April is Occupational Therapy Month — NeuroPraxis — Brain Injury Rehabilitation for Home and Community

Celebrating Occupational Therapy Month #OTMonth

Occupational therapy is the only profession that teaches people how to live their lives. It helps them do the things they need to do to get through each day with the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). Mastering these activities enable people who have had a traumatic brain injury to live a much higher quality of life.

During the month of April, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) celebrates the 200 thousand occupational therapists, therapy assistants, and students who create better lives for patients and their families.

The underlying principles of occupational therapy are intuitive and have been integrated into brain injury treatment for centuries. Patients suffering from brain injury or mental illnesses were considered a threat to society before the 1800s. The majority of those were stuck in prisons and hidden from society.

As human rights causes and moral treatment progressed, a more humane understanding of brain injury treatments developed. One of these was asylums which were places that provided safe spaces where patients could engage in meaningful occupations. Work and engagement therapies were discovered to be very beneficial to recovery.

Occupational therapy is a nearly 100-year-old evidence-based profession deeply rooted in science that focuses on adapting the environment to fit the patient. It is also often grouped into physical therapy due to the similarities in treatment processes.

OT doesn’t mimic physical therapy’s approach but instead pulls from many different disciplines to develop the most beneficial way to help clients to better function.

Occupational Therapy involves nursing, social work, psychiatry, and orthopedics. It uniquely stands out as a holistic practice.

OTs can help children with autism, cerebral palsy, and physical disabilities to fully participate in regular school. They can also help older people live independent lives by providing car and driving assessments. Occupational Therapy provides the skills necessary to help brain injury patients return to work.

Occupational Therapy provides training to help patients gain their independence with even the most mundane tasks we all take for granted like bathing, dressing and cooking. Bust most notably they help wounded warriors overcome injuries like losing a limb or PTSD and help them reintegrated into their community.

What can be done to promote OT?

The most powerful way to advocate and promote Occupational Therapy is to utilize the latest in OT technologies that provide the most effective treatments. If the quality of life for the patient is increased then other medical professionals will see the value and start advocating for it.

April is a time when all OTs can be leaders by speaking up and promoting for clients and by collaborating with fellow professionals will help Occupational Therapy establish a more firm position in the medical field. It’s also a time to reflect on OT’s history and understand it’s rooted in mental wellness and holistic healing.

Originally published at https://www.neuropraxisrehab.com on April 6, 2021.