The Many Roles of an Occupational Therapist

By: Megan Setlock, MS, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist

Occupational Therapists are an important and valued part of the interdisciplinary team at Sheltering Arms. Learn more about how these professionals help patients every day.

What is Occupational Therapy?

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association website, “Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health and prevent, or live better with, injury, illness, or disability.”

Did You Know?

1. Occupational therapists work to assess and improve one’s ability to complete Activities of Daily Living, also known as ADLs. ADLs are the basic self-care tasks that a person completes on a daily basis. Some examples of ADLs include grooming, bathing, dressing, toileting, and feeding.
2. Occupational therapists also work to assess and improve one’s ability to complete Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, also known as IADLs. IADLs are the complex skills and occupations that a person must complete in order to safely and successfully live on his/her own. Some examples of IADLs include managing finances and medication, driving or navigating public transportation, shopping, cooking, household maintenance, and pet care.
3. Occupational therapists play an important role in improving one’s upper extremity strength and overall function. They may do this through the use of hands-on techniques, therapeutic taping, fabricating and fitting of splints, use of equipment and technology, use of adaptive equipment and strategies, etc.
4. When appropriate, occupational therapists play an important role in evaluating and providing interventions and training to improve one’s safety awareness and functional cognition. Unbeknownst to many people, occupational therapists also play an important role in psychiatric settings, working with patients and providing training and strategies to manage their illness and reintegrate back into the community if possible.
5. Occupational therapists can help individuals with low vision deficits. They have access to a variety of assessments, low vision tools and devices, adaptive techniques, and home modifications that can be used to promote patient safety and independence.
6. Occupational therapists can evaluate for driving risks. With specialized training, an occupational therapist can become a driving rehabilitation specialist and provide behind-the-wheel interventions to educate clients on techniques and strategies, and recommend adaptive devices/vehicle modifications to ensure safety when behind the wheel.
7. Occupational therapists are trained to complete an extensive activity analysis to evaluate, create a plan of care, and improve various deficits and limitations to promote social participation, safety, and independence while patients are engaged in their daily occupations. Examples of some elements OTs assess include vision, communication and comprehension, functional standing tolerance and balance, gross and fine motor control and coordination, muscular and cardiovascular endurance, safety awareness, strength, and functional cognition (such as attention, problem-solving, and memory).

At Sheltering Arms Occupational Therapy Centers, patients can expect to receive sixty to ninety minutes of OT treatment as part of their comprehensive therapy each day.