Occupational Therapy helps you live your life to the fullest

Sheba Sam
Occupational therapist
Prayatna Centre For Child Development,
Cochin, Kerala

Human life on earth takes in several dimensions – involving various roles to perform with regard to an individuals’ gender, race, age, culture etc. They are called “occupations”. These can include being a parent, a spouse, a student, a daughter and so on. These occupations can range from “play” for a toddler to “home management” for an adult. One would not think about these occupations unless there is a trouble doing them. It doesn’t matter to the parents if their child naturally plays when he ought to… the anxiety starts only when the child tends to skip that occupation of “playing”. If you are recovering from an accident or injury, your valued occupations may be disrupted. This is where the role of Occupational Therapy comes into picture.

As we celebrate World Occupational Therapy Day 2020 and showing justice to the present time, the theme chosen internationally for the year is “Reimagine Doing”, a relevant and important message in this year when populations in all parts of the world are required to re-evaluate, re-think and re-organize how they engage in their daily activities.

The pandemic has led to apparent changes in how people access and undertake their occupations and its consequences are heavy to carry. The impact is spread across various areas including the activities of daily living, mobility, communication, peer interaction, mental health and well-being and so on. Children are unable to play in the park with their peers or study at school, adults are unable to cope with adjusting their schedules while working from home. The elderly, being considered more vulnerable are being shielded from what they might consider as meaningful occupations like visiting their grandchildren, engaging in social activities and leisure.

Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession which focuses on enabling individuals of all ages to participate in everyday life with others. It takes up a whole person approach to physical as well as mental health and well-being of an individual. Hence an Occupational Therapist considers physical, psychological, social, cognitive and environmental needs of an individual.

The primary goal of Occupational Therapy is to promote an individuals’ ability to perform daily rituals and activities in a way that will enhance their quality of life and make possible the engagement of independent living.

Occupational Therapy has widespread areas of practice including “Pediatrics” where they help children adjust to physical, emotional and mental challenges that can impair functional performance and participation. Another area is “Productive Aging”( Geriatrics) where the Occupational Therapists focus on improving the quality of life of the older adults and maintaining their participation in valued activities.

When the World Health Organization has identified mental illness as a growing cause of disability across the globe, it has brought “Mental Health” within Occupational Therapy to the forefront in recent years. They provide strategies to ensure mental health wellness including addressing the barriers to mental stability, assisting clients in developing effective coping strategies and developing interpersonal and social skills.

Another main area of practice includes “Rehabilitation and Disability” (including Neurology, Orthopedics, Oncology), which aims to return individuals to satisfied levels of participation in the activities they need and want to perform. The focus on rehabilitation, disability and participation leads Occupational Therapists to work with a wide range of patients, including those recovering from strokes or living with brain injuries, chronic diseases, cancer and more.

There is yet another specialty of “Work and Industry” where they aim to improve the connections individuals have to their job tasks and work environment. They promote participation, health, productivity and satisfaction within work environments.

Occupational Therapists know that even though your health has changed, you still are a mother, a daughter, a student or an artist. They understand the vital need to sustain a good psychological, mental health and stamina in order to stay safe and healthy. They would work with you to help you heal, get you stronger and overcome the troubling situation in the best way possible.

Occupational Therapy has taken an extra step amid the present crisis by stepping into an online platform through telehealth which improves access to those individuals who wouldn’t otherwise get the services of Occupational Therapy and of course it is more convenient for the present time.