Occupational Therapy Month

Here at FEI Retail we are celebrating Occupational Therapy Month! To celebrate, we want to inform and make people aware of Occupational Therapy. This profession is important as it affects the way people with health problems live their lives.

For those of you who are unaware, Occupational Therapy is a rehabilitation profession. In this profession, occupation therapists care for people with physical, developmental, social or emotional problems. The word “occupation” is used because therapists in this field help with activities of self-care, work and leisure. Helping patients with these activities will increase independence, development and/or prevent disabilities from occurring.

To improve a patient’s way of life, occupational therapists use a science called occupational science. Occupational science is a new discipline that provides a basic understanding of life activities. It is the study of how activities like self-care and leisure provide meaning and purpose to a person’s life. Occupational therapy is not the same as physical therapy. One main difference is Occupational Therapy offers a greater focus on improving a person’s life skills and functional ability while treating an injury. Physical Therapy focuses more on just treating the source of an injury. Additionally, Occupational Therapists have the knowledge and training to work with people with a mental illness or emotional problems such as depression and/or stress.

Occupational therapists work in a variety of locations and settings and not just in health care centers. They are often found working in schools, prisons, work programs as well as private industries and organizations.

To get more informed with Occupational Therapy, view the AOTA website.

Article written by William Graves.