other words, it teaches the body to adapt and helps with building fine motor skills that allow you to perform any mundane or fun activities.

Different Types of Occupational Therapy

Since this form of treatment is tailored for patients of all ages, the therapy programs will heavily depend on the client’s needs. That includes the following therapies:

What does an Occupational Therapist Do ?

OT specialists are trained to give patients strategies, adaptation guidelines, physical activities, helping tools, and environment adjustments.
They observe, plan, intervene, and cooperate with their patients to determine the best approach for restoring fine motor skills activity. That includes helping with a wide scope of psychological, neurological, and physical difficulties.

Therapists working with occupational therapy observe a patient to detect any impairments with their hand-eye coordination, motor skills, or mental health.

Simply put, they will check a patient’s home for any hazards that may interfere with their everyday activities. They will then advise patients on how to make their living space safer and more secure for recovery.

Aside from physical interferences, therapists can also analyze social problems. They can evaluate the type of support a patient gets from the family and how willing they are to lend a hand.

If a patient has difficulties at work, therapists can plan different ways to help a client select goals, activities, or tactics to better handle their situation. Such therapies can include activities for developing fine motor skills, memory games, or adaptive techniques that will compensate for all the impairments.

What Kind of Assistive Devices Can a Therapist Recommend ?

After careful analysis and observation, an OT therapist can consider using assistive devices to help patients overcome specific difficulties.

Depending on the health problem, traumatic injury, or illness, the therapist can recommend:

  • Hearing aids
  • Restroom aids
  • Mobility helpers (walkers, wheelchair, crutches, etc.)
  • Screen radars
  • Environment management aid
  • Vision aid, etc.

The right choice of aid will be a valuable asset to a healthy recovery. It can help patients get back their independence and benefit from the long-term effects. However, once a patient has received these assistive devices, they must take good care of them.

Inappropriate use will only prolong the problems, and any mistreatment can be very expensive to fix. That’s why it’s very important to make the most of these devices.

Can Occupational Therapy Help With Child’s Development ?

The earliest years of a child’s development are packed with new experiences and stimulations that can impact their social skills, cognitive functions, and physical development of their small muscles. If a child needs help to develop properly, occupational therapy can be useful.

Parents can try Early Intervention therapy programs, which are meant to provide aid for young children with disabilities or those who are vulnerable to developing them. Children with autism or Down syndrome or other specific conditions can benefit from these treatment programs.

For a child experiencing mental or physical delays in development, this therapy can restore their sensory processing, cognitive, motor, and social skills. The main focus of the therapy is to minimize the probability of delay and speed up the development process. Not only is it useful for meeting the child’s basic needs, but it’s also good for giving them confidence and helping them feel happy.

But, every therapy session will be tailored to a specific individual, that includes the child’s health state, their siblings, and family. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), families are a key component in the therapy process.

How Can Occupational Therapy Aid With Certain Challenges ?

Children with specific difficulties need frequent occupational therapy. One such health problem that affects their motor skills is known as dyspraxia, which makes coordination more difficult. Therapists can use a range of different activities to improve these skills.

One such example is the activity that teaches children to use tweezers to pick up a certain item. Another example is jumping jacks or obstacle courses. Exercises such as these are effective in improving hand-dominance and boost the child’s fine motor skills.

OT can be helpful for sensory processing in children who’ve trouble reacting to taste, smell, or touch. If a child figures out, they can’t use sensory information the same way other children do, and they are more likely to overreact and result in meltdowns. In cases such as these, a therapist may suggest a unique diet. With a mix of exercises and diet, children can develop the sensory input necessary for healthy development.

In other words, occupational therapy can be useful for children with dysgraphia, dyslexia, visual difficulties, or those who have trouble completing basic things in life.

Who Should Get Occupational Therapy ?

This form of therapy can be useful for a wide range of people. If you are struggling to complete even the most mundane things in life, then you might need it. For people who experience any of these health difficulties, it’s a good idea to consult an occupational therapist. These include:

For the younger generation, children with ADHD, birth defects, serious injuries, autism, and arthritis, it may be a good idea to book therapy.

Why is Occupational Therapy important ?

Occupational therapy can be immensely useful for helping people re-learn to do the basic things in life. It can help anyone from a very young age, as children, to the more older generation.

Anyone with mental health difficulties, physical, learning disabilities can benefit from this form of therapy. The goal of this therapy is to help patients achieve maximum independence capability so that they can integrate into society, work, or their family.

Whether the patient needs to re-learn, learn, or facilitate their cognitive or motor skills, the therapy can help them overcome these boundaries so they can enjoy a normal life as much as possible. All of the efforts can eventually pay off and help patients adapt to their environment more effectively.

Why Cambridge?

Cambridge Medical & Rehabilitation Center is the specialized provider for Long-term Care and rehabilitation services in the United Arab Emirates. With 2 main facilities in Abu Dhabi & Al Ain, which are designed in a rehabilitation and long-term care hospital with a capacity of 90 beds each.

Cambridge provides an interdisciplinary clinical approach for Occupational Therapy which is customized for adults, adolescents, and children. The best rehabilitation services are not only our goal but our ultimate objective is to customize the care plan for each patient and make sure that the patient’s family and their members are integrated into the treatment plan.

Either you joined Abu Dhabi hospital or Al Ain hospital for any kind of our rehabilitation services or even for long-term care you will feel as if you are at #Your Second Home.