April is Occupational Therapy Awareness Month
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April is National Occupational Therapy Month. This month is all about increasing awareness about all the benefits of Occupational Therapy, as well as the professionals who provide it. Occupational therapists work with individuals from age newborn through adult, which is why there are so many misperceptions concerning OT and also explains why people are not sure what exactly occupational therapy is.
The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (AOTA) affectionately refers to April as “OT Month.” The AOTA states an occupational therapist or OT assistant’s “holistic and customized approach to evaluations, interventions, and outcomes help a child with disabilities participate in school and in social situations, assist a person recovering from injuries to regain skills, aid an older adult to stay as independent as possible, and offer the specialized support and services to people of all ages and in all circumstances that only occupational therapy can provide.” (Batema)
There are many different populations that occupational therapists can work with. Some work with young children who struggle with motor skills and developmental milestones. Others help people who have suffered in an accident or other life-changing event, occupational therapists help individuals to regain fine motor skills they have lost and learn new ways to perform acts of daily living. They may also work with older individuals who are going through mental or physical changes maintain a reasonable level of independence. Occupational therapists help people get back to work, back to driving, back to acts of daily living that we often take for granted.
Lifeway Mobility is Proud to Work with Occupational Therapists
The professionals at Lifeway Mobility are not medical specialists, so we work with occupational therapists to learn more about modifications that are needed for their clients now and what may be needed down the road as conditions progress. This allows the Lifeway Mobility team to make better recommendations to the client, and install equipment that will make aging-in-place possible as a condition evolves.
Sources
Batema, Cara. “SpecialNeeds.com.” Occupational Therapy Month | SpecialNeeds.com.