In occupational therapy, everyday activities are used to expand and maintain people’s ability to act. This applies to people with physical or mental disabilities just as much as patients after a stroke or children in whom a developmental delay has been observed.
What is occupational therapy?
The fields of application of occupational therapy are diverse. One major area of application is the rehabilitation of patients with neurological disorders. Gross and fine motor skills are trained in occupational therapy, as is the sense of balance or memory. In these fields, occupational therapy works closely with other disciplines such as neurology, orthopedics and psychiatry. In Germany, occupational therapy is a recognized form of therapy with uniformly regulated training. Occupation with everyday tasks such as simple household activities under therapeutic supervision is intended to help the patient achieve the greatest possible independence in daily life and to discard pathological behavior and movement patterns. Occupational therapy also intervenes in a supportive manner in activities such as socializing with friends.
Function, effect, and goals
The fields of application of occupational therapy are diverse. One major area of application is the rehabilitation of patients with neurological disorders, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis. Patients whose neurological function is impaired after accidents can also be helped by using occupational therapy. By mastering tasks that cause difficulties for the patient, the nervous system is trained and rehabilitation is supported. In addition, patients learn to deal with everyday circumstances appropriate to their situation. Gross and fine motor skills are trained as part of occupational therapy, as is the sense of balance or memory.
Occupational therapy with children
In pediatrics, occupational therapy takes on an important role in a variety of limitations. Occupational therapists are consulted for developmental delays or behavioral problems (eating disorders, limited social behavior) as well as for congenital organic damage. In this case, too, the aim is to enable the affected persons to achieve maximum independence and to replace pathological movement and behavior patterns with healthier ones. In this context, the completion of homework is just as much a part of occupational therapy treatment as handicrafts or other child-oriented tasks, such as cooking. In this context, occupational therapists often cooperate with social institutions or special kindergartens, schools and rehabilitation centers for children.
Occupational therapy and orthopedics
In the case of orthopedic impairments, occupational therapy primarily affects the patient’s motor functions. The latter learns to deal competently with any aids that may be needed in everyday life. By means of exercises suitable for everyday use, an attempt is made to optimize the range of movement of muscles and joints. This is where occupational therapy and physiotherapy overlap. Both are often used in parallel to achieve the best possible effect. If necessary, the patient learns under therapeutic supervision compensatory alternatives for movements that have become impossible due to illness. Even if coping with everyday tasks becomes more difficult without unexpected external influences, solely due to age, it is possible to improve the patient’s quality of life by means of occupational therapy. Through targeted support, physical and mental abilities can be preserved and sometimes even improved. It is also important to adapt the home environment to the patient’s changed abilities in order to preserve the quality of life for as long as possible. In the geriatric field, the focus of occupational therapy is on promoting and preserving cognitive abilities. In addition, occupational therapy is suitable as an aid when it comes to training the resilience and motivation of people with mental disabilities. By mastering simple and more complex tasks, patients gain self-confidence and everyday competence. Socio-emotional competence and the processing of body perception are practiced through everyday and creative tasks.Thus, under therapeutic supervision, patients learn to behave appropriately in a situation and to interact with their environment. In the psychiatric field, occupational therapy is used primarily for addicts and for people with a wide variety of mental disorders. Depending on the field of activity, occupational therapy is more or less successful in acting appropriately to the holistic concept and responding to the needs of the patient. Close consultation with the other disciplines involved is necessary to achieve optimal therapeutic results. German health insurance companies generally pay for the costs incurred by occupational therapy, because the approach of treating people as part of their environment often leads to promising results.
