OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Occupational therapists usually focus on functional activities and provide the following services to rehabilitation patients:

þ      Evaluate and train the patient in self-care activities (e.g. dressing, eating, bathing, and personal hygiene) to maximize independence. Teach the patient how to use orthoses or adaptive equipment, which may be fabricated by the therapist, when necessary. Teach wheelchair transfer techniques for home and community use (e.g. wheelchair to toilet).

þ      Train the patient in home management skills, presenting simpler modified methods to minimize fatigue and conserve energy

þ      Explore vocational skills and avocational interests. Work with the vocational counsellor when a change in employment or further education is anticipated

þ      Aid in maintaining and improving joint range of motion (ROM), muscle strength, endurance, coordination, and dexterity, particularly the upper extremities

þ      Evaluate and train the patient to compensate for sensory, perceptual, and cognitive deficits as they relate to function

þ      Evaluate the home and suggest modifications to provide a barrier-free environment

þ      Evaluate the patient’s skills within the community and train the patient in modified strategies and the use of equipment when necessary

þ      Assess predriving and driving behaviors and abilities and retrain when necessary, using appropriate assistive devices

þ      Educate the patient’s family by demonstrating techniques designed to maintain patient independence and to minimize overprotection

þ      Train the patient in the functional use of upper extremity prostheses

þ      Evaluate and train patients in the use of assistive technology systems (e.g. environmental controls and computer systems) and the ability to operate switches to access high technology assistive devices

þ      Train patients or significant others in the maintenance of equipment

þ      Evaluate and manage dysphagia in collaboration with speech language pathologists and nurses