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Occupational Therapy - Scope of Practice

Occupational Therapy - Scope of Practice

Occupational Therapists are concerned with the engagement of persons in meaningful and purposeful occupations in ADLs, work and play. Occupations are goal-directed pursuits which typically extend over time, have meaning to the performer, and involves mutiple tasks. (AOTA, 1995). They are 'the ordinary and familiar things that people do everyday.'

Functioning in one's roles, such as being a parent, employee or student, depends on successful performance of multiple occupations. Used in this manner, the term occupation is more comprehensive than the conventional usage by the public as referring only to one's vocation.

Participation restrictions, activity limitations and impairments or risks for these problems may constrain, restrict, or reduce engagement in occupations, thus contributing to a lifestyle of inactivity that may lead to further physical, cognitive, and psychological complications and eventual decline in health.

According to WHO (1986), health is the extent to which an individual or group is able, on one hand, to realize aspirations and satisfy needs, and one another hand, to change or cope with the environment.

Thus, the unique contribution of occupational therapy is to maximize the fit between what is the individual's wants and needs to do and his or her capabilities to do it (Baum & Christiansen, 1997).

The resources of the client when coupled with the skilled intervention of the occupational therapist often can effectively resolve health-related functional performance limitation (Baum & Christiansen, 1997).

Occupational therapists are experts in understanding the multidimensional nature of occupations and their impact on health. They use two clinical reasoning tools in recommending a a program of intervention to improve occupational performance, which includes tasks and activity analysis (Watson, 1997).

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Nigel Chua has 1 articles online

Nigel is the Principle Occupational Therapist, founding director of private practice UrbanRehab (previously known as TherapyWerkz). A clinician by practice and training, he has teamed up with Louise, a UK-trained physiotherapist to provide more holistic and wholesome rehabilitation programs to individuals, institutions of care and to industries whose employee are at risk of sustaining injuries.

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Occupational Therapy - Scope of Practice

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