So who might use a professional therapy practitioner?
As per the guidelines issued by AOTA, children with various types of disability require the help of a professional occupational therapist from time to time. There are many kids who are born with some defects or who receive some kind of injury during their birth. The therapists help these kids to overcome their difficulties with various types of activities. Even the kids who have some sensory processing defects or integrative disorders can take the guidance of an occupational therapist. People suffering from brain or/spinal cord injuries also suffer from major mental setback. They sometimes find it really difficult to accept them in the particular situation and feel that everything has come to an end. Here, these therapists play a major role in helping them to accept the present situation and also guides them to accept life as a challenge. Kids suffering from some form of learning disability and autism also benefit from the therapists. The therapists also provide support to people suffering from pervasive development disorders. Children suffering from rheumatoid arthritis can also take professional help from the therapists.
Occupational therapists play an important role in curing, to some extent, a patient’s mental health and any behavioural problems. They engage them in various types of activities through which they can overcome their flaw. Many kids suffer from development delays, i.e. their development is slow as per the development of the kids belonging to the same group. These kids are then guided by the therapists. People suffering from spina bifida, cancer and high percentage burns suffer from major mental setback. This setback can be overcome with regular sitting with the therapist. Sometimes people find it really difficult to come to terms with life after a major operation (which might be in the form of an amputation or a severe injury). Here, again these Occupational therapists offer their services and guidance to help them to follow the normal routine that they might have been following prior to their operation. Even people suffering multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and other chronic illnesses can benefit from the guidelines provided by these therapists.
To meet a child’s need a therapist can focus on working on the fine motor skills of the child. Proper functioning of this skill helps the child in developing a good handwriting. Through this skill the child learn the effective way of holding as well releasing a toy. The kids are also guided to improve hand and eye co-ordination with the help of various playing activities. These activities might include copying from the blackboard, hitting a target or batting a ball.
An occupational therapist can also:
Help those children who are suffering from acute development delays. These difficulties are sometimes seen while doing some simple activities like bathing, brushing one’s teeth, getting dressed and eating. Many kids who are suffering from behavioural disorder learn various methods to curb and manage their anger. Instead of hitting other kids they are told to jot down their ideas as to what and how they feel while hitting other kids. The therapist also teaches the kids to overcome their physical disabilities by making them doing their own work. With this they are taught co-ordination skills. They are taught the use of computer to help them increase the speed and legibility of their handwriting. They also try to evaluate a child’s daily need, as per the treatment, and provide them with the necessary gadgets. Therapy is given while keeping in mind to improve the social and focus skills of the children. Though both occupational and physical therapies aim at improving the quality of the kid’s lives, they are totally different from one another. Physical therapy deals with various types of pain, strength, joint range of motion, endurance, and gross motor functioning. Occupational therapy deals with various motor and sensory skills.