What is Occupational Therapy?

By Kaitlyn Ehlers, MOT, OTR/L

Think about the things that occupy your time throughout the day and how meaningful they are to you. How would you feel if you could not get out of bed and get dressed in the morning, or go grocery shopping, garden or balance a checkbook?

For some people, these activities that seem basic are actually very difficult. However, occupational therapy (OT) can help.

Many people may not know what occupational therapy is. In fact, if you or someone close to you has not needed an occupational therapist, you probably would not know.

So, what is occupational therapy? Occupational therapy is a rehabilitative profession that addresses issues affecting an individual’s independence across their lifespan.

Occupational therapists can also help a patient work past limitations they might experience due to an event such as a stroke, surgery, accident, or health condition. We focus on what individuals find important in their daily lives and assist them with returning to those activities.

Occupational therapy can help a number of people. For example, people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis, and children with autism can all benefit from OT.

If you have COPD, you may have a hard time standing to cook a full meal. An occupational therapist can educate and instruct in ways to pace activities, to decrease fatigue throughout the day.

If you like to garden but have rheumatoid arthritis flare-ups that keep you inside, OTs can find ways to adapt tools in order to allow you to grasp them, and still engage in gardening through these flare-ups.

Occupational therapists also work with children with a multitude of difficulties, whether they have fine motor delays (difficulty tying shoes, buttoning buttons), problem-solving issues, coordination difficulties, or they are just a picky eater.

Sometimes autistic children are restrictive on the foods they will eat. It can come in many forms, including only eating a certain texture or color of food. Occupational therapists can introduce new foods to these individuals through a multi-sensory process.

This multi-sensory process includes steps in eating that most people take for granted. The first step for many of these food-adverse individuals includes looking at the food, then being close to it, then touching the food with different parts of the body (finger, arm, lips, tongue, etc.), and then, finally eating the food.

If you or someone you know suffers with trying to do basic activities after a stroke or other health related incident, occupational therapy might be an option for facilitating independence in their life.

Kaitlyn Ehlers is an occupational therapist who works for the TCMH Physical Therapy Department. Ehlers is accepting new patients. Call (417) 967-1201 to schedule an appointment or learn more.