Casey Flynn Flynn 1
Miss DiNatale
Biology A Block - H
Monday December 20, 2004
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy is the art and science of helping people do the day-to-day activities that are important to them despite impairment, disability, or handicap (Willard & Spackard's Occupational Therapy: Ninth Edition, 5). The main goal of an occupational therapist is to maximize the patient's independent functioning. The areas of functioning which may need improvement are determined by the patient and the therapist together. Occupational therapist use purposeful activities as their treatment methods and goals. Occupational therapy treatments are not limited to areas of work or job training. One's occupation in life is more than just their job.
Occupational therapists organize treatments into three different categories or performance areas: Activities of Daily Living, Work and Productive Activities, and Play and Leisure Activities. Activities of daily living include such things as dressing, cooking, bathing and hygiene (brushing/washing hair, brushing teeth, etc.)
Occupational Therapy
Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy
English: Pie chart representation of the amount of...shopping, paying bills, and so on. Work and productive activities are naturally important for people. Play and leisure are important in both a child's and an adult's life. Adult's need leisure or play for a healthy well balanced lifestyle while play is the vehicle in which a child develops both mentally and physically.
The World Health Organization is responsible for the definition of impairment, disability, and handicap (www.aota.org). Impairment is defined as "A loss or abnormality of physical or psychological structures or functions." Only when impairment is severe enough to impair an individual's ability to perform daily living, work, and
Flynn 2
leisure activity does it become a disability. An example of a person with a disability is someone who can't put on his or her pants due to a fractured hip (impairment) (Robin Flynn OTR/L). This hip fracture prevents the individual...