OT Month… Why is occupational therapy important?
April is the month that occupational therapy is celebrated as a profession. Occupational therapy started back in 1917. The profession has evolved so much over the last 104 years but it has always held the same standard of helping people live life to the fullest regardless of their circumstance. Occupational therapy takes on a holistic approach when evaluating and treating our patients to ensure that each goal is met for them. Each person in our world is different and comes from a diverse background but everyone has the same goal of living an independent life. OT’s work with people across the lifespan to make sure that they can adapt and function in every situation that they may encounter. Such as adolescents being able to play with their classmates on the playground with the least amount of adaptations or a person who has sustained a stroke that needs to regain movement back in one of their extremities. OTs play a huge role when helping people navigate the world after having a traumatic event, dealing with normal decline from aging, developmental delays in children, mental health diagnoses and the list goes on.
AOTA released a research study, “Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy Provide Significant Rehabilitative Value in Post-acute Care”, the study look at 1.4 million Medicare cases to examine the benefits of rehabilitation with occupational and physical therapy. The president of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Wendy C. Hildenbrand, PhD, MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA, stated from the article that “Most important, the study’s findings indicate that patients who receive occupational therapy and physical therapy during their initial post-acute care episode are more likely to have better outcomes, including a better quality of life and increased meaningful participation in everyday living.” Research is now starting to add concrete data to what Occupational therapy has been doing for over a 100 years. We are creative and we see people for who they are not just their diagnosis. We are investigators looking to solve the problems to help our patients over the hurdles that get in their way of living life to the fullest. Occupational therapist can be found in a wide variety of settings throughout the lifespan and they are always willing to help find to way for people to achieve their personal goals. This month we are thankful to all the occupational therapist serving in so many ways to help their patients live more meaningful lives.
Happy Occupational Therapy Month!
Ashley Gatewood, MOT, OTR/L, CSRS
Research: Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy Provide Significant Rehabilitative Value in Post-acute Care. (2021, April 5). Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://www.aota.org/Advocacy-Policy/Federal-Reg-Affairs/Therapy-Outcomes-Post-Acute-Settings.aspx