April is Occupational Therapy Month. Home Therapy Austin offers an outstanding team of four Occupational Therapists (OT) and we celebrate their value during this month dedicated to recognizing the field of Occupational Therapy. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, “in its simplest term Occupational Therapy is the work designed to help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations).” According to Wikipedia, the role of the Occupational Therapist is to…..use purposeful activities or interventions to promote health, prevent injury or disability and which develop, improve, sustain or restore the highest possible of independence.

Occupational Therapy is often misunderstood and underutilized. I frequently say that many people only think about Physical Therapy when creating a home-based, therapy care plan for a senior but, it is the profession of Occupational Therapy that is designed to integrate the home in the treatment plan and is the discipline most focused on getting the senior to the point of functionally using the environment safely.

Home Therapy Austin was created to focus on rehabilitation. We recruit and retain experienced and exceptionally trained therapists from all three disciplines---Occupational, Speech and Physical Therapy---to work closely together and with nursing, social work, dieticians and home health aides to offer comprehensive and coordinated care. The Occupational Therapist is often the critical link in the coordination of care. After an initial assessment of the ability of the senior to perform activities of daily living, the OT will develop a treatment plan with the goal of enhancing the abilities to function safely in daily life. Often times, the environment will be adapted or the use of adaptive equipment will be incorporated. Completing tasks independently, with greater ease and with an emphasis on safety are the general goals of our Occupational Therapy program.

On any given day, you will find our Occupational Therapists, evaluating homes for ways to reduce safety risks, assisting a senior find a way to complete tasks in ways that make them less of a risk for falls, working on safely bathing, cooking, dressing and grooming. Perhaps, the work is with a Parkinson’s patient and is focused on improvement in handwriting so that person can continue to manage his/her own finances or facilitating the procurement of a shower chair or other adaptive equipment that allows the senior the opportunity to be independent or the therapy may be related to low vision and the OT assists the senior compensated for the loss of vision due to macular degeneration, cataracts, or diabetic retinopathy. What ever the issues and the goals, Occupational Therapy works on preserving dignity while keeping the senior safe and functional in the home. What a wonderful profession.

Katie, Alyssa, Ryan and Jennifer, the Home Therapy OT team….we salute you!

For more information about Occupational Therapy visit, www.aota.org. For information about Medicare eligibility requirements for OT, please contact Home Therapy Austin. Or, if you would like to talk with an OT please call and we will connect you with one of our licensed Occupational Therapists for a first hand conversation.