Occupational Therapy: An Introduction

Occupational Therapy (OT) is the incorporation of everyday life with treatment

of patients to assist with the process of healing. An occupational therapist treats
a patient as a whole. They do not only work with those suffering from an injury,
they work with an individual who may be having developmental or cognitive
disabilities that interfere with everyday tasks. These disabilities can be affecting
their motor skills, emotions, and their behavior, which in fact affect their day to
day lives. OT’s help people engage in daily life such as getting dressed, cooking,
and driving. They utilize the role’s their patients have and figure out a treatment
that is unique to that individual and their job.

An OT is not limited to specific age groups and certain demographics. OT’s

have their specialties, but therapy is available to individuals of all age that may
be suffering from an injury, illness, or disability. Occupational therapists have
many avenues of approach when helping someone. An OT begins by
evaluating the individual, this can allow what the overall goal is. At this point
the OT can create a specialized plan in order to
improve the person’s ability to perform daily
activities.

Skills Treated

 Fine Motor – Difficulties with holding pencils, tying shoes, using fasteners, or
stringing beads.
 Gross Motor – inability to catch or throw a ball, trips easily, difficulty with balance,
or coordination
 Sensory Processing –sensitive to stimuli. Sensory Processing Disorders which may
look like overwhelmed to loud environments, irrational fear to heights, constantly
avoiding or touching objects,
 Behavioral skills – Difficulty taking turns in games or with toys. Emotional outbursts, hitting, kicking or biting.
 Activities of daily living – difficulty with tasks such as getting dressed, bathing, using the restroom, or eating.
 Cognition –problems with functioning including organization, planning, or attention.

Read Ahead Articles

St. Catherine University Online OTA. (2019, August 21). Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy: What's the
Difference? Retrieved from https://otaonline.stkate.edu/blog/fields-occupational-therapy-and-physical-therapy-
whats-difference/

Team, U. (2019, August 5). Occupational Therapy: What You Need to Know. Retrieved from
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-approaches/therapies/occupational-
therapy-what-you-need-to-know